MEDINA COUNIf 2^ i»ffi tM.^^ r 6 h(37-t \ ^^'//'^^Uftf^-'^r--^ / CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD 0) O) CO CL (0 (0 (Q Tl (Q CD Date Due %tftb' r 'j)^,-^-*^**^ lFfl6fl+fel^ -liLiir grv Cornell University Library F 497M5 H67 History of Medina county ?!!'il„0t'!S;,,,p,S"'3 3 1924 028 848 658 olin Overs 'A" — ^ - -' — *T>''. HI8TOEY MEDINA COUNTY OHf O. Containing a History of the State of Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, embracing its topography, geological, physical and climatic features; its agricultural, stock-growing, rail- road interests, etc.; a History of Medina County, giving an accoicnt of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the County, its judicial history, its business and industries, churches, schools, etc.; Biographical Sketches ; Portraits of some of the Early Settlers and Prominent Men, etc., etc. I L HiXJ S T !?> j!^ T E ID . CHICAGO : BASKIN & BATTEY, HISTORICAL PUBLISHERS, I 86 Dearborn Street. 1881. >.2iJL {' ' ... «) .1^ /^7^ , r 1 i^: S r- ^IV d^ PREFACE ||sHE work that has engaged our historians, W. H. Perrin, J. H. Battle and W. ^^~1 A. Goodspeed, for some time past, is now closed. On these pages they have traced ■^ r" the tedious journey of the pioneer from homes of comfort and refinement to the untouched wilds of the West; they have noted the rising cabin, the clearing of the for- ests, the privations of the early settlements, the heroic fortitude with which the pioneer surmounted these obstacles, and the patient toil that has " made the wilderness to blossom as the rose;" they have marked the coming of the schoolmaster, and that greater teacher — the preacher — the rise of the schoolhouse and church, and their influence in molding society. This work we have undertaken in the belief that there is a proper demand that the events which relate to the early times should find a permanent record, and with what fidelity to facts and with what patience of research this has been accomplished, we shall leave to the judgment of our patrons, in whose keeping the traditions of that day remain, and for whom the work was undertaken. Advantage has been taken of siich historical works as were found; but the chief resource for information has been the traditions which have been handed down from one generation to another. These have generally been verified from other sources ; but in some not essential particulars, our writers have been obliged to depend upon tradition alone, and may thus have sanctioned some errors. These, we trust, will be found of trifling impor- tance; and we ground our hope of the favorable judgment of the public upon the essential correctness and completeness of this volume as a history of Medina County. We desire, also, to thank the citizens everywhere in the county, who have so cordially aided our writers in gathering the materials for this volume, and especially to acknowledge our indebtedness to the gentlemen who have been associated with them in the various parts of the work; to Hon. Aaeon Pardee, of Wadsworth; Judge Samuel Humphebville (now deceased), and Dr. E. G. Habd, of Medina; J. T. Gbaves, of Seville, and others whose names appear with their contributions. March, 1881. Publishers. T^ M <2 W_ ihL^ CONTENTS. PART I. HISTORY OF THE STATE OK OHIO. PAGE. CHAPTER I.— Introductory— TopoKraphy—Geulogy— Primitive Races— Antiquities — Indian Tribes II CHAPTER II.— Explorations in the West 19 CHAPTER III.— English Explorations— Traders— French and Indian War in the West — English Possession 37 CHAPTER IV.— Pontiac'B Conspiracy— Its Failure — Bouquet's Expedition— Occupation by the English 48 CHAPTER V. — American Exploration — Dunmore's War — Cam- paign of George Rogers Clarke — Land Troubles — Spain in the Revolution — Murder of the Moravian Indians 62 CHAPTER VI.— American Occupation — Indian Claims— Early Land Companies — Compact of 1787 — Organization of the Territory — Early American Settlements in the Ohio Val- ley — First Territorial Oflficors — Organization of Couuties... On CHAPTER VII.— Indian War of 1795— Harmar's Campaign— St. Clair's Campaign — Wayne's Campaign — Close of the War 73 CHAPTER VIII.— Jay's Treaty— The Question of State Rights and National Supremacy — Extension of Ohio Settlements —Land Claims — Spanish Boundary Question 79 CHAPTER IX. — First Territorial Representatives in ("'ungress — Division of the Territory — Formation of States — Mari- etta Settlement — Other Settlements — Settlements in the Western Reserve- Settlement of the Central Valleys- Further Settlements in the Reserve and Elsewhere 85 CHAPTER X. — Formation of the State Government— Ohio a State— The State Capitals— Legislation— The " Sweeping" Resolutions 121 imAPTER XT.— The War of 1812— Growth of the State— Canal, Railroads and other Improvements — Development of State Resources 127 CHAPTER XII.— Mexican War— Continued Growth of the State —War of the Rebellion— Ohio's Part in the Conflict 132 CHAPTER XIII.— Ohio in the Centennial— Address of Edward D. Mansfield, L.L D., Philadelphia, August 9, 1876 138 CHAPTER XIV.— Education— Early School Laws— Notes— In- stitutions and Educational Journals— School System — School Funds— Colleges and Universities 148 CHAPTER XV.— Agriculture— Area of the State— Early Agri- culture in the West— Markets— Live Stock- Nurseries, Fruits, etc.— Cereals, Root and Cucurbitaceous Crops- Agricultural Implements— Agricultural Societies— Pom o- logical aud Horticultural Societies 151 f;HAPTBR XVI.— Climatology— Outline— Variation in Ohio- Estimate in DegrceR— Amount of Variability 1^:'. CHAPTER XVII.— Public Lands— Early f'ontest un Right of Soil and Jurisdiction— The Western Reserve— Origin and Organization— Social and Material Growth 165 VAllT IT. HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. PAGE CHAPTER I.— Physical Geography of the County— Geological Formation — Material Resources — Grain Culture — Stock Raising — Dairying Interest — Agricultural Societies 181 CHAPTER II. — Prehistoric Races — Ancient ."Earthworks — In- 'lian, Traditions — Pioneer Settlements — Erection and Or- ganization of the County — History of the Public Build- ings— The Growth of Political Parties 2X2 CHAPTER III.— The Learned Professions- Early Courts and Practice — Reminiscences of the Early Bench and Bar — The Bar of the Present — The Medical 'Fraternity — Prac- tice in ye Olden Time — Doctors of the Past and Present.. 242 CHAPTER TV.— Social Development of the County— Character of the Early Churches — The Rise of Denominational Influence — Temperance Work — Early Schools — Growth of Higher Education — Academies — The Press — Railroad Operations 275 CHAPTER V.-War Activities— Stampede of 1812— Volunteers for the Blexican Struggle — The County's Contributions to the War of the Rebellion — Medina's Volunteers in the Army — Soldiers' Association 308 CHAPTER VT.— A Retrospect— The Railroad Jubilee— A News- paper's History of the Day — A Memorable "Fourth " — A Centennial Oration ^ 355 CHAPTER VII.— Medina Township— Its Settlement— Early Privations — Social Development — Growth of A^'illagee — Weymouth and Medina — Church and School 375 CHAPTER VIII.— Medina Village— Its Incorporation— Inter- nal Improvements — Manufacturing Enterprises — Fire Department — Church and School Interests — The Ceme- ti^ry 394 CHAPTER IX.— Wadsworth Township— Coming of the Whites — Incidents of Early Settlement — Beginnings of Township Government — Origin of Church and Schools 414 CHAPTER X.— Wadsworth Township- Notable Epidemic- Coal Mines- The N. Y., P. & 0. R. R.— Village of Wads- worth — Growth and Incorporation — Family Genealogies 435 CHAPTER XI.— Guilford Township — Topography and Bound- aries — The Pioneers — Their Journey to the West — Early Industries — Seville — Growth and Incorporation of the Village — Churches and Schools 454 CHAPTER XII.— Harrisville Township— Physical Features— Tlie Pioneer Settler of the Gouhty — Incidents of 1812— Hardships in the Wilderness — Growth of Villages — Or- ganization of the Township — Social Development 483 CHAPTER XIII.— York Township — Natural Attractiona- Pionei^r Families of the Township— Social Customs — Commercial Activities — York Center — Manufacturing Inti-'iests — Church and Schoolhouse 509 S) 'V ^1 l^ CONTENTS. PAGE. CHAPTER XIV.— Litchfield Township— Surface, Drainage and Material Resources — Early Settlement — Experiences iu the Wilderness — Petroleum Excitement— Early Manufact- ures— Religious and Educational Efforts 625 CHAPTER XV.— LiTerpool Township— Configuration of Land — The Discovery of Salt — Early Manufacturing Activity — Growth of the Community — Moral and Mental Develop- ment 536 CHAPTER XVI.— Spencer Township — Topographical Features — First Settlement of the Township — Primitive Customs — Incidents of Life in the Wilderness — Beginnings of Church and School — Their Development 555 CHAPTER XVII.— Chatham Township— Geological Structure — Pioneer Beginnings — Early Efforts at Agriculture — Story of the Old Log Cabin— Progress in Politics, Churches and Schools 569 CHAPTER XVIII.— Brunswick Township— Rocks and Rivers — Making a Home in the Wilderness — Incidents of Pio- neer Life — Early Manufactures — Social Customs and Development 580 CHAPTER XIX.— Westfield Township— The Lay of the Land — Agricultural Advantages — Early Selection of Sites — Pioneer Pleasures — Preachers and People — Schoolmasters and their Scholars 594 CHAPTER XX.— Hinckley Township— A Hunter's Paradise— The Coming of the First Settlers — The Great Hunt — In- cidents of the Early Hunters and Trappers— Growth of Civilization— The Church and School 607 CHAPTER XXL— Sharon Township—Its Topographical Sur- vey — Its Early Settlers — Sketch of Pioneer Homes — Early Rise of School Interests— The Academy — Material ProspectB of Sharon 620 CHAPTER XXII.— Granger Township— Contour of the Sur- face — Agricultural Resources- Early Settlements and Incidents — Political Organization — Beginnings and De- velopmentof Church and School 630 CHAPTER XXIII.— Montville Township— Character of the Surface— Soil and Drainage — Early Survey— First Settle- ments — Beginnings of Agriculture— Snakes and Game — The Turnpike and Early Roads— A Fourth of July- Churches and Schools 647 CHAPTER XXIV.— Homer Township— Its Boundaries and Physical Attractions- The Coming of the Whites— Early Organization and Pulitical Relations — Changes in its County Relations-Church and School Interests 656 CHAPTER XXV.— La Fayette Township— Origin of the Name -Early Si'ttlement- Pioneer Incidents— Frontier Indus- tries — Social Development— Beginning of Churches and Schools 666 PART III. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. p^gb. Brunswick Township 764 Chatham Township 798 Guilford Township 718 Granger Township 904 Harrisville Township 862 Hinckley Township 770 Homer Township 920 Litchfield Township 743 Liverpool Township 748 La Fayette Township 829 Medina Township 681 Montville Township 784 Sharon Township k 790 Spencer Township 754 Wadsworth Township 706 Westfield Township 883 Tork Township 731 ILLUSTRATIONS. PORTRAITS. Badger, Austin (Biography on ptige 687) 381 Clark, W. P. (Biography on page 784) 285 Coulter, 0. M. (Biography on page 884) 369 Dowd, D. D. (Biography on page 885) 309 Freeman, Rnfus (Biography on page 889) 603 Harris, Joseph (Biography on page 481) 485 Harris, Rachel 495 Harris, Alhert (Biography on page 870) 507 Hatch, Hoel (Biography on page 911) 631 Hatch, Saloma 635 Hosmer, Henry (Biography on page 724) 459 Houghton, Amhrose (Biography on page 890) 279 Lindley, Ephraim (Biography on page 766) 585 Loomis, T. G (Biography on page 871) 351 Munson, A. (Biography on page 696)... 243 Morton, Oliver (Biography on page 895) 595 Parker, L. B. (Biography on page 752) 549 Pearson, Arza (Biography on page 739) 513 Strong, Dyer (Biography on page 882) 333 Van Deusen, R. L. (Biography on page 781) 207 Van Deusen, Orpha (Biography on page 780) 619 Witter, W. H. (Biography on page 704) 405 Willey, A. G. (Biography on page 271) 555 VIEWS. The Medina County Court House 181 ADDENDUM. Ohituary of Judge S. Humphreville 922 ^ , and gnnrt HMtlioiity.suvs: "J.ilin Niclmlot, a Krerichman, liMt 'Qiii'Iu-c and Tlin-ii Uivi-rs in thn sutiiincr ot VV.U, and visiipl tho Ilnntrts on G ursiiin Bny, tlie dippcwas at llio Sanlr. Ste. IVlarie, and tli-i Wiii- nehagncs in Wisronsin, nUiirniiiy ti) (inpbec in ilio summer of 1(35. This -was tlio flr-t wliile ni-n to 8t>e any part of Ibo Nortliwcst Territory. Iti 1611. 1u-o Jesuit pri<-8ts A\ere at the Saillt Ste. Mtnie for a Iirief time. Tiieii two FiTiicli I raders reached T;alie Superior, and idfei- lh( in came lliat liw attempts to found a mission among tlie lake Iribss were projected. " With bjtter hopes — undismayed by the sad fate of thjir predecessors" in AugTist, Claude AUouez embarked on a mission by way of Ottawa to the Far West. Early in September he reached the rapids through which rush the waters of the lakes to Huron. Sailing by lofcy sculptured rocks and over waters of crystal purity, ha reached the Chippewa village just as the young warriors were bent on organizing a war expedition against the Sioux. Commanding peace in the name of his King, he called a council and offered the commerce and i)rotection of his nation. He was obeyed, and soon a chapel arose on the shore of the bay, to which admiring crowds from the south and west gathered to listen to the story of the Cross. The scattered Hurons and Ottawa.? north of Lake Superior ; the Pottawatomies from Lake Mich- igan ; the Sacs and Foxes fi-om the Far West ; the Illinois from the prairies, all came to hear him, and all besought him to go with them. To the last natiim Allouez desired to go. They told him of a " great river that flowed to the sea, "and of "their vast prairies, where herds of buffalo, deer and other animals grazed on the tall grass." "Their country," said the missionary, "is the best field for the Gospel. Had I had leisure, I would have gone to their dwellings to see with my own eyes all the good that was told mo of them." He remained two years, teaching the natives, studying their language and habits, and then returned to Quebec. Such was the account that he gave, that in two days he was joined by Louis Nicholas and was on his way back to his mission. Peace being now established, more missionaries came from France. Among them were Claude Dablon and Jacques ]\larquette, both of whom went on to the mission among the Chippewas at the Sault. They reached there in 1668 and found Allouez busy. The mission was now a reality and given the name of St. Mary. It is often written "Sault Ste. Marie," after the French method, and is the oldest settlement by white men in the bounds of the Northwest Territory. It has been founded over two hundred years. Hero on the inhospitable northern shores, hundreds of miles away from friends, did this triumvirate employ themselves in extending their religion and the influence of their King. Traversing the shores of the great lakes near them, they pass down the western bank of Lake Michigan as far as Green Bay, along the southern shore of Lake Superior to its western ex- tremity, everywhere preaching the story of Jesus. " Though suffering be their lot and martyrdom their crown," they went on, only conscious that they were laboring for their Master and would, in the end, win the crown. The great river away to the West of which they heard so much was yet unknown to them. To ex- plore it, to visit the tribes on its banks and preach to them the Gospel and secure their trade, became the aim of Marquette, who originated the idea of its discovery. While engaged at the mission at the Sault, he resolved to attempt it in the autumn of 1669. Delay, however, intervened — for Allouez had exchanged the mission at Che-goi-me-gon for one at Green Bay, whither Marquette was sent. While here he employed a young Illinois Indian to teach him the language of that nation, and there- by prepare himself for the enterprise. Continued commerce with the Western Indians gave protection and confirmed their attachment. Talon, the intendant of the colony of New France, to further spread its power and to learn more of the country and its inhabitants, convened a congress of the Indians at the Falls of St. Mary, to which he sent St. Lusson on his behalf Nicholas Perrot sent invitations in every direction for more than a hundred leagues round about, and fourteen nations, among them Sacs, Foxes and Miamis, agreed to be present by their embassadors. The congress met on the fourth day of June, 1671. St. Lusson, through Allouez, his interpre- ter, announced to the assembled natives that they, and through them their nations, were placed under the protection of the French King, and to him were their furs and peltries to be traded. A cross of cedar was raised, and amidst the groves of ma- ple and of pine, of elm and heinlock that are so strangely intermingled on the banks of the St. Mary, the whole company of the French, bowing before the emblem of man's redemption, chanted to its glory a hymn of the seventh century : "The banners of heaven's King advance; The mysteries of the Cross shines forth."* A cedar column was planted by the cross and marked with the lilies of the Bourbons. The power of France, thus uplifted in the West of which Ohio is now a part, was, however, not destined ''-Bancroft. l^ to endure, and the ambition of its monarchs was to liavc only a partial fulfillment. The same year that the congress was held, Mar- quette had founded a missiun among the Hurons at Point St. Ignace, on the continent north of the peninsula of IMiohigan. Although the climate was severe, and vegetation scarce, yet fish abounded, and at this establishment, long maintained as a key to further explorations, prayer and praise were heard daily for many years. Here, also, Marquette gained a footing among the founders of Michigan. While he was doing this, Allouoz and Dablon were exploring countries south and west, going as far as the Mascoutins and Kickapoos on the Milwaukee, and the Miamis at the head of Lake IMichigan. AUouez continued even as far as the Sacs and Foxes on the river which bears their name. The discovery of the Mississippi, heightened by these explorations, was now at hand. Tlie enter- prise, projected by INIarquette, was received with favor by M. Talon, who desired thus to perpetuate hi.s rule in New France, now drawing to a close. He was joined by Joliet, of Quebec, an emissary of his King, commissioned by royal magnate to take possession of the country in the name of the French. Of him but little else is known. This one excursion, however, gives him immortality, and as long as time shall last his name and that of Marquette will endure. When IMarquette made known his intention to the Pottawatomies, they were filled with wonder, and endeavored to dis- suade him from his purpose. "Those distant na- tions," said they, " never spare the strangers; the Great River abounds in monsters, ready to swal- low both men and canoes ; there are great cataracts and rapids, over whicli you will be dashed to pieces; the excessive heats will cause your death." "I shall gladly lay down my life for the salvation of souls," replied the good man; and the docile nation joined him. On the 9th day of June, 1G73, they reached the village on Fox Piiver, where were Kickapoos, ^Mascoutins and B'liamis dwelling together on an expanse of lovely prairie, dotted here and thereby groves of magnificent trees, and where was a cross garlanded by wild flowers, and bows and ar- rows, and skins and belts, offerings to the Great Manitdu. AUouez had been here in one of his wandnings, and, as was his wont, had left this emblem of his faith. Asscmljling the natives, IMarquette said, " My companion is an envoy of France (o discover new countries ; and I am an embassador from God to enlighten them with the Gospel." Offering pres- ents, he begged two guides for the morrow. The Indians answered courteously, and gave in return a mat to serve as a couch during the long voyage. Early in the morning of the nest day, the 10th of June, with all nature in her brightest robes, these two men, with five Frenchmen and two Al- gonquin guides, set out on their journey. Lifting two canoes to their shoulders, they quickly cross the narrow portage dividing the Fox from the Wisconsin River, and prepare to embark on its clear waters. "Uttering a special prayer to the Immaculate Virgin, they leave the stream, that, flowing onward, could have borne their greetings to the castle of Quebec. 'The guides returned,' says the gentle Marcjuette, 'leaving us alone in this unknown land, in the liand of Providence.' France and Christianity stood alone in the valley of the ]\Iissi.-?sippi. Embarking on the broad Wisconsin, the discoverers, as they sailed west, went solitarily down the stream between alternate prairies and hillsides, beholding neither man nor the wonted beasts of the forests ; no sound broke the silence but the ripple of the canoe and the lowing of the buffalo. In seven days, ' they en- tered happily the Great River, with a joy that could not be expressed;' and the two birehbark canoes, raising their happy sails under new skies and to unknown breezes, floated down the calm magnificence of the ocean stream, over the broad, clear sand-bars, the resort of innumerable water- fowl — gliding past islets that swelled from the bosom of the stream, with their tufts of massive thickets, and between the wild plains of Illinois and Iowa, all garlanded with majestic forests, or checkered by island groves and the open vastness of the prairie."* Continuing on down the mighty stream, they saw no signs of human life until the 25th of June, when they discovered a small foot-path on the west bank of the river, leading away into the prairie. Leaving their companions in the canoes, Marquette and Joliet followed the path, resolved to !.)rave a meeting alone with the savages. After a walk of six miles they came in sight of a village on the banks of a river, while not fiir awav they discovered two others. The river was the '• Moii- in-gou-e-na," or Moingona, now corrupted into Des Moines. These two men, the first of their race who ever trod the soil west of the Great ~e) rv" 1^ HISTORY or OHIO. 23 River, commended tliemselves to God, and, uttering a loud cry, advanced to the nearest village. The Indians hear, and thinking their visitors celestial beings, four old men advance with rever- ential mien, and oifer the pipe of peace. " We are Illinois," said they, and they oifered the calu- met. They had heard of the Frenchmen, and welcomed them to their wigwams, followed by the devouring gaze of an astonished crowd. At a gTeat council held soon after, Marquette published to them the true God, their Author. He also spoke of his nation and of his King, who had chastised the Five Nations and commanded peace. He questioned them concerning the Great River and its tributaries, and the tribes dwelling on its banks. A magnificent feast was spread before them, and the conference continued several days. At the close of the sixth day, the chieftains of the tribes, with numerous trains of warriors, attended the visitors to their canoes, and selecting a peace- pipe, gayly caparisoned, they hung the sacred calumet, emblem of peace to all and a safeguard among the nations, about the good Father's neck, and bid the strangers good speed. "I did not fear death," writes Marquette; "I should have esteemed it the greatest happiness to have died for the glory of God." On their journey, they passed the perpendicular rocks, whose sculptured sides showed them the monsters they should meet. Farther down, they pass the turgid flood of the Missouri, known to them by its Algonquin name, Pekitanoni. Resolving in his heart to one day explore its flood, Marquette rejoiced in the new world it evidently could open to him. A little farther down, they pass the bluffs where now is a mighty emporium, then silent as when created. In a little less than forty leagues, they pass the clear waters of the beautiful Ohio, then, and long after- ward, known as the Wabash. Its banks were in- habited by numerous villages of the peaceful Shawanees, who then quailed under the incursions of the dreadful Iroquois. As they go on down the mighty stream, the canes become thicker, the insects more fierce, the heat more intolerable. The prairies and their cool breezes vanish, and forests of white- wood, admirable for their vastness and height, crowd close upon the pebbly shore. It is observed that the Chickasaws have guns, and have learned how to use them. Near the latitude of 33 degrees, they encounter a great village, whose inhabitants pre- sent an inhospitable and warhke front. The pipe of peace is held aloft, and instantly the savage foe drops his arms and extends a friendly greeting. Remaining here till the next day, they are escorted for eight or ten leagues to the village of Akansea. They are now at the limit of their voyage. The Indians speak a dialect unknown to them. The natives show furs and axes of steel, the latter prov- ing they have traded wiJi Europeans. The two travelers now learn that the Father of Wa- ters went neither to the Western sea nor to the Ilorida coast, but straight south, and conclude not to encounter the burning heats of a tropical clime, but return and find the outlet again. They had done enough now, and must report their dis- covery. On the 17th day of July, 1673, one hundred and thirty-two years after the disastrous journey of De Soto, which led to no permanent results, Blarquette and Joliet left the village of Akansea on their way back. At the 38th degree, they en- counter the waters of the Illinois which they had before noticed, and which the natives told them afforded a much shorter route to the lakes. Pad- dling up its limpid waters, they see a country un- surpassed in beauty. Broad prairies, beautiful up- lands, luxuriant groves, all mingled in excellent harmony as they ascend the river. Near the head of the river, they pause at a great village of the Illinois, and across the river behold a rocky prom- ontory standing boldly out against the landscape. The Indians entreat the gentle missionary to re- main among them, and teach them the way of life. He cannot do this, but promises to return when he can and instruct them. The town was on a plain near the present village of Utica, in La Salle County, 111., and the rock was Starved Rock, afterward noted in th^ annals of the Northwest. One of the chiefs and some young men conduct the party to the Chicag(j River, where the present mighty city is, from where, continuing their jour- ney along the western shores of the lake, they reach Green Bay early in September. The groat valley of the West was now open. The "]\Icssippi" rolled its mighty flood to a south- ern ssa, and must be sully explored. Marquette's health had keenly suffered by the voyage and he concluded to remain here and rest. Joliet hasten- ed on to Quebec to report his discoveries. During the journey, each had preserved a description of the route they had passed over, as well as the country and its inhabitants. While on the way to Quebec, at the foot of the rapids near Montreal, by some means one of Joliet's canoes became cap- sized, and by it he lost his box of papers and two of his men. A greater calamity could have "\: 24 HISTORY OF OHIO. hardly happened him. In a letter to Gov. Frontenac, Joliet says; " I had escaped every peril from the Indians ; I had passed forty-two rapids, and was on the point of disembarking, fiill of joy at the success of so long and difficult an enterprise, when my canoo capsized after all the danger seemed over. I lost my two men and box of papers within sight of the French settlements, which I had left almost two years before. Nothing remains now to me but my life, and the ardent desire to employ it in any service you may please to direct." When Joliet made known his discoveries, a Te Deum was chanted in the Cathedral at Quebec, and all Canada was filled with joy. The news crossed the ocean, and the French saw in the vista of coming years a vast dependency arise in the val- ley, partially explored, which was to extend her domain and enrich her treasury. Fearing En- gland might profit by the discovery and claim the country, she attempted as far as possible to prevent the news fi-om becoming general. Joliet was re- warded by the gift of the Island of Anticosti, in the St. Lawrence, while Marquette, conscious of his service to his Master, was content with the salvation of souls. Marquette, left at Green Bay, suffered long with his malady, and was not permitted, until the au- tumn of the following year (1674), to return and teach the Illinois Indians. With this purpose in view, he left Green Bay on the 25th of October with two Frenchmen and a number of Illinois and Pottawatomie Indians for the villages on the Chicago and Illinois Rivers. Entering Lake Michigan, they encountered adverse winds and waves and were more than a month on the way. Going some distance up the Chicago River, they found Marquette too weak to proceed farther, his malady having assumed a violent form, and land- ing, they erected two huts and prepared to pass the winter. The good missionary taught the na- tives here daily, in spite of his afflictions, while his companions supplied him and themselves with food by fishing and hunting. Thus the winter wore away, and Blarquette, renewing his vows, pre- pared to go on to the village at the foot of the rocky citadel, where he had been two years before. On the 13th of March, 1675, they left their huts and, rowing on up the Chicago to the portage be- tween that and the Desplaines, embarked on their way. Amid the incessant rains of spring, they were rapidly borne down that stream to the Illi- nois, on whose rushing flood they floated to the object of their destination. At the great town the missionary was received as a heavenly messenger, and as he preached to them of heaven and hell, of angels and demons, of good and bad deeds, they regarded him as divine and besought him to remain among them. The town then contained an immense concourse of natives, drawn hither by the reports they heard, and assembling them before him on the plain near their village, where now are pros- perous farms, he held before their astonished gaze four large pictures of the Holy Virgin, and daily harangued them on the duties of Christianity and the necessity of conforming their conduct to the words they heard. His strength was fast declining and warned him he could not long remain. Find- ing he must go, the Indians furnished him an escort as far as the lake, on whose turbulent waters he embarked with his two faithful attendan's. They turned their canoes for the Mackinaw Mis- sion, which the afflicted missionary hoped to reach before death came. As they coasted along the eastern shores of the lake, the vernal hue of May began to cover the hillsides with robes of green, now dimmed to the eye of the departing Father, who became too weak to view them. By the 19th of the month, he could go no farther, and requested his men to land and build him a hut in which he might pass away. That done, he gave, with great composure, directions concerning his burial, and thanked God that he was permitted to die in the wilderness in the midst of his work, an unshaken believer in the faith he had so earnestly preached. As twilight came on, he told his weary attendants to rest, promising that when death should come he would call them. At an early hour, on the morn- ing of the 20th of May, 1675, they heard a feeble voice, and hastening to his side found that the gen- tle spirit of the good missionary had gone to heav- en. His hand grasped the crucifix, and his lips bore as their last sound the name of the Virgin. They dug a grave near the banks of the stream and buried him as he had requested. There in a lonely wilderness the peaceful soul of Marquette had at last found a rest, and his weary labors closed. His companions went on to the mission, where the news of his death caused great sorrow, for he was one beloved by all. Three years after his burial, the Ottawas, hunting in the vicinity of his grave, determined to carry his bones to the mission at their home, in accor- dance with an ancient custom of their tribe. Hav- ing opened the grave, at whose head a cross had been planted, they carefully removed the bones and "V HISTORY OF OHIO. '-^ cleaning them, a l'an(>ral procession of thirty canoes bore them to the jMaokinuw Mission, singing the songs he had taught them. At the shores of the mission the bones were received by the priests, and, with great ceremony, buried under the floor of the rude chapeL While Marquette and Joliet were exploring the head-waters of" the " Great lliver," another man, foarless in purpose, pious in heart, and loyal to his country, was living in Canada and watching the operations of his fellow countrymen with keen eyes. When the French first saw the in- hospitalile shores of the St. Lawrence, in 1535, under the lead of Jacques Cartier, and had opened a new country to their crown, men were not lacking to farther extend the discovery. In 1608, Champlain came, and at the foot of a cliff on that river founded Quebec. Seven years after, he brought four Eecollet monks ; and through them and the Jesuits the discoveries already narrated occurred. Champlain died in 1635, one hundred years after Cartier's first visit, but not until ho had explored the northern lakes as far as Lake Huron, on whose rocky shores he, as the progenitor of a mighty race to follow, set his feet. He, with others, held to the idea that somewhere across the country, a river highway extended to the Western ocean. The reports from the missions whose history has been given aided this belief; and not until Marquette and Joliet returned was the delu- sion in any way dispelled. Before this was done, however, the man to whom reference has been made, Robert Cavalier, better known as La Salle, had endeavored to solve the mystery, and, while living on his grant of land eight miles above Montreal, had indeed effected important discoveries. La Salle, the next actor in the field of explor- ation after Champlain, was born in 1643. His father's family was among the old and wealthy burghers of Rouen, France, and its members were frequently entrusted with important govern- mental positions. He early exhibited such traits of character as to mark him among his associates. Coming from a wealthy family, he enjoyed all the advantages of his day, and received, for the times, an excellent education. He was a Catholic, though his subsequent life does not prove him to have been a religious enthusiast. From some cause, he joined the Order of Loyola, but tlie cir- cumscribed sphere of action set for him in the order illy concurred with his independent dis- position, and led to his separation from it. This was effected, however, in a good spirit, as they considered him fit for a different field of action than any presented by the order. Having a brother in Canada, a member of the order of St. Sulpice, ho determined to join him. By his connection with the Jesuits he had lost his share of his father's estate, but, by some means, on his death, which occurred about this time, he was given a small share; and with this, in 1666, he arrived in Montreal. All Canada was alive with the n3ws of the explorations; and La Salle's mind, actively grasping the ideas he afterward carried out, began to mature plans for their perfection. At Montreal he found a semi- nary of priests of the St. Sulpice Order who were encouraging settlers by gxants of land on easy terms, hoping to establish a barrier of settlements between themselves and the Indians, made ene- mies to the French by Champlain's actions when founding Quebec. The Superior of the seminary, barning of LaSalle's arrival, gratuitously offered him a grant of land on the St. Lawrence, eight miles above Montreal. The grant, though danger- ously near the hostile Indians, was accepted, and La Salle soon enjoyed an excellent trade in furs. While employed in developing his claim, he learned of the great unknown route, and burned with a desire to solve its existence. He applied himself closely to the study of Indian dialects, and in three years is said to have made great progress in their language. While on his farm his thoughts often turned to the unknown land away to the west, and, like all men of his day, he desired to explore the route to the Western sea, and thence obtain an easy trade with China and Japan. The " Great River, which flowed to the sea," must, thought they, find an outlet in the Gulf of California. While musing on these things, Marquette and Joliet were preparing to descend the Wisconsin; and La Salle himself learned from a wandering band of Senecas that a river, called the Ohio, arose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a distance that it would require eight months to reach its mouth. This must be the Great River, or a part of it: for all geographers of the day considered the Mississippi and its tributary as one stream. Plac- ing great confidence on this hypothesis, La Salle repaired to Quebec to obtain the sanction of Gov. Courcelles. His plausible statements soon won him the Governor and M. Talon, and letters patent were issued granting the exploration. No pecuniary aid was offered, and La Salle, hav- ing expended all his means in improving his ^'i . f^ ^1 26 IIISTOEY OF OHIO. estate, was obliged to sell it to procure the necessary outfit. The Superior of the seminary being favorably disposed toward him, purchased the greater part of his improvement, and realiz- ing 2,800 livres, he purchased four canoes and the necessary supplies for the expedition. The semi- nary was, at the same time, preparing for a similar exploration. The priests of this order, emulating the Jesuits, had established missions on the north- ern shore of Lake Ontario. Hearing of populous tribes still further west, they resolved to attempt their conversion, and deputized two of their number for the purpose. On going to Quebec to procure the necessary supplies, they were advised of La Salle's expedition down the Ohio, and resolved to unite themselves with it. La Salle did not alto- gether favor their attempt, as he believed the Jesuits already had the field, and would not care to have any aid from a rival order. His dispo- sition also would not well brook the part they assumed, of asking him to be a co-laborer rather than a leader. However, the expeditions, merged into one body, left the mission on the St. Law- rence on the 6th of July, 1669, in seven canoes. The party numbered twenty-four persons, who were accompanied by two canoes filled with Indians who had visited La Salle, and who now acted as guides. Their guides led them up the St. Lawrence, over the expanse of Lake Ontario, to their village on the banks of the Genesee, where they expected to find guides to lead them on to the Ohio. As La Salle only partially under- stood their language, he was compelled to confer with them by means of a Jesuit stationed at the village. The Indians refused to furnish him the expected aid, and even burned before his eyes a prisoner, the only one who could give him any knowledge he desired. Ho surmised the Jesuits were at the bottom of the matter, fearful lest the disciples of St. Sulpice should gain a foothold in the west. He lingered here a month, with the hope of accomplishing his object, when, by chance, there came by an Irofjuois Indian, who assured them that at his colony, near the head of the lake, they could find guides ; and offered to conduct them thither. Coming along the southern shore of the lake, they passed, at its western extremity, the mouth of the Niagara River, where they heard for (he first time the thunder of the midity cata- ract between the two lakes. At the village of the Iroquois they met a friendly reception, and wore informed by a Shawaneso prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks' time, and that he would guide them there. While preparing to commence the journey, they heard of the missions to the northwest, and the priests resolved to go there and convert the natives, and find the river by that route. It appears that Louis Joliet met them here, on his return from visiting the copper mines of Lake Superior, under command of M. Talon. He gave the priests a map of the country, and informed them that the Indians of those regions were in great need of spiritual advisers. This strengthened their intention, though warned by La Salle, that the Jesuits were undoubtedly there. The authority for Joliet's visit to them here is not clearly given, and may not be true, but the same letter which gives the account of the discovery of the Ohio at this time by La Salle, states it as a fact, and it is hence inserted. The missionaries and La Salle separated, the former to find, as he had predicted, the followers of Loyola already in the field, and not wanting their aid. Hence they return from a fruitless tour. La Salle, now left to himself and just recovering from a violent fever, went on his journey. From the paper from which these statements arc taken, it appears he went on to Onondaga, where he pro- cured guides to a tributary of the Ohio, down which he proceeded to the principal stream, on whose bosom he continued his way till he came to the falls at the present city of Louisville, Ky. It has been asserted that ho went on down to its mouth, but that is not well authenticated and is hardly true. The statement that he went as far as tlie falls is, doubtless, correct. He states, in a letter to Count Frontenac in 1677, that he discovered the Ohio, and that he descended it to the falls. JMoreover, Joliet, in a measure his rival, for he was now preparing to go to the northern lakes and from them search the river, made two maps repre- senting the lakes and the Blississippi, on both of which he states that La Salle had discovered the Ohio. Of its course beyond the fills, La Salle does not seem to have learned anything definite, hence his discovery did not in any way settle the threat (]u-siion, and cliciied but little comment. Still, it stimulated La Salle to more effort, and while musing on his plans, Joliet and Marquette push on ll-om Green Bay, and discover the river and ascertain the general course of its outlet. On Joliet's return in 1G73, he seems to drop from further notice. Other and more venturesome souls were ready to finish tlie work begun by himself and the zealous Blarquetto, who, left among the far-away nations, laid down his life. The spirit of 'A HISTORY OF OHIO. 29 La Salle was equal to the enterprise, and as he now had returned from one voyage iif discovery, lie stood ready to solve the mystery, and gain the country for his King. Before this could be ac- complished, however, ho saw other things must be done, and made preparations on a scale, for the time, truly marvelous. Count Frontenac, the now Governor, had no sooner established himself in power than ho gave a searching glance over the new realm to see if any undeveloped resources lay yet unnoticed, and what country yet remained open. He learned from the exploits of La Salle on the Ohio, and irom Joliet, now returned from the West, of that immense country, and resolving in his mind on some plan whereby it could be formally taken, entered heartily into the plans of La Salle, who, anxious to solve the mystery concerning the outlet of the Great River, gave him the outline of a plan, saga- cious in its conception and grand in its compre- hension. La Salle had also informed him of the endeavors of the English on the Atlantic coast to divert the trade with the Indians, and partly to counteract this, were the plans of La Salle adopted. They were, briefly, to build a chain of forts from Canada, or New France, along the lakes to the Blississippi, and on down that river, thereby hold- ing the country by power as well as by discovery. A fort was to be built on the Ohio as soon as the means could be obtained, and thereby hold that country by the same policy. Thus to La Salle alone may be ascribed the bold plan of gaining the whole West, a plan only thwarted by the force of arms. Through the aid of Frontenac, he - was given a proprietary and the rank of nobility, and on his proprietary was erected a fort, which he, in honor of his Governor, called Fort Frontenac. It stood on the site of the present city of Kingston, Canada. Through it he obtained the trade of the Five Nations, and his fortune was so far assured. He next repaired to France, to perfect his arrange- ments, secure his title and obtain means. On his return he built the fort alluded to, and prepared to go on in the prosecution of his plan. A civil- discord arose, however, which for three years prevailed, and seriously threatened his projects. As soon as he could extricate himself, he again repaired to France, receiving additional encouragement in money, grants, and the exclusive privilege of a trade in buffalo skins, then consid- ered a source of great wealth. On his return, he was accompanied by Henry Tonti, son of an illus- trious Italian nobleman, who had fled from his own country during one of its political revolutior-s. Coming to Franco, he made himself famous as the founder of Tontine Life Insurance. Henry Tonti possessed an indomitable will, and though he had sufierod the loss of one of his hands by the ex- plosion of a grenade in one of the Sicilian wars, his courage was undaunted, and his ardor un- dimmed. La Salle also brought recruits, mechanics, sailors, cordage and sails ibr rigging a ship, and merchandise for traffic with the natives. At Montreal, he secured the services of M. LaMotte, a person of much energy and integrity of character. He also secured several missionaries before he reached Fort Frontenac. Among them were Louis Hennepin, Gabriel Ribourde and Zenabe Membre. All these were Flemings, all Recollets. Hennepin, of all of them, proved the best assist- ant. They arrived at the fort early in the autumn of 1G78, and preparations were at once made to erect a vessel in which to navigate the lakes, and a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River. The Senecas were rather adverse to the latter proposals when La Motte and Hennepin came, but by the eloquence of the latter, they were pacified and rendered friendly. After a number of vexa- tious delays, the vessel, the Griffin, the first on the lakes, was built, and on the 7th of August, a year after La Salle came here, it was launched, passed over the waters of the northern lakes, and, afler a tempestuous voyage, landed at Green Bay. It was soon after stored with furs and sent back, while La Salle and his men awaited its return. It was never afterward heard of La Salle, becoming impatient, erected a fort, pushed on with a part of his men, leaving part at the fort, and passed over the St. Joseph and Kankakee Rivers, and thence to the Illinois, down whose flood they proceeded to Peoria Lake, where he was obliged to halt, and return to Canada for more men and supplies. He left Tonti and several men to complete a fort, called Fort " Crevecoeur " — broken-hearted. The Indians drove the French away, the men mutinied, and Tonti was obliged to flee. When La Salle returned, he found no one there, and going down as far as the mouth of the Illinois, he retraced his steps, to find some trace of his garrison. Tonti was found safe among the Pottawatomics at Green Bay, and Hennepin and his two followers, sent to explore the head-waters of the Mississippi, were again home, after a captivity among the Sioux. La Salle renewed his force of men, and the third time set out for the outlet of the Great River. IV Al -^ 30 HISTORY OF OHIO. He left Canada early in December, 1G81, and by February G, 1682, reached tlie majestic jflood of the mighty stream. On the 24th, they ascended the ChickasaAV Bluffs, and, while waiting to find a sailor who had strayed away, erected Fort Prud- homme. They passed several Indian villages fur- ther down the river, in some of which they met with no little opposition. Proceeding onward, ere- long they encountered the tide of the sea, and April C, they emerged on the broad bosom of the Gulf, "tossing its restless billows, limitless, voice- less and lonely as when born of chaos, without a sign of life." Coasting about a short time on the shores of the Gulf, the party returned until a sufficiently dry place was reached to efi'ect a landing. Hero another cross was raised, also a column, on which was inscribed these words: " Louis le Grand, Eoi pf. FnANCE et de Kavaeee, Regne; Le Neuvie.iie, Aviui,, lljsii." * "The whole party," says a "prooes verbal," in the archives of France, " chanted the 7(3 Demn, the Exauiliat and the Domine sulviim fuc Jifffcm, and then after a salute of fire-arms and cries of Vive le Roi, La Salle, standing near the column, said in a loud voice in French : "In the name of the most high, mighty, invin- cible and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God, King of France and of Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, this ninth day of April, one thousand six hundred and eighty two, I, in virtue of the commission of His Majesty, which I hold in my hand, and which may be seen by all whom it may concern, have taken, and do now take, in the name of His Majesty and of his suc- cessors to the Clown, posses;^ion of this country of Louisiana, the seas, harbor, ports, bays, adjacent straights, and all the nations, people, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams and rivers, comjOTscd in the extent of said Louisiana, from the north of the great river St. Louis, other- wise called the Ohio, Alighin, Sipore or Chukago- na, and this with the consent of the Chavunons, Chlokachaws, and other people dwelling therein, with whom we have made alliance; as also along the river Colbert or Mississippi, and rivers which discharge themselves therein from its source beyond the Kious or Nadouessious, and this with their consent, and with the consent of the Illinois, Mes- igameas, Natchez, Koreas, which are the most con- siderable nations dweUin'j; therein, with whom also '■■ Lrmia tho Grrat, Kinj ninth Uuj ci' Apiil, lOt.2. of Franco and of Navarre, reigning Ibo we have made alhance, cither by ourselves or others in our behalf, as far as its mouth at the sea or Gulf of IMexico, about the twenty-seventh degree of its elevation of the North Pole, and also to the mouth of the River of Palms; upon the assurance which we have received from all these nations that we are the first Europeans who have descended or ascended the river Colbert, hereby protesting against all those who may in future undertake to invade any or all of these countries, peoples or lands, to the prejudice of the right of His Majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations herein named." The whole assembly responded with shouts and the salutes of fire-arms. The Sieur de La Salle caused to be planted at the foot of the column a plate of lead, on one side of which was inscribed tho arms of Franco and the following Latin inscrip- tion: Robertvs Cavellier, cvm Domino de Tonly, Legato, R. r. Zenobi Membro, ReeoUecto, et, Vigiiiti Gallis I'rimos Hoc Flvmen inde ab ilineorvm Pago, enavigavit, cjvsqve ostivm fecit Pervivvm, nono Aprilis cio ioc Lxxxn. Tho whole proceedings were acknowledged be- fore La IMetaire, a notary, and the conquest was considered complete. Thus was the foundation of France laid in tho new republic, and thus did she lay claim to the Northwest, which now includes Ohio, and the county, whose history this book perpetuates. La Salle and his party returned to Canada soon after, and again that country, and France itself, rang with anthems of exultation. He went on to France, where he received tho highest honors. He was given a fleet, and sailors as well as colon- ists to return to tho New World bywa3'-of a south- ern voyage, expecting to find the mouth of the Mis.si,ssippi by an ocean course. Sailing past the outlets, ho was wrecked on the coast of Texas, and in his vain endeavors to find tho river or return to Cunada, he became lost on the plains of Arkansas, where he, in 1G87, was basely murdered by one of his followers. " You arc dovrn now. Grand Bashaw." exclaimed hisslayer, and despoiling his remains, they left them to be devoured by wild beasts. T. i such an ignominious end came this 'daring, bold adven- turer. Alone in tho wilderness, he was left, with no monument but the vast realm he had discov- ered, on who^e bosom he was left without cover- ing and without protection. " For force of will and vast conception ; for va- rious knowledge, and quick adaptation of his genius ft f\j l^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 31 to vmtried circumstauccb; for a sublime magnavii- mity, that resigned itself to the -will of Heaven, and yet triumphed over alBiction by energy of purpose and unfaltering hope — he had no superior among his countrymen. He had won the affec- tions oi' the governor of Canada, the esteem of Colbert, the confidence of Seignelay, the favor of Louis XIV. After the beginning of the coloniza- tion of Upper Canada, ho perfected the discovery of the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to its mouth ; and he will be remembered through all time as the father of colonization in the great central valley of the West."* Avarice, passion and jealousy were not calmed by the blood of La Salle. All of his conspirators per- ished by ignoble deaths, while only seven of the six- teen succeeded in continuing the journey until they reached Canada, and thence found their way to France. Tonti, who had been lefl at Fort St. Louis, on "Starved Rock" on the Illinois, wont down in search of his beloved commander. Failing to find him, he returned and remained here until 1700, thousands of miles away from friends. Then he went down the Mississippi to join D'Iberville, who had made the discovery of the mouth of the Mis- sissippi by an ocean voyage. Two years later, he went on a mission to the Chiokasaws, but of his subsequent history nothing is known. The West was now in possession of the French. La Salle's plans were yet feasible. The period of e-^ploration was now over. The great river and its outlet was known, and it only remained for that nation to enter in and occupy what to many a Frenchman was the " Promised Land." Only eighteen years had elapsed since Marquette and Joliet had descended the river and shown the course of its outlet. A spirit, less bold than La Salle's would never in so short a time have pene- trated for more than a thousand miles an unknown wilderness, and solved the mystery of the world. When Joutel and his companions reached Fri'nce in 1(j33, all Europe was on the eve of war. Otiier nations than the French wanted part of the New World, and when they saw that nation greedily and rapidly aecumuuiting territory there, they en- deavored to stay its progress. The league of Augs- burg was formed in 1G87 by the princes of the Em- pire to restrain the ambition of Louis XIV, and in 1G88, he began hostilities by the capture of Philip.sburg. The next year, England, under the lead of William III, joined the alliance, and Louis found himself compelled, with only the aid of the Turks, to contend against the united forces of the Empires of England, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Yet the tide of battle wa- vered. In IGSO, the French were defeated at Walcourt, and the Turks at Widin ; but in I GOO, the French were victorious at Charleroy, and the Turks at Belgrade. The next year, and also the next, victory inclined to the French, but in 1G93, Louvois and Luxcmberg were dead and Namur surrendered to (he allies. The war extended to the New World, where it was maintained with more than equal success by the French, though the En- glish population exceeded it more than twenty to one. In IGSy, the French were estimated at about twelve thousand souls in North America, while the English were more than two hundred thousand. At first the war was prosecuted vigorously. In 1G89, De. Ste. Helene and D'Iberville, two of the sons of Charles le Morne, crossed the wilderness and reduced the English forts on Hudson's Bay. But in August of the same year, the Iroquois, the hereditary foes of the French, captured and burned Montreal. Frontenac, who had gone on an ex- pedition against New York by sea, was recalled. Fort Frontenac was abandoned, and no French posts left in the West between Trois Iliviercs and Jlackinaw, and were it not for the Jesuits the en- tiro West would now have been abandoned. To recover their influence, the French planned three expeditions. One resulted in the destruction of Schenectady, another, Salmon Falls, and the third, Casco Bay. On the other hand, Nova Scotia was reduced by the colonics, and an expedition against Montreal went as far as to Lake Champlain, where it failed, owing to the dissensions of the leaders. Another expedition, consisting of twenty-four ves- sels, arrived before Quebec, which also failed through the incompetency of Sir William Phipps. During the succeeding years, various border con- flicts occurred, in all of which border scenes of savage cruelty and savage ferocity were enacted. The peace of Pi,yswiek, in 1697, closed the war. France retained Hudson's Bay, and all the places of which she was in possession in 1G88; but the boundaries of the English and French claims in the New World were still unsettled. The conclusion of the conflict left the French at liberty to pursue their scheme of colonizaliim in the Mississippi Valley. In 1098, D'Iberville was sent to the lower province, which, erelong, was made a separate independency, called Louisiana. r 'A HISTORY OF OHIO. Forts ■ffcro erected on IMobilo Bay, and the division of the territory between tlie French and the Spaniards was settled. Trouble existed between the French and the Chickasaws, ending in the cruel deaths of many of the leaders, in the fruitless endeavors of the Canadian and Louisi- anian forces combining against the Chiokasaws. For many years the conflict raged, with unequal successes, until the Indian power gave way before superior military tactics. In the end. New Orleans was founded, in 1718, and the French power secured. Before this was consummated, however, France became entangled in another war against the allied powers, ending in her defeat and the loss of Nova Scotia, Hudson's Bay and Newfound- land. The peace of Utrecht closed the war in 1713. The French, weary with prolonged strife, adopted the plan, more peaceful in its nature, of giving out to distinguished men the monopoly of certain districts in the fur trade, the most pros- perous of any avocation then. Crozat and Cadillac — the latter the founder of Detroit, in 1701 — were the chief ones concerned in this. The founding of the villages of Kaskaskia, Ca- hokia, Vincennes, and others in the Mississippi and Wabash Valleys, led to the rapid develop- ment, according to the French custom of all these parts of the West, while along all the chief water-courses, other trading posts and forts were established, rapidly fulfilling the hopes of La Salle, broached so many years before. The French had, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, four principal routes to their western towns, two of which passed over the soil of Ohio. The first of these was the one followed by Marquette and Joliet, by way of the Lakes to Green Bay, in Wisconsin; thence across a portage to the Wisconsin River, down which they floated to the ]\Iississippi. On their return they came up the Illinois River, to the site of Chicago, whence -loliet returned to Quebec by the Lakes. La Salle's route was first by the Lakes to the St. Joseph's River, which he followed to the portage to the Kankakee, and thence downward to the Mississippi. On his second and third attempt, he crossed the lower peninsula of IMichigan to the Kankakee, and again traversed its waters to the Illinois. The third route was established about 1716. It followed the southern shores of Lake Eric to the mouth of the Maumee River; following this stream, the voyagers went on to the junction between it and the St. Mary's, which they followed to the " Oubache " — Wabash — and then to the French villages in Vigo and Knox Counties, in Indiana. Vincennes was the oldest and most important one here. It had been founded in 1702 by a French trader, and was, at the date of the establishment of the third route, in a prosperous condition. For many years, the traders crossed the plains of Southern Illinois to the French towns on the bottoms opposite St. Louis. They were afraid to go on down the "Waba" to the Ohio, as the Indians had fright- ened them with accounts of the great monsters below. Finally, some adventurous spirit went down the river, found it emptied into the Ohio, and solved the problem of the true outlet of the Ohio, heretofore supposed to be a tributary of the Wabash. The fourth route was from the southern shore of Lake Erie, at Presqueville, over a portage of fifteen miles to the head of French Creek, at Waterford, Penn.; thence down that stream to the Ohio, and on to tho Mississippi. Along all these routes, ports and posts were carefully maintained. Many were on the soil of Ohio, and were the first attempts of the white race to possess its domain. jMany of the ruins of these posts are yet found on the southern shore of Lake Erie, and at the outlets of .streams flowing into the lake and the Ohio River. The principal torts were at Mackinaw, at Presqueville, at the mouth of the St. Joseph's, on Starved Rock, and along tho Father of Waters. Yet another power was encroaching on them : a sturdy race, clinging to the inhospitable Atlantic shores, were coming over the mountains. The murmurs of a conflict were already heard — a con- flict that would change the fate of a nation. The French were extending their explorations beyond the Mississippi; they were also ibrming a political organization, and increasing their influence over the natives. Of a passive nature, however, their power and their influence could not with- stand a more aggressive nature, and they were obliged, finally, to give way. They had the fruitful valleys of the West more than' a century; yet they developed no resources, opened no mines of wealth, and left the country as passive as they found it. Of the growth of the West under French rule, but little else remains to be said. The sturdy Anglo-Saxon race on the Atlantic coast, and their progenitors in England, began, now, to turn their attention to this vast country. The voluptuousness — e) ^ HISTORY OF OHIO. ^^ of the Frencli court, their neglect of the true hasis of weaUh, agriculture, and the repressive tendencies laid on the colonists, led the latter to adopt a hunter's life, and leave the country unde- veloped and ready for the people who claimed the country from "sea to sea." Their explorers were now at work. The change was at hand. Occasional mention has been made in the his- tory of the State, in preceding pages, of settle- ments and trading-posts of the Frencli traders, explorers and missionaries, within the limits of Ohio. The French were the first white men to occupy the northwestern part of the New World, and though their stay was brief, yet it opened the way to a sinewy race, living on the shores of the Atlantic, who in tima came, saw, and conquered that part of America, making it what the people of to-day enjoy. As early as 1669, four years before the discov- ery of the Mississippi by Joliet and Blarquette, La Salle, the famous explorer, discovered the Ohio River, and paddled down its gentle current as far as the falls at the present city of Louisville, but he, like others of the day, made no settlement on its banks, only claiming the country for his King by virliue of this discovery. Early in the beginning of the eighteenth cent- ury, French traders and voyagers passed along the southern shores of Lake Erie, to the mouth of the Maumee, up whose waters they rowed their bark canoes, on their way to their outposts in the Wa- bash and Illinois Valleys, established between 1675 and 1700. As soon as they could, without danger from their inveterate enemies, the Iroquois, masters of all the lower lake country, erect a trading-post at the mouth of this river, they did so. It was made a depot of considerable note, and was, probably, the first permanent habitation of white men in Ohio. It remained until after the peace of 1763, the termination of the French and Indian war, and the occupancy of this country by the English. On the site of the French trading- post, the British, in 179'4, erected Fort Miami, which they garrisoned until the country came under the control of Americans. Now, Maumee City covers the ground. The French had a trading-post at the mouth of the Huron River, in what is now Erie County. When it was built is not now known. It was, how- ever, probably one of their early outposts, and may have been built before 1750. They had an- other on the shore of the bay, on or near the site of Sandusky City. Both this and the one at the mouth of the Huron River were abandoned before the war of the Revolution. On Lewis Evan's map of the British Middle Colonies, published in 1755, a French fort, called " Fort Junandat, built in 1754," is marked on the east bank of the San- dusky River, several miles below its mouth. Fort Sandusky, on the western bank, is also noted. Several SVyandot towns are likewise marked. But very little is known concerning any of these trading-posts. They were, evidently, only tempo- rary, and were abandoned when the English came into possession of the country. The mouth of the Cuyahoga River was another important place. On Evan's map there is marked on the west bank of the Cuyahoga, some distance from its mouth, the words '■^French House" doubt- less, the station of a French trader. The ruins of a house, found about five miles from the mouth of the river, on the west bank, are supposed to be those of the trader's station. In 1786, the Moravian missionary, Zeisberger, with his Indian converts, left Detroit in a vessel called the Mackinaw, and sailed to the mouth of the Cuyahoga. From there they went up the river about ten miles, and settled in an abandoned Ottawa village, where Independence now is, which place they called " Saint's Rest." Their stay was brief, for the following April, they left for the Huron River, and settled near the site of Milan, Erie County, at a locality they called New Salem. There are but few records of settlements made by the French until after 1750. Even these can hardly be called settlements, as they were simply trading-posts. The French easily affiliated with the Indians, and had little energy beyond trading. They never cultivated fields, laid low forests, and subjugated the country. They were a half-Indian race, so to speak, and hence did little if anything in developing the West. About 1749, some English traders came to a place in what is now Shelby County, on the banks of a creek since known as Loramie's Creek, and established a trading-station with the Indians. This was the first English trading-place or attempt at settlement in the State. It was here but a short time, however, when the French, heai'- ing of its existence, sent a pariy of soldiers to the Twigtwees, among whom it was founded, and de- manded the traders as intruders upon French ter- ritory. The Twigtwees refusing to deliver up their friends, the French, assisted by a large party of Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked the trading- house, probably a block-house, and, after a severe T l^ HISTORY OF OHIO. battle, captured it. The traders were taken to Canada. This fort was called by the English " Pickawillany," from which " Piqua" is probably derived. About the time that Kentucky was set- tled, a Canadian Frenchman, named Loramie, established a store on the site of the old fort. Ho was a bitter enemy of the Americans, and for a long time Loramie's store was the headquarters of mischief toward the settlers. The French had the faculty of endearing them- selves to the Indians by their easy assimilation of their habits; and, no doubt, Loramio was equal to any in this respect, and hence gained great influ- ence over them. Col. Johnston, many years an Indian Agent from the United States among the Western tribes, stated that he had often seen the " Indians burst into tears 'when speaking of the times when their French father had dominion over them ; and their attachment always remained unabated." So much influence had Loramie with the In- dians, that, when Gen. Clarke, from Kentucky, invaded the Miami Valley in 1TS2, his attention was attracted to the spot. He came on and burnt the Indian settlement here, and destroyed the store of the Frenchman, soiling his goods among the mon at auction. Loramie fled to the Shawanees, and, with a colony of that nation, emigrated west of the Mississippi, to the Spanish posseissions, whore ho again bsgan his life of a trader. In 1794, during the Indian war, a fort was built on the site of the store by Wayne, and named Fort Loramio. The last ofiiccr who had command here was Capt. Butler, a nephew of Col. Richard Butler, who fell at St. Clair's defeat. While hero with his family, he lost an interesting boy, about eight years of age. About his grave, the sorrowing fxther and mother built a substantial picket-fence, planted honeysuckles over it, which, long after, remained to mark the grave of the soldier's boy. The site of Fort Loramie was always an im- portant point, and was one of the places defined on the boundary line at the Greenville treaty. Now a barn covers the spot. At the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers, on the site of Fort Defiance, built by Gen. Wayne in 1794, was a settlement of traders, established some time before the Indian war began. "On the high ground extending from the Maumee a quarter of a mile up the Auglaize, about two hundred yards in Avidth, was an open sjjace, on the west and south of which were oak woods, with hazel undergrowth. Within this opening, a few hundred yards above the point, on the steep bank of the Auglaize, were five or six cabins and log houses, inhabited principally by Indian tradei^. The most northerly, a large hewed-log house, divided below into three apart- ments, was occupied as a warehouse, store and dwelling, by George Ironside, the most wealthy and influential of the traders on the point. Next to his were the houses of Pirault (Pero) a French baker, and McKenzie, a Scot, who, in addition to merchandising, followed the occupation of a silver- smith, exchanging with the Indians his brooches, ear-drops and other silver ornaments, at an enormous profit, for skins and furs. Still further up were several other fami- lies of French and English; and two Ameri- can prisoners, Henry Ball, a soldier taken in St. Clair's defeat, and his wife, Polly Meadows, captured at the same time, were allowed to live here and pay their masters the price of their ransom — ^he, by boating to the rapids of the Mau- mee, and she by washing and sewing. Fronting the house of Ironside, and about fifty yards from the bank, was a small stockade, inclosing two hewed-log houses, one of which was occupied by James Girty (a brother of Simon), the other, occasionally, by Elliott and McKee, British Indian Agents living at Detroit."* The post, cabins and all they contained fell under the control of the Americans, when the British evacuated the shores of the lakes. ^Vhile they existed, they were an undoubted source of Indian discontent, and had much to do in prolonging the Indian war. The country hereabouts did not settle until some time after the creation of the State government. As soon as the French learned the true source of the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, both were made a highway to convey the products of their hunt- ers. In coursing down the Ohio, they made trading-places, or depots, where they could obtain furs of the Indians, at accessible points, generally at the mouths of the rivers emjjtying into the Ohio. One of these old forts or trading-places stood about a mile and a, half south of the outlet of the Scioto. It was here in 1 7-40 ; but when it was erected no one could tell. The locality must have been pretty well known to the whites, however; for, in 1785, three years before the settlement of Marietta was made, four families *Narrati7o of 0. M. Spencer. ■^ .^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 85 made an ineflfectual attempt to settle near the same place. They were from Kentucky, but were driven away by the Indians a short time after they arrived, not being allowed to build cabins, and had only made preparations to plant corn and other necessaries of life. While the men were encamped near the vicinity of Pikctown, in Pike County, when on a bunting expedition, they were surprised by the Indians, and two of them slain. The others hastened back to the encampment at the mouth of the Scioto, and hurriedly gathering the families together, fortu- nately got them on a flat-boat, at that hour on its way down the river. By the aid of the boat, they were enabled to reach Maysville, and gave up the attempt to settle north of the Ohio. The famous "old Scioto Salt Works," in Jack- son County, on the banks of Salt Creek, a tributary of the Scioto, were long known to the whites before any attempt was made to settle in Ohio. They were indicated on the maps published in 1755. They were the resort, for generations, of the In- dians in all parts of the West, who annually came here to make salt. They often brought white prisoners with them, and thus the salt works be- came known. There were no attempts made to settle here, however, until after the Indian war, which closed in 1795. As soon as peace was as- sured, the whites came here for salt, and soon after made a settlement. Another early salt spring was in what is now Trumbull County. It is also noted on Evan's map of 1755. They were occu- pied by the Indians, French, and by the Americans as early as 1780, and perhaps earher. As early as 1761 Moravian missionaries came among the Ohio Indians and began their labors. In a few years, under the lead of Kevs. Fredrick Post and John Heckewelder, permanent stations were established in several parts of the State, chief- ly on the Tuscarawas Pdvev in Tuscarawas County. Here were the three Indian villages — Shoenburn, Gnadenhutten and Salem. The site of the first is about two miles south of New Philadelphia ; Gna- denhutten was seven miles further south, and about five miles still on was Salem, a short distance from the present village of Port Washington. The first and last named of these villages were on the west side of the Tuscarawas Eiver, near the margin of the Ohio Canal. Gnadenhutten was on tlie east side of the river. It was here that the brutal massacre of these Christian Indians, by the rangers under Col. Williamson, occurred March 8, 1782. The account of the massacre and of these tribes appears in these pages, and it only remains to notice what became of them. The hospitable and friendly character of these Indians had extended beyond their white breth- ren on the Ohio. The American people at large looked on the act of Williamson and his men as an outrage on humanity. Congress felt its influence, and gave them a tract of twelve thousand acres, embracing their former homes, and induced them to return from the northern towns whither they had fled. As the whites came into the country, their manners degenerated until it became necessary to remove them. Through Gen. Cass, of Michigan, an agreement was made with them, whereby Con- gress paid them over $0,000, an annuity of 8400, and 24,000 acres in some territory to be designated by the United States. This treaty, by some means, was never efibctually carried out, and the princi- pal part of them took up their residence near a Moravian missionary station on the River Thames, in Canada. Their old churchyard still exists on the Tuscarawas Piiver, and here rest the bones of several of their devoted teachers. It is proper to remark here, that Mary Heckewelder, daughter of the missionary, is generally believed to have been the first white child born in Ohio. How- ever, this is largely conjecture. Captive women among the Indians, before the birth of Mary Heckewelder, arc known to have borne children, which afterward, with their mothers, were restored to their friends. The aFsertion that Mary Heckewelder was the first child born in Ohio, is therefore incorrect. She is the first of whom any definite record is made. These outposts are about all that are known to have existed prior to the settlement at IMari- etta. About one-half mile below Bolivar, on the western line of Tuscarawas County, are the remains of Fort Laurens, erected in 1778, by a detachment of 1,000 men under Gen. Mc- intosh, from Fort Pitt. It was, however, occu- pied but a short time, vacated in August, 1779, as it was deemed untenable at such a distance from the frontier. During the existence of the six years' Indian war, a settlement of French emigrants was made on the Ohio River, that deserves notice. It illus- trates very clearly the extreme ignorance and credulity prevalent at that day. In May or June of 1788, Joel Barlow left this country for Europe, " authorized to dispose of a very large body of land in the West. " In 1790, he distributed pro- posals in Paris for the disposal of lands at five -^ 8G HISTORY OF OHIO. shillings per aero, wliicL, says Volney, " promised a climate healthy and delightful ; scarcely such a thing as a frost in the winter ; a river, called by way of eminence ' The Beautiful, ' abounding in fish of an enormous size ; magnificent forests of a tree from which sugar flows, and a shrub which yields candles ; venison in abundance ; no military enrollments, and no quarters to find for soldiers." Purchasers became numerous, individuals and whole families sold their property, and in the course of 1791 many embarked at the various French sea-ports, each with his title in his pocket. Five hundred settlers, amoug whom were many wood carvers and guilders to His Majesty, King of France, coachmakers, fi'iseurs and peruke makers, and other artisans and artistes, equally well fitted for a frontier life, arrived in the United States in 1791—92, and acting without concert, traveling without knowledge of the language, customs and roads, at last managed to reach the spot designated for their residence. There they learned they had been cruelly deceived, and that the titles they held were worthless. Without food, shelterless, and danger closing around them, they were in a position that none but a Frenchman could be in without despair. Who brought them thither, and who was to blame, is yet a disputed point. Some afiirm that those to whom large grants of land were made when the Ohio Company procured its charter, were the real instigators' of the movement. They failed to pay for their lands, and hence the title reverted to the Government. This, coming to the ears of the poor Frenchmen, rendered their situation more distressing. They never paid for their lands, and only through the clemency of Congress, who after- ward gave them a grant of land, and confirmed them in its title, were they enabled to secure a foot- hold. Whatever doubt there may be as to the causes of these people being so grossly deceived, there can be none regarding their sufferings. They had followed a jack-o-lantern into the howling wilderness, and must work or starve. The land upon which they had been located was covered with immense forest trees, to level which the coach- makers were at a loss. At last, hoping to conquer by a coup de main, they tied ropes to the branches, and while a dozen pulled at them as many fell at the trunk with all sorts of edged tools, and thus soon brought the monster to the earth. Yet he was a burden. He was down, to be sure, but as much in the way as ever. Several lopped off the branches, others dug an immense trench at his side, into which, with might and main, all rolled the large log, and then buried him from sight. They erected their cabins in a cluster, as they had seen them in their own native land, thus affording some protection from marauding bands of Indians. Though isolated here in the lonely wilderness, and nearly out of funds with which to purchase pro- visions from descending boats, yet once a week they met and drowned care in a merry dance, greatly to the wonderment of the scout or lone Indian who chanced to witness their revelry. Though their vivacity could work wonders, it would not pay for lands nor buy provisions. Some of those at Gallipolis (for such they called their settlement, from Gallia, in France) went to Detroit, some to Kaskaskia, and some bought land of the Ohio Company, who treated them liberally. Congress, too, in 1795, being informed of their suffering?, and how they had been deceived, granted them 24,000 acres opposite Little Sandy River, to which gTant, in 1798, 12,000 acres more were added. The tract has since been known as French Grant. The settlement is a curious episode in early West- ern history, and deserves a place in its annals. .^ HISTOEY OF OHIO. 37 ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS - CHAPTER III. -TRADERS— FBENC II AND INDIAN WAR IN THE WEST — ENGLISH POSSESSION. AS has been noted, the French title rested on the discoveries of their mis.sionaries and tradei-s, upon the occupation of the country, and upon the construction of the treaties of Ryswick, Utrecht and Aix la Chapelle. The Jinglish claims to the same region were based on the fact of a prior occupation of the corresponding coast, on an opposite construction of the same treaties, and an alleged cesbion of the rights of the Indians. The rights acquired by discovery were conventional, and in equity were good only between European powers, and could not affect the rights of the natives, but this distinction was dis- regarded by all European powers. The inquii-y of an Indian chief embodies the whole controversy: " Where are the Indian lands, since the French claim all on the north side of the Ohio and the English all on the south side of it?" The English charters expressly granted to all the original colonies the country westward to the South Sea, and the claims thus set up in the West, though held in abeyance, were never relinquished. The primary distinction between the two nations governed their actions in the New World, and led finally to the supremacy of the English. They were fixed agricultural communities. The French were mere trading-posts. Though the French were the prime movers in the exploration of the West, the English made discoveries during their occupation, however, mainly by their traders, who penetrated the Western wilderness by way of the Ohio Hiver, entering it from the two streams which uniting form that river. Daniel Coxio, in 1722, published, in London, "A description of the English province of Carolina, by the Spaniards called Florida, and by the French called La Louis- iane, as also the great and famous river Mescha- cebe, or Mississippi, the five vast navigable lakes of fresh water, and the parts adjacent, together with an account of the commodities of the growth and production of the said province." The title of this work exhibits very clearly the opinions of the English people respecting the West. As early as 1630, Charles I granted to Sir Robert Heath " All that part of America lying between thirty- one and thirty-six degrees north latitude, from sea to sea," out of which the limits of Carolina were afterward taken. This immense grant was con- veyed in 1638, to the Earl of Arundel, and after- ward came into the possession of Dr. Daniel Coxie. In the prosecution of this claim, it ajjpeared that Col. Wood, of A'irginia, from 1654 to 1664, ex- plored several branches of the Ohio and "Mescha- cebe," as they spell the Mississippi. A Blr. Need- ham, who was employed by Col. Wood, kept a journal of the exploration. There is also the ac- count of some one who had explored the Missis- sippi to the Yellow, or Missouri Eiver, before 1676. These, and others, are said to have been there when La Salle explored the outlet of the Great River, as he found tools among the natives which were of European manufacture. They had been brought here by English adventurers. Also, when Iberville was colonizing the lower part of Louis- iana, these same persons visited the Chiokasaws and stirred them up against the French. It is also stated that La Salle found that some one had been among the Natchez tribes when he returned from the discovery of the outlet of the Mississippi, and excited them against him. There is, however, no good authority for these statements, and they are doubtless incorrect. There is also an account that in 1678, several persons went from New England as far south as New Mexico, '' one hundred and fifty leagues beyond the Meschacebe," the narrative reads, and on their return wrote an account of the expedition. This, also, cannot be traced to good authority. The only accurate account of the English reaching the West was when Bienville met the British vessel at the "English Turn," about 1700. A few of their traders may have been in the valley west of the Alleghany Mount- ains before 1700, though no reliable accounts are now found to confirm these suppositions. Still, from the earliest occupation of the Atlantic Coast by the English, they claimed the country, and, though the policy of its occupation rested for a time, it was never fully abandoned. Its revival dates from 1710 properly, though no immediate endeavor was made for many years after. That :V '.^ 38 HISTORY OF OHIO. year, Alexander Spottswood was made Governor of Virginia. No sooner did ho assume the functions of ruler, than, casting his eye over his dominion, he saw the great West beyond the Alleghany Mount- ains unoccupied by the English, and rapidly filling with the French, who he observed were gradually confining the English to the Atlantic Coast. His prophetic eye saw at a glance the animus of the whole scheme, and he determined to act promptly on the defensive. Through his representation, the Virginia Assembly was induced to make an appro- priation to defray the expense of an exploration of the mountains, and see if a suitable pass could not then be found where they could be crossed. The Governor led the expedition in person. The pass was discovered, a route marked out for future em- igrants, and the party returned to Williamsburg. There the Governor established the order of the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe," presented his report to the Colonial Assembly and one to his King. In each report, he exposed with great bold- ness the scheme of the French, and advised the building of a chain of forts across to the Ohio, and the formation of settlements to counteract them. The British Government, engrossed with other matters, neglected his advice. Forty years after, they remembered it, only to regTet that it was so thoughtlessly disregarded. Individuals, however, profited by his advice. By 173Q, traders began in earnest to cross the mount- ains and gather from the Indians the stores beyond. They now began to adopt a system, and abandoned the heretofore renegade habits of those who had superseded them, many of whom never returned to the Atlantic Coast. In 1742, John Howard de- scended the Ohio in a skin canoe, and, on the Mississippi was taken prisoner by the French. His captivity did not in the least deter others from coming. Indeed, the date of his voyage was the commencement of a vigorous trade with the In- dians by the J'higlish, who crossed the AUeghanies by the route discovered by Gov. Spottswood. In 1748, Conrad Weiser, a German of Herenberg, who had acquired in early life a knowledge of the Mo- hawk tongue by a residence among them, was sent on an embas.sy to the Shawanees on the Ohio. He went as far as Logstown,a Shawanee village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles be- low the site of Pittsburgh. Here he met the chiefs in counsel, and secured their promise of aid against the French. The principal ground of the claims of the English in the Northwest was the treaty with the Five Nations — the Iroquois. This powerful confed- eration claimed the jurisdiction over an immense extent of country. Their policy differed considera- bly from other Indian tribes. They were the only confederation which attempted any form of gov- ernment in America. They were often termed the " Six Nations," as the entrance of another tribe into the confederacy made that number. They were the conquerors of nearly all tribes from Lower Canada, to and beyond the Mississippi. They only exacted, however, a tribute from the conquered tribes, leaving them to manage their own internal affairs, and stipulating that to them alone did the right of cession belong. Their country, under these claims, embraced all of America north of the Cherokee Nation, in Virginia; all Kentucky, and all the Northwest, save a district in Ohio and Indi- ana, and a small section in Southwestern Illinois, claimed by the Miami Confederacy. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, were the terror of all other tribes. It was they who devastated the Illinois country about Ptock Fort in 1680, and caused wide-spread alarm among all the Western Indians. In 1684, Lord Howard, Governor of Virginia, held a treaty with the Iroquois at Albany, when, at the request of Col. Duncan, of New York, they placed them- selves under the protection of the English. They made a deed of sale then, by treaty, to the British Government, of a vast tract of country south and east of the Illinois Kiver, and extending into Can- ada. In 172(3, another deed was di'awn up and signed by the chiefs of the national confederacy by which their lands were conveyed in trust to England, " to be protected and defended by His 3Iajesty, to and for the use of the gTantors and their heirs."* If the Six Nations had a good claim to the West- ern country, there is but little doubt but England was justified in defending their country against the French, as, by the treaty of Utrecht, they had agreed not to invade the lands of Britain's Indian allies. This claim was vigorously contested by France, as that country claimed the Iroquois had no lawful jurisdiction over the West. In all the disputes, the interests of the contending nations was, however, the paramount consideration. The rights of the Indians were little regarded. The British also purchased land by the treaty of Lancaster, in 1744, wherein they agreed to pay the Six Nations for land settled unlawfully in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. The In- * Annals of the West. ^- 1>£ HISTORY OF OHIO. 39 dians were given goods and gold amounting to near a thousand pounds sterling. They were also promised the protection of the English. Had this latter provision been faithfully carried out, much blood would have been saved in after years. The treaties with the Six Nations were the real basis of the claims of Great Britain to the West; claims that were only settled by war. The Shawaneo In- dians, on the Ohio, were also becoming hostile to the English, and began to assume a threatening exterior. Peter Chartier, a half-breed, residing in Philadelphia, escaped from the authorities, those by whom he was held for a violation of the laws, and joining the Shawanees, persuaded them to join the French. Soon after, in 1743 or 1744, he placed himself at the head of 400 of their war- riors, and lay in wait on the xVUeghany River for the provincial traders. He captured two; exhib- ited to them a captain's commission from the French, and seized their goods, worth £1,G00. The Indians, after this, emboldened by the aid given them by the French, became more and more hostile, and Weiser was again sent across the mount- ains in 1748, with presents to conciliate them and sound them on their feelings lor the rival nations, and also to see what they thought of a settlement of the English to be made in the West. The visit of Conrad Weiser was successful, and Thomas Lee, with twelve other Virginians, among whom were Lawrence and Augustine Washington, brothers of George Washington, formed a company which they styled the Ohio Company, and, in 1748, peti- tioned the King for a grant beyond the mountains. The monarch approved the petition and the gov- ernment of Virginia was ordered to grant the Com- pany 500,000 acres within the bounds of that colony beyond the AUeghanies, 200,000 of which were to bo located at once. This provision was to hold good for ten years, free of quit rent, provided the Company would settle 100 families within seven years, and build a fort sufficient for their protection. These terms the Company accepted, and sent at once to London for a cargo suitable for the Indian trade. This was the beginning of English Companies in the Wast; this one forming a prominent part in the history of Ohio, as v/ill be seen hereafter. Others were also formed in Virginia, whose object was the colonization of the West. One of these, the Loyal Company, received, on the 12th of June, 1749, a grant of 800,000 acres, from the line of Canada on the north and west, and on the 29th of October, 1751, the Green- briar Company received a grant of 100,000 acres. To these encroachments, the French were by no means blind. They saw plainly enough that if the Jinglish gained a foothold in the West, they would inevitably endeavor to obtain the country, and one day the issue could only be decided by war. Vaudreuil, the French Governor, had long anxiously watched the coming struggle. In 1774, he wrote home representing the consequences that would surely come, should the English succeed in their plans. The towns of the French in Illinois were producing large amounts of bread-stuffs and provisions which they sent to New Orleans. These provinces were becoming valuable, and must not be allowed to come under control of a rival pov/er. In 1749, Louis Celeron was sent by the Governor with a party of soldiers to plant leaden plates, suit- ably inscribed, along the Ohio at the mouths of the principal streams. Two of these plates were afterward exhumed. One was sent to the Jlary- land Historical Society, and the inscriptiop* deci- phered by De Witt Clinton. On these plates was clearly stated the claims of France, as will be seen from the translation below. England's claim, briefly and clearly stated, read as follows: "That all lands, or countries west- ward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea, between 48 and 34 degrees of North Latitude, were expressly included in the grant of King James the First, to divers of his subjects, so long time since as the year 1606, and afterwards con- firmed in the year 1620 ; and under this grant, the colony of Virginia claims extent so far west as the South Sea, and the ancient colonies of Mass- achusetts Bay and Connecticut, were by their respective charters, made to extend to the said South Sea, so that not only the right to the sea coast, but to all the Inland countries from sea to sea, has at all times been asserted by the Crown of England. "f To make good their titles, both nations were now doing their utmost. Professedly at peace, it only needed a torch applied, as it were, to any point, to instantly precipitate hostilities. The French were ■^Tlie following is fbo translation of tho inscr'plion of tho plato found at Verianfro; " In the ycac 11^0, reign of Louis XV, King of Frani-e, Mr, CekTon. commandant of ft dct.ichnu'iit by Monsieur the Marquis of GHllisoiiiere, Comniander-in-cliief of New France, to estaljliali tr.mquillity in certain Indian villages in these Cantons, have buried Ibis id tie at tlie confliionco of tjio Toraclakoin, this twenty-nintli ol .Inly, near the River Ohio, otherwise Beautilul River, .as a monument of renewal of possession whieh we have taken of the said river, and all its tributaries; and of all the land on both Bides, as tar a.; the snurcesof said rivers; inasmuch nstho [(recedinK KiFigs of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by tli'ir arms and hy treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle," 1 Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. J^l 40 HISTORY OF OHIO. busily engaged erecting forts from the southern shores of Lake Erie to the Ohio, and on down in the Illinois Valley ; up at Detroit, and at all its posts, preparations were constantly going on for the crisis, now sure to come. The issue between the two governments was now fully made up. It ad- mitted of no compromise but the sword. To that, however, neither power desired an immediate ap- peal, and both sought rather to establish and fortify their interests, and to conciliate the Indian tribes. The English, through the Ohio Company, sent out Christopher Gist in the fall of 1750, to explore the regions west of the mountains. He was instructed to examine the passes, trace the courses of the rivers, mark the falls, seek for valu;ible lands, ob- serve the strength, and to conciliate the friendship of the Indian tribes. He was well fitted for such an enterprise. Hardy, sagacious, bold, an adept in Indian character, a hunter by occupation, no man was better qualified than he for such an undertak- ing. He visited Logstown, where he was jealously received, passed over to the IMuskingum River and Valley in Ohio, where he found a village of Wyan- dots, divided in sentiment. At this village he mot Crogan, another equally famous frontiersman, who had boon sent out by Pennsylvania. Together they held a council with the chiefs, and received assurance of the friendship of the tribe. This done, they passed to the Shawnee towns on the Scioto, received their assurances of friendship, and went on to the Miami Valley, which they crossed, remarkhig in Crogan's journal of its great fertili- ty. They made a raft of logs on which they crossed the Great Miami, visited Piqua, the chief town of the Piekawillanies, and hero made treaties with the Woas and Piankeshaws. While here, a deputation of the Ottawas visited the Sliami Con- federacy to induce them to unite with the French. They were repulsed through the influence of the English agents, the iMiarnis sending Gist word that they would " stand like the mountains. " Crogan now returned and published an account of their wanderings. Gist followed the Miami to its mouth, passed down the Ohio till within fifteen miles of the falls, then returned by way of the Kentucky River, over the highlands of Kentucky to Virginia, arriving in May, 1751. He had visited the Mingoes, Delawares, Wyandots, Shawa- nees and Miamis, proposed a union among these tribes, and appointed a grand council to meet at Logstown to form an alliance among themselves and with Virginia. His journey was marvelous for the day. It was extremely hazardous, as he was part of the time among hostile tribes, who could have captured him and been well rewarded by the French Government. But Gist knew how to act, and was successful. While Gist was doing this, .some English traders established themselves at a place in what is now known as Shelby County, Ohio, and opened a store for the purpose of trading with the Indians. This was clearly in the limits of the West, claimed by the French, and at once aroused them to action. The fort orstockade stood on the banks of Loramie's Creek, about sixteen miles northwest of the jirescnt city of Sydney. It received the name Luramie from the creek by the French, which received its name in turn from the French trader of that name, who had a trading-post on this creek. Loramie had fled to the Spanish country west of the Mississippi, and for many years was a trader there ; his store being at the junc- tion of the Kansas and Blissouri, near the jiresent city of Kansas City, ]\Io. When the English traders came to Loramie's Creek, and erected their trading-place, they gave it the name of Pick- awillany, from the tribe of Indians there. The Miami confederacy granted them this privilege as the result of the presents broughtby Crogan and Gist. It is also asserted that Andrew Montour, a half-breed, son of a Seneca chief and the famous Catharine Montour, who was an important fac- tor afterward in the English treaties with the Indians, was with them, and by his influence did much to aid in securing the privilege. Thus was established the fiist English trading-post in the Northwest Territory and in Ohio. It, however, enjoyed only a short duration. The French could not endure so clear an invasion of their country, and gathering a force of Ottawas and Chippewas, now their allies, they attacked the stockade in June, 1752. At first they demanded of the Miamis the surrender of the fort, as they were the real cause of its location, having granted the English the privilege. The IMiamis not only refused, but aided the British in the defense. In the battle that ensued, fourteen of the Miamis were slain, and all the traders captured. One account says they wore burned, another, and probably the correct one, states that they were taken to Canada as prisoners of war. It is probable the traders were fi-om Penn- sylvania, as that commonwealth made the Miamis presents as condolence for their warriors that were slain. JBlood had now been shed. The opening gun of the French and Indian war had been fired, and both D ^ _k^ ^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 41 nations became more deeply interested in affairs in the ^Vest. The English were determined to secure additional title to the West, and, in 1752, sent Messrs. Frjr, Lomax and Patton as commissioners to Logstown to treat with the Indians, and confirm the Lancaster treaty. They met the Indians on the 9th of June, stated their desires, and on the 11th received their answer. At first, the sav- a"'cs were not inclin'jd to recoo'uize the Lancaster o _ o treaty, but agreed to aid the English, as the French had already made war on the Twigtees (at Picka- wiilany), and consented to the establishment of a fort and trading-post at the forks of the Ohio. This was not all the Virginians wanted, however, and taking aside Andrew Montour, now chief of the Six Nations, persuaded him to use his influence with the red men. By such means, they were in- duced to treat, and on the 13th they all united in signing a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a settlement south west of the Ohio, and covenanting that it should not be disturbed by them. By such means was obtained the treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley. All this time, the home governments were en- deavoring to out-maneuver each other with regard to the lands in the West, though there the outlook only betokened war. The French understood bet- ter than the English how to manage the Indians, and succeeded in attaching them firmly to their cause. The English were not honest in their actions with them, and hence, in after years, the massacres that followed. At the close of 1752, Gist was at work, in con- formity with the Lancaster and Logstown treaties, laying out a fort and town on Chartier's Creek, about ten miles below the fork. Eleven families had crossed the mountains to settle at Gist's resi- dence west of Laurel Hill, not far from the Yongh- iogheny. Goods had come from England for the Ohio Company, which were carried as far West as Will's Creek, where Cumberland now stands ; and where they were taken by the Indians and traders. On the other hand, the French were gathering cannon and stores on Lake Erie, and, without treaties or deeds of land, were gaining the good will of the inimical tribes, and preparing, when all was ready, to strike the blow. Their fortifications consisted of a chain of forts from Lake Erie to the Ohio, on the border. One was at Presque Isle, on the site of Erie ; one on French Creek, on the site of Waterford, Penn.; one at the mouth of French Creek, in Venango County, Penn.; while opposite it was another, effectually commanding that section of country. These forts, it will be observed, were aU in the limits of the Pennsyl- vania colony. The Governor informed the Assem- bly of their existence, who voted £U00 to be used in purchasing presents for the Indians njar the forts, and thereby hold their friendship. Virginia, also, took similar measures. Trent was sent, with guns and ammunition and presents, to the I'riendly tribes, and, while on his mission, learned of the plates of lead planted by the French. In October, 1753, a treaty was consummated with representa- tives of the Iroquois, Delawares, Shawanees, Twig- twees and Wyandots, by commissioners from Pennsylvania, one of whom was the philosopher Franklin. At the conferences held at this time, the Indians complained of the actions of the French in forcibly taking possession of the dis- puted country, and also bitterly denounced them for using rum to intoxicate the red men, when they desired to gain any advantage. Not long after, they had similar grounds of complaint against the English, whose lawless traders cared fornothing but to gain the furs of the savage at as little ex- pense as possible. The encroachments of the French on what was regarded as English territory, created intense feel- ing in the colonies, especially in Virginia. The purpose of the French to inclose the English on the Atlantic Coast, and thus prevent their extension over the mountains, became more and more ap- parent, and it was thought that this was the open- ing of a scheme already planned by the French Court to reduce all North America under the do- minion of France. Gov. Dinwiddle determined to send an ambassador to the French posts, to as- ceitain their real intentions and to okserve the amount and disposition of their forces. He selected a young Virginian, then in his twenty-first year, a surveyor by trade and one well qualified for the duty. That young man afterward led the Ameii- can Colonies in their struggle for liberty. George Washington and one companion, Mr. Gist, suc- cessfully made the trip, in the solitude of a severe winter, received assurance from the French com- mandant that they would by no means abandon their outposts, and would not yield unless com- pelled by force of arms. The commandant was exceedingly polite, biit firm, and assured the young American that "wo claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discovery of La Salle (in 1G69) and will not give itup to the English. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley." :^ -4^ 43 HISTOEY OF OHIO. During Washington's absencG steps were taken to fortify the point formed by the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany; and when, on his return, he met seventeen horses loaded with mate- rials and stores for a fort at the forks of the Ohio, and, soon after, some families going out to settle, he knew the defense had ttegun. As soon as Washington made his report, Gov. Dinwiddle wrote to the Board of Trade, stating that the French were building a fort at Venango, and that, in March, twelve or fifteen hundred men would be ready to descend the river with their Indian allies, for which purpose three hundred canoes had been collected ; and that Logstown was to be made headquarters, while forts were to be built in other places. He sent expresses to the Governors of Pennsylvania and New York, apprising them of the nature of affairs, and calling upon them for assist- ance. He also raised two companies, one of which was raised by Washington, the other by Trent. The one under Trent was to be raised on the frontiers, and was, as soon as possible, to repair to the Fork and erect there a fort, begun by the Ohio Company. Owing to various conflicting opinions between the Grovernor of Pennsylvania and his Assembly, and the conference with the Six Nations, held by New York, neither of those provinces put forth any vigorous measures until stirred to action by the invasions on the frontiers, and until directed by the Earl of Holderness, Secretary of State. The fort at Venango was finished by the French in April, 1754. All along the creek resounded the clang of arms and the preparations for war. New York and Pennsylvania, though inactive, and debating whether the French really had in- vaded English territory or not, sent aid to the Old Dominion, now all alive to the conquest. The two companies had been increased to six; Washing- ton was raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second under command of Joshua Fry. Ten cannon, lately from England, were for- warded from Alexandria ; wagons were got ready to carry westward provisions and stores through the heavy spring roads; and everywhere men were enlisting under the King's promise of two huudred thousand acres of land to those who would go. They were gathering along Will's Creek and far beyond, while Trent, who had come for more men and supplies, left a Httle band of forty-one men, working away in hunger and want at the Fork, to which both nations were looking with anxious eyes. Though no enemy was near, and only a few Indian scouts were seen, keen eyes had observed the low fortifications at the Fork. Swift feet had borne the news of it up the valley, and though Ensign Ward, left in command, felt himself secure, on the 17th of April he saw a sight that made his heart sick. Sixty batteaux and three hundred canoes were coming down the Alleghany. The com- mandant sent him a summons, which evaded no words in its meaning. It was useless to contend, that evening he supped with his conqueror ; the next day he was bowed out by the polite French- man, and with his men and tools marched up the Monongahela. The first birds of spring were fill- ing the air with their song ; the rivers rolled by, swollen by April showers and melting snows ; all nature was putting on her robes of green ; and the fortress, which the English had so earnestly strived to obtain and fortify, was now in the hands of the French. Fort Du Quesne arose on the incomplete fortifications. The seven years' war that followed not only _ affected America, but spread to all quar- ters of the world. The war made England a gTcat imperial power ; drove the French from Asia and America; dispelled the brilliant and extended scheme of Louis and his voluptuous empire. The active field of operations was in the Canadas principally, and along the western borders of Penn- sylvania. There were so few people then in the present confines of Ohio, that only the possession of the country, in common with all the West, could be the animus of the conflict. It so much concerned this part of the New World, that a brief resume of the war will be necessary to fully under- stand its history. The fall of the post at the fork of the Ohio, Fort Du Quesne, gave the French control of the West. Washington went on with his few militia to re- take the post. Though he was successful at first, he was in the end defeated, and surrendered, being allowed to return with all his munitions of war. The two governments, though trying to come to a peaceful solution of the question, were getting ready for the conflict. France went stead- ily on, though ot one time England gave, in a measure, her consent to allow the French to retain all the country west of the AUeghanies and south of the lakes. Had this been done, what a different future would have been in America ! Other des- tinies were at work, however, and the plan fell stillborn. England sent Gen. Braddock and a fine force of men, who marched directly toward the post on the Ohio. His ill-fated expedition resulted only in the total defeat of his army, and his own death. V IE. HISTORY or OHIO. 43 Washington saved a remnant of the army, and made his way back to the colonies. The En- glish needed a leader. They next planned four campaigns ; one agajnst Forf Du Qucsne; one against Crown Point; one against Niagara, and one against the French settlements in Nova Scotia. Nearly every one proved a failure. The English were defeated on sea and on land, all owing to the incapacity of Parliament, and the want of a suit- able, vigorous leader. The settlements on the front- iers, now exposed to a cruel foe, prepared to defend themselves, and already the signs of a government of their own, able to defend itself, began to appear. They received aid from the colonies. Though the French were not repulsed, they and their red allies found they could not murder with impunity. Self-j)reservation was a stronger incen- tive in conflict than aggi'andizement, and the cruelty of the Indians found avengers. The great Pitt became Prime Minister June 29, 1757. The leader of the English now appeared. The British began to regain their losses on sea and land, and for them a brighter day was at hand. The key to the West must be retaken, and to Gen. Forbes was assigned the duty. Preceding him, a trusty man was sent to the Western Indians at the head-waters of the Ohio, and along the Mo- nongahela and Alleghany, to see if some compro- mise with them could not be made, and their aid secured. The French had been busy through their traders inciting the Indians against the English. The lawless traders were another source of trouble. Caring nothing for either nation, they carried on a distressing traffic in direct violation of the laws, continually engendering ill-feeling among the na- tives. "Your traders," said one of them, "bring scarce anything but rum and flour. They bring little powder and lead, or other valuable goods. The rum ruins us. We beg you would prevent its coming in such quantities by regulating the traders. * * * These wicked whisky sell- ers, when they have got the Indians in liquor, make them sell the very^lothes off their backs. If this practice be continued, wemust be inevitably ruined. We mostearnestly, therefore, beseech you to remedy it." They complained of the French traders the same way. They were also beginning to see the animus of the whole conflict. Neither power cared as much for them as for their land, and flattered and bullied by turns as served their pu;-poses best. The man selected to go upon this undertaking was Christian Frederic Post, a Moravian, who had lived among the Indians seventeen years, and mar- ried into one of their tribes. He was amissionary, and though obliged to cross a country whose every stream had been dyed by blood, and every hillside rung with the death-yell, and grown red with the light of burning huts, he went willingly on his way. Of his journey, sufferings and doings, his own journal tells the story. He left Philadelphia on the 15th of July, 1758, and on the 7th of August safely passed the French post at Venango, went on to Big Beaver Creek, where he held a conference with the chiefs of the Indians gathered there. It was decided that a great conference should be held opposite Fort Du Quesne, whore there were Indians of eight nations. "We will bear you in our bosoms," said the natives, when Post expressed a fear that ho might be delivered over to tlie French, and royally they fulfilled their promises. At the conference, it was made clear to Post that all the Western Indians were wavering ir. their allegiance to the French, owing largely to the fail- ure of that nation to fulfill their promises of aid to prevent them from being deprived of their land by the Six Nations, and tlirough that confederacy , by the English. The Indians complained bitterly, more- over, of the disposition of the whites in over-run- ning and claiming their lands. "Why did you not fight your battles at home or on the sea, instead of coming into our country to fight them?" they asked again and again, and mournfully shook their heads when they thought of the future before them. " Your heart is good," said they to Post. " You speak sincerely ; but we know there is always a great number who wish to get rich ; they have enough ; look ! we do not want to be rich and take away what others have. The white people think we have no brains in our heads ; that they are big, and we are a handful ; but remember when you hunt for a rattlesnak-e, you cannot always find it, and perhaps it will turn and bite you before you see it."* When the war of Pontiac came, and all the West was desolated, this saying might have been justly remembered. After concluding a peace. Post set out for Philadelphia, and after incredi- ble hardships, reached the settlement uninjured early in September. His mission had more to do than at first is apparent, in the success of the English. Had it not been for him, a second Brad- dock's defeat might have befallen Forbes, now on his way to subjugate Fort Du Quesne. Through the heats of August, the army hewed its way toward the West. Early in September it * Post's Journal. ^^ 44 HISTOEY OF OHIO. reached Eaystown, whither "Wasliington had been ordered with his troops. Sickness had prevented him from being here ah-cady, Two officers were sent out to rcconnoiter tlie tort, who returned and gave a very good account of its condition. Gen. Forbes desired to know more of it, and sent out Jlaj. Grant, with 800 men, to gain more complete knowledge. Maj. Grant, supposing not more than 2i)0 soldiers to be in the fort, marched near it and made p. feint to draw them out, and engage them in battle. Ho was greatly misinformed as to the strength of the French, and in the engagement that followed he was badly beaten — 270 of his men killed, 42 wounded, and S3vcral, including himself, taken prisoners. The French, elated with their victory, attacked the main army, but were repulsed and obliged to retreat to the fort. The army con- tinued on its march. On the 24th of November they reached Turtle Creek, where a council of war was held, and where Gen. Forbes, who had been so ill as to be carried on a litter from the start, de- clared, with a mighty oath, he would sleep that night in the fort, or in a worse place. The Indi- ans had, however, cairied the news to the French that the English were as plenty as the trees of the woods, and in their fright they set fire to the fort in the night and left up and down the Ohio River. The next morning the English, who had heard the explosion of the magazine, and seen the light of the burning walls, marched in and took peaceable possession. A small fortification was thrown up on the bank, and, in honor of the great English statesman, it was called Fort Pitt. Col. Hugh Mer- cer was left in command, and the main body of the army marched back to the settlements. It reached Philadelphia January 17, 1759. On the 11th of March, Gen. Forbes died, and was buried in the chancel of Christ's Church, in that city. Post was now sent on a mission to the Six Na- tions, with a report of the treaty of Easton. He was again instrumental in preventing a coalition of the Indians and the French. Indeed, to this ob- scure JMoravian missionary belongs, in a large measure, the honor of the capture of Fort Du Quesne, for by his influence had the Indians been restrained from attacking the army on its march. The garrison, on leaving the fort, went up and down the Ohio, part to Presquo Isle by land, part to Fort Venango, while some of them went on down the Ohio nearly to the IMississippi, and there, in what is now Massac County, 111., erected a fort, called by them Fort Massac. It was afterward named by many Fort Massacre, from the erroneous supposition that a garrison liad been massacred there. The French, though deprived of the key to the West, went on preparing stores and ammunicion, expecting to retake the fort in the spring. Before they could do this, however, other places demanded their attention. The success of the campaign of 1758 opened the way for the consummation of the great scheme of Pitt — the complete reduction of Canada. Three expeditions were planned, by which Canada, already well nigh annihilated and suffering for food, was to be subjugated. On the west, Prideaux was to attack Niagara ; in the center, Amherst was to advance on Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; on the east, Wolfe was to besiege Quebec. All these points gained, the three armies were to be united in the center of the province. Amherst appeared before Ticonderoga July 22. The French blew up their w-orks, and retired to Crown Point. Driven from there, they re- treated to Isle Aux Nois and entrenched them- selves. The lateness of the season prevented fur- ther action, and Amherst went into winter quar- ters at Crown Point. Early in June, Wolfe appeared before Quebec with an army of 8,000 men. On the night of September 12, he silently ascended the river, climbed the heights of Abra- ham, a spot considered impregnable by the French, and on the summit formed his army of 5,000 men. Montcalm, the French commander, was compelled to give battle. The British col- umns, flushed with success, charged his half-formed lines, and dispersed them. "They fly! they fly!" heard Wolfe, just as he expired from the effect of a mortal wound, though not (ill he had ordered their retreat cut off, and exclaimed, " Now, God be praised, I die happy." Montcalm, on hearing from the surgeon that death would come in a few hours, said, " I am glad of it. I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." At five the next morning he died happy. Prideaux moved up Lake Ontario, and on the 6th of July invested Niagara. Its capture would cut off the French from the west, and every en- deavor was made to hold it. Troops, destined to take the small garrison at Fort Pitt, were held to assist in raising the siege of Niagara. M. de Aubry, commandant in lUinois, came up with 400 men and 200,000 pounds of flour. Cut off by the abandonment of Fort Du Quesne from the Ohio route, ho ascended that river as far as the Wabash, thence to portage of Fort Miami, or Fort Wayne, ^ i V -W. l^ HISTOEY OF OHIO. 47 down the Maumee to Lake Erie, and on to Presqu- ville, or Presque Isle, over the portage to Le Boeuf, and thence down French Creek to Fort Venango. He was chosen to lead the expedition for the relief of N-iagara. They were pursued by Sir William Johnson, successor to Prideaux, who had lost his life by the bursting of a cannon, and were obliged to flee. The next day Niagara, cut off from succor, surrendered. All America rang with exultation. Towns were bright with illuminations ; the hillsides shone with bonfires. From press, from pulpit, fi-om platform, and from speakers' desks, went up one glad song of rejoicing. England was victorious everywhere. The colonies had done their full share, and now learned their strength. That strength was needed now, for ere long a different conflict raged on the soil of America — a conflict ending in the birth of a new nation. The English sent Gen. Stanwix to fortify Fort Pitt, still looked upon as one of the principal for- tresses in the West. He erected a good fortifica- tion there, which remained under British control fifteen years. Now nothing of the fort is left. No memorial of the British possession remains in the West but a single redoubt, built in 1764 by Col. Bouquet, outside of the fort. Even this can hardly now be said to exist. The fall of Quebec did not immediately produce the submission of Canada. M. de Levi, on whom the command devolved, retired with the French Army to Blontreal. In the spring of 17CiO, he be- sieged Quebec, but the arrival of an English fleet caused him to again retreat to Montreal. Amherst and Johnson, meanwhile, effected a union of their forces, the magnitude of whose armies convinced the French that resistance would be useless, and on the 8th of September, 51. de Vaudreuil, the Governor of Canada, surrendered Montreal, Quebec, Detroit, Mackinaw and all other posts in Canada,, to the English commander-in- chief, Amherst, on condition that the French in- habitants should, during the war, be "protected in the full and free exercise of their religion, and the full enjoyment of their civil rights, leaving their future destinies to be decided by the treaty of peace." Though peace was concluded in the New World, on the continent the Powers experienced some difficulty in arriving at a satisfactory settlement. It was finally settled by what is known in history as the "family compact." France and Spain saw in the conquest the growing power of England, and saw, also, that its continuance only extended that power. Negotiations were re-opened, and on the 3d of November, 17G2, preliminaries were agreed to and signed, and afterward ratified in Paris, in February, 1763. By the terms of the compact, Spain ceded to Great Britian East and West Florida. To compensate Spain, France ceded to her by a secret article, all Louisiana west of the Mississippi. The French and Indian war was now over. Canada and all its dependencies were now in pos- session of the English, who held undisputed sway over the entire West as far as Mississippi. It only remained for them to take possession of the out- posts. Major Robert Rogers was sent to take pos- session of Detroit and establish a garrison there. He was a partisan officer on the borders of New Hampshire, where he earned a name for bravery, but afterward tarnished it by treasonable acts. On his way to Detroit, on the 7 th of November, 1760, he was met by the renowned chief, Pontiac, who authoritatively commanded him to pause and ex- plain his acts. Rogers replied by explaining the conquest of Canada, and that he was acting under orders from his King. Through the influence of Pontiac, the army was saved from the Indians sent out by the French, and was allowed to pro- ceed on its way. Pontiac had assured his protec- tion as long as the English treated him with due deference. Beletre, the commandant at Detroit, refused to surrender to the English commander, until he had received positive assurance from his Governor, Vaudreuil, that the country was indeed conquered. On the 29th of September, the colors of France gave way to the ensign of Great Britain amid the shouts of the soldiery and the astonish- ment of the Indians, whose savage natures could not understand how such a simple act declared one nation victors of another, and who wondered at the forbearance displayed. The lateness of the season prevented further operations, but early the next spring, IMackinaw, Green Bay, Ste. Marie, St. Joseph and the Ouitenon surrounded, and nothing was left but the Illinois towns. These were se- cured as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made. Though the English were now mastero of the West, and had, while many of these events nar- rated were transpiring, extended their settlements beyond the Alleghanies, they were by no means secure in their possession. The woods and prairies were full of Indians, who, finding the English like the French, caring more for gain than the welfare :^. -^ 48 HISTORY OP OHIO. of the natives, began to exhibit impatience and re- sentment aa they saw their lands gradually taken from them. The English policy differed very materially from the French. The French made the Indian, in a measure, independent and taught him a desire for European goods. They also affiliated easily with them, and became thereby strongly endeared to the savage. The French were a merry, easy-going race, fond of gaycty and delighting in adventure. The English were harsh, stern, and made no advances to gain the friend- ship of the savage. They wanted land to cultivate and drove away the Indian's game, and forced him farther west. "Where shall we go?" said the Indian, despondently ; "you drive us farther and farther west; by and by you will want all the land." And the Anglo-Saxon went sturdily on, paying no heed to the complaints. The French traders incited the Indian to resent the encroach- ment. " The English will annihilate you and take all your land," said they. " Their father, the King of France, had been asleep, now he had awakened and was coming with a great army to reclaim Can- ada, that had been stolen from him while he slept." Discontent under such circumstances was but natural. Soon all the tribes, jfrom the mountains to the Mississippi, were united in a plot. It was discovered in 1761, and arrested. The next sum- mer, another was detected and arrested. The officers, and all the people, failed to realize the danger. The rattlesnake, though not found, was ready to strike. It is only an Indian discontent, thought the people, and they went on preparing to occupy the country. They were mistaken — the crisis only needed a leader to direct it. That leader appeared. CHAPTER IV. PONTIAC'S CONSPIEACT— ITS FAILURE— BOUQUET'S EXPEDITION— OCCUPATION BY THE ENGLISH. PONTIAC, the great chief of the Ottawas, was now about fifty years old. He had watched the conflict between the nations with a jealous eye, and as he saw the gradual growth of the English people, their encroachment on the lands of the In- dians, their greed, and their assumption of the soil, his soul was stirred within him to do something for his people. Ho had been a true friend of the French, and had led the Indians at the defeat of Braddock. Amid all the tumult, he alone saw the true state of affairs. The English would inevit- ably crush out the Indians. To save his race he saw another alliance with the French was neces- sary, and a restoration of their power and habits needed. It was the plan of a statesman. It only failed because of the perfidy of the French. Matur- ing hisi'plans late in the autumn of 17G2, he sent messengers to all the Western and Southern tribes, with the black wampum and red tomahawk, em- blems of war, from the great Pontiac. "On a cer- tain day in the next year," said the messenger, "all the tribes are to rise, seize all the English posts, and theti attack the whole frontier." The great council of all the tribes was held at the river Eeorces, on the 27th of April, 1703. There, before the assembled chiefs, Pontiac deliv- ered a speech, full of eloquence and art. He recounted the injuries and encroachments of the English, and disclosed their designs. The French king was now awake and would aid them. Should they resign their homes and the graves of their fathers without an effort? Were their young men no longer brave? Were they squaws? The Great Master of Life had chided them for their inactivity, and had sent his commands to drive the "Bed Dogs" from the earth. The chiefs eagerly accepted the wampum and the tomahawk, and separated to prepare for the coming strife. The post at Detroit was informed of the plot the evening before it was to occur, by an Ojibway girl of great beauty, the mistress of the com- mander, Major Gladwin. Pontiac was foiled here, his treachery discovered, and he was sternly ordered from the conference. A regular seige followed, but he could not prevail. He exhibited a degree of sagacity unknown in the annals of savage war- fare, but all to no purpose ; the English were too strong for him. At all the other posts, save one, however, the plans of Pontiac were carried out, and atrocities, unheard of before in American history, resulted. The Indians attacked Detroit on the first of May, ■> ^ -^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 49 and, foiled in their plans, a siege immediately fol- lowed. On the 16th, a party of Indians appeared before the fort at Sandusky. Seven of them were admitted. Suddenly, while smoking, the massacre begins. All but Ensign Paulli, the commander, fall. He is carried as a trophy to Pontiao. At the movTth of the St. Joseph's, the mission- aries had maintained a mission station over sixty years. They gave way to an English garrison of fourteen soldiers and a few traders. On the morning of May 25, a deputation of Pottawato- mies are allowed to enter. In less than two min- utes, all the garrison but the commander are slain. He is sent to Pontiac. Near the present city of Fort Wayne, Ind., at the junction of the waters, stood Fort Miami, garrisoned by a few men. Holmes, the com- mander, is asked to visit a sick woman. He is slain on the way, the sergeant following is made prisoner, and the nine soldiers surrender. On the night of the last day of May, the wam- pum reaches the Indian village below La Fayette, Ind., and near Fort Ouitenon. The commander of the fort is lured into a cabin, bound, and his garrison surrender. Through the clemency of French settlers, they are received into their houses and protected. At Michilimackinao, a game of ball is projected. Suddenly the ball is thrown through the gate of the stockade. The Indians press in, and, at a signal, almost all are slain or made prisoners. The fort at Presque Isle, now Erie, was the point of communication between Pittsburgh and Niagara and Detroit. It was one of the most tenable, and had a garrison of four and twenty men. On the 22d of June, the commander, to save his forces from total annihilation, siirrenders, and all are carried prisoners to Detroit. The capitulation at Erie left Le Bceuf with- out hope. He was attacked on the 18th, but kept off the Indians till midnight, when he made a successful retreat. As they passed Ve- nango, on their way to Fort Pitt, they saw only the ruins of that garrison. Not one of its immates had been spared. Fort Pitt was the most important station west of the Allcghanies. " Escape ! " said Turtle's Heart, a Delaware warrior ; " you will all be slain. A great army is coming." "There are three large English armies coming to my aid," said Ecuyer, the commander. " I have enough provisions and ammunition to stand a siege of three years' time." A second and third attempt was made by the savages to capture the post, but all to no avail. Baffled on all sides here, they destroy Ligonier, a few miles below, and massacre men, women and children. Fort Pitt was besieged till the last day of July, but withstood all attacks. Of all the outposts, only it and Detroit were left. All had been captured, and the majority of the garrison slain. Along the frontier, the war was waged with fury. The Indians were fighting for their homes and their hunting-grounds; and for these they fought with the fury and zeal of fanatics. Detachments sent to aid Detroit are cut off. The prisoners are burnt, and Pontiac, infusing liis zealous and demoniacal spirit into all his savage allies, pressed the siege with vigor. The French remained neutral, yet Pontiac made requisitions on them and on their neighbors in Illinois, issuing bills of credit on birch-bark, all of which were faithfally redeemed. Though these two posts could not be captured, the frontier could be annihilated, and vigorously the Indians pursued their policy. Along the borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia a relentless warfare was waged, sparing no one in its way. Old age, feeble infancy, strong man and gentle woman, fair girl and hope- ful boy — all fell before the soalping-knife of the merciless savage. The frontiers were devastated. Thousands were obliged to flee, leaving their possessions to the torch of the Indian. The colonial government, under British direc- tion, was inimical to the borders, and the colonists saw they must depend only upon their own arms for protection. Already the struggle for freedom was upon them. They could defend only them- selves. They must do it, too ; for that defense is now needed in a different cause than settling dis- putes between rival powers. " We have millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute," said they, and time verified the remark. Gen. Amherst bestirred himself to aid the frontiers. He sent Col. Henry Bouquet, a native of Switzerland, and now an officer in the English Army, to relieve the garrison at Fort Pitt. They followed the route made by Gen. Forbes, and on the way relieved Forts Bedford and Ligonier, both beleaguered by the Indians. About a day's jour- ney beyond Ligonier, he was attacked by a body of Indians at a place called Bushy Run. For awhile, it seemed that he and all his army would be destroyed ; but Bouquet was bold and brave and, under a feint of retreat, routed the savages. He passed on, and relieved the garrison at Fort ^1 -^ 50 HISTORY OF OHIO. Pitt, and thus secured it against the assaults of the Indians. The campaign had been disastrous to the En- gUsh, but fiital to the plans of Pontiac. He could not capture Detroit, and he knew the great scheme must fail. The battle of Bushy Run and the relief of Fort Pitt closed the campaign, and all hoj)e of co-operation was at an end. Circum- stances were combined against the confederacy, and it was fast falling to pieces. A proclamation was issued to the Indians, explaining to them the existing state of affairs, and showing to them the futility of their plans. Pontiac, however, would not give up. Again he renewed the siege of De- troit, and Gen. Gage, now in command of the army in the colonies, resolved to carry the war into their own country. Col. Bradstreet was or- dered to lead one army by way of the lakes, against the Northern Indians, while Col. Bouquet was sent against the Indians of the Ohio. Col. Bradstreet went on his way at the head of 1,200 men, but trusting too much to the natives and their promises, his expedition proved largely a fail- ure. He relieved Detroit in August, 17G4, which had been confined in the garrison over fifteen months, and dispersed the Indians that yet lay around the fort. But on his way back, he saw how the Indians had duped him, and that they were still plundering the settlements. His treaties were annulled by Gage, who ordered him to destroy their towns. The season was far advanced, his provisions were getting low, and he was obliged to return to Niagara chagrined and disappointed. Col. Bouquet knew well the character of the Indians, and shaped his plans accordingly. He had an army of 1,500 men, 500 regulars and 1,000 volunteers. They had had experience in fighting the savages, and could be depended on. At Fort Loudon, he heard of Bradstreet's ill luck, and saw through the deception practiced by the Indians. He arrived at Fort Pitt the 17th of September, where he arrested a deputation of chiefs, who met him with the same promises that had deceived Bradstreet. He sent one of their number back, threatening to put to death the chiefs unless they allowed his messengers to safely pass through their country to Detroit. The decisive tone of his words convinced them of the fate that awaited them unless they complied. On the 3d of Octo- ber the army left Fort Pitt, marched down the river to and across the Tuscarawas, arriving in the vicinity of Fredrick Post's late tnission on the 17th. There a conference was held with the assembled tribes. Bouquet sternly rebuked them for their faithlessness, and when told by the chiefs they could not restrain their young men, he as sternly told them they were responsible for their acts. He told them he would trust them no longer. If they delivered up all their prisoners within twelve days they might hope for peace, otherwise there would be no mercy shown them. They were completely humbled, and, separating hastily, gathered their captives. On the 25th, the army proceeded down to the Tuscarawas, to the junction with ^Vhite Woman River, near the town of Coshocton, in Coshocton County, Ohio, and there made prepa- rations for the reception of the captives. There they remained until the 18th of November; from day to day prisoners were brought in — men, vromen and children — and delivered to their friends. Many were the touching scenes enacted during this time. The separated husband and wife met, the latter often carrying a child born in captivity. Brothers and sisters, separated in youth, met ; lovers rushed into each other's arms ; children found their parents, mothers their sons, fathers their daughters, and neighbors those from whom they had been separated many years. Yet, there were many dis- tressing scenes. Some looked in vain for long-lost relatives and friends, that never should return. Others, that had been captured in their infancy, would not leave their savage friends, and when force was used some fled away. One mother looked in vain for a child she had lost years be- fore. Day by day, she anxiously watched, but no daughter's voice reached her ears. One, clad in savage attire, was brought before her. It could not be her daughter, she was grown. So was the maiden before her. " Can not you remember some mark?" asked Bouquet, whose sympathies were aroused in this case. "There is none," said the anxious and sorrovrful mother. " Sing a song you sang over her cradle, she may remember," suggested the commander. One is sung by her mother. As the song of childhood floats out among the trees the maiden stops and listens, then approaches. Yes, she remembers. Mother and daughter are held in a close embrace, and the stern Bouquet wipes away a tear at the scene. On the 18th, the army broke up its encamp- ment and started on its homeward march. Bouquet kept six principal Indians as hostages, and re- turned to the homes of the captives. The Indians kept their promises faithfully, and the next year representatives of all the Western tribes met Sir William Johnson, at the German Flats, and made ri* ■4^ HISTORY or OHIO. 51 a treaty of peace. A tract of land in the Indian country was ceded to the whites for the benefit of those who had suffered in the late war. The In- dians desired to make a treaty with Johnson, whereby the Alleghany River should be the west- ern boundary of the English, but he excused him- self on the gTOund of proper power. Not long after this the Illinois settlements, too remote to know much of the struggle or of any of the gi'eat events that had convulsed an empire, and changed the destiny of a nation, were brought under the English rule. There were five villages at this date: Kaskaskia, Cahokia, St. Philip, Vin- cennes and Prairie du Kooher, near Fort Chartres, the mihtary headquarters of these French posses- sions. They were under the control or command of M. de Abadie, at New Orleans. They had also extended explorations west of the Mississippi, and made a few settlements in what was Spanish terri- tory. The country had been, however, ceded to France, and in February, 1764, the country was formally taken possession of and the present city of St. Louis laid out. As soon as the French knew of the change of government, many of them went to the west side of the river, and took up their residence there. They were protected in their religion and civil rights by the terms of the treaty, but preferred the rule of their own King. The British took possession of this country early in 1765. Gren. Gage sent Capt. Stirling, of the English Army, who arrived before summer, and to whom St. Ange, the nominal commandant, surren- dered the authority. The British, through a suc- cession of commanders, retained control of the coun- try until defeated by George Rogers Clarke, and his "ragged Virginia militia." After a short time, the French again ceded the country west of the Mississippi to Spain, and re- linquished forever their control of all the West in the New World. The population of Western Louisiana, when the exchange of governments occurred, was estimated to be 13,538, of which 891 were in the Illinois country — as it was called — west of the Mississippi. East of the river, and before the French crossed into Spanish country, the population was estimated to be about 3,000. All these had grown into communities of a peculiar character. Indeed, that peculiarity, as has been observed, never changed until a gradual amalgamation with the American people effected it, and that took more than a cen- tury of time to accomplish. The English now owned the Northwest. True, they did not yet occupy but a small part of it, but traders were again crossing the mountains, ex- plorers for lands were on the Ohio, and families for settlement were beginning to look upon the West as their future home. Companies were again forming to purchase large tracts in the Ohio coun- try, and open them for emigration. One thing yet stood in the way — a definite boundary line. That line, however, was between the English and the Indians, and not, as had heretofore been the case, between rival European Powers. It was necessary to arrange some definite boundary before land com- panies, who were now actively pushing their claims, could safely survey and locate their lands. Sir William Johnson, who had at previous times been instrumental in securing treaties, wrote re- peatedly to the Board of Trade, who controlled the greater part of the commercial transactions in the colonies — and who were the first to exclaim against extending English settlements beyond a limit whereby they would need manufactures, and there- by become independent of the Mother Country — urging upon them, and through them the Crown, the necessity of a fixed boundary, else another Indian war was probable. The Indians found themselves gradually hemmed in by the growing power of the whites, and began to exhibit hostile feelings. The irritation became so great that in the summer of 1767, Gage wrote to the Governor of Pennsylvania concerning it. The Governor communicated his letter to the General Assembly, who sent repre- sentatives to England, to urge the immediate set- tlement of the question. In compliance with these requests, and the letters of prominent citizens, Franklin among the number, instructions were sent to Johnson, ordering him to complete the purchase from the Six Nations, and settle all differences. He sent word to all the Western tribes to meet him at Fort Stanwix, in October, 1768. The con- ference was held on the 24th of that month, and was attended by colonial representatives, and by Indians from all parts of the Northwest. It was determined that the line should begin on the Ohio, at the mouth of the Cherokee (Tennessee), thence up the river to the Alleghany and on to Kittan- ning, and thence across to the Susquehanna. By this line, the whole country south of the Ohio and Alleghany, to which the Six Nations had any claim, was transferred. Part of this land was made to compensate twenty-two traders, whose goods had been stolen in 1763. The deeds made, were upon the express agreement that no claims should vii ^ -^ 53 HISTORY OF OHIO. Virginia, ever be based on the treaties of Lancaster, Logs- town, etc., and were signed by the chiefs of the Six Nations for themselves, their alhes and dependents, and the Shawanees, Delawares, Mingoes of Ohio, and others; though the Shawanees and Delaware deputies did not sign them. On this treaty, in a great measure, rests the title by purchase to Ken- tucky, Western Virginia and Western Pennsylva- nia. The rights of the Cherokees were purchased by Col. Donaldson, either for the King, or for himself, it is impossible to say which The grant of the northern confederacy was now made. The white man could go in and possess these lands, and know that an army would protect him if necessary. Under such a guarantee, West- ern lands came rapidly into market. In addition to companies already in existence for the purchase of land, others, the most notable of these being the "Walpole" and the "Mississippi" Land Companies, were formed. This latter had among its organizers such men as Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington and Arthur Lee. Before any of these companies, some of whom ab- sorbed the Ohio Company, could do anything, the Revolution came on, and all land transactions were at an end. After its close. Congress would not sanction their claims, and they fell through. This did not deter settlers, however, from crossing the mountains, and settling in the Ohio country. In spite of troubles with the Indians — some of whom regarded the treaties with the Six Nations as un- lawful, and were disposed to complain at the rapid influx of whites — and the failure of the land com- panies, settlers came steadily during the decade from 1768 to 1778, so that by the close of that time, there was a large population south of the Ohio River ; while scattered along the northern banks, extending many miles into the wilderness, were hardy adventurers, who were carving out homes in the magnificent forests everywhere cov- ering the country. Among the foremost speculators in Western lands, was George Washington. As early as 1763, he employed Col. Crawford, afterward the leader in " Crawford's campaign," to purchase lands for him. In 1770, he crossed the mountains in company with several gentlemen, and examined the country along the Ohio, down which stream he passed to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, where he shot some buffalo, then plenty, camped out a few nights, and returned, fully convinced, it seems, that one day the West would be the best part of the New- World. He owned, altogether, nearly fifty thou- sand acres in the West, which he valued at $3.33 per acre. Had not the war of the Revolution just then broken out, he might have been a resident of the West, and would have been, of course, one of its most prominent citizens. CHAPTER V. AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS— DTJNMORE'S "WAR — CAMPAIGN OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE- LAND TROUBLES— SPAIN IN THE REVOLUTION— MURDER OF THE MORAVIAN INDIANS. MEANWHILE, Kentucky was filKng with citizens, and though considerable trouble was experienced with the Indians, and the operations of Col. Richard Henderson and others, who made unlawful treaties with the Indians, yet Daniel Boone and his associates had established a commonwealth, and, in 1777, a county was formed, which, erelong, was divided into three. Louisville was laid out on land belonging to Tories, and an important start made in this part of the West. Emigrants came down the Ohio River, saw the northern shores were inviting, and sent back such accounts that the land north of the river rapidly grew in favor with Eastern people. One of the most important Western characters. Col. (afterward Gen.) George Rogers Clarke, had had much to do in forming its character. He was born November 19, 1752, in Albemarle County, Va., and early came West. He had an unusually sagacious spirit, was an excellent sur- veyor and general, and took an active interest in all State and national affairs. He understood the animus of the Revolution, and was prepared to do his part. Col. Clarke was now meditating a move unequaled in its boldness, and one that had more to do with the success of America in the struggle for independence than at first appears. He saw through the whole plan of the British, •^ '-^ HISTOKY OF OHIO. 53 who held all the outposts, Kaskaskia, Detroit, Vincennes and Niagara, and determined to circum- vent them and wrest the West from their power. The British hoped to encircle the Americans by these outposts, and also unite the Indians in a common war against them. That had been attempted by the French when the English con- quered them. Then the French had a powerful ally in the person of Pontiae, yet the brave front- iersmen held their homes in many places, though the Indians " drank the blood of many a Briton, scooping it up in the hollow of joined hands." Now the Briton had no Pontiae tu lead the scat- tered tribes — tribes who now feared the unerring aim of a settler, and would not attack him openly — Clarke knew that the Delawares were divided in feeling and that the Shawanees were but imperfectly united in favor of England since the murder of their noted chiefs. He was convinced that, if the British could be driven from the Western posts, the natives could easily be awed into submission, or bribed into neutrality or friendship. They admired, from their savage views of valor, the side that became victorious. They cared little for the cause for which either side was fighting. Clarke sent out spies among them to ascertain the feasibility of his plans. The spies were gone from April 20 to June 22, and fully corroborated his views concerning the English policy and the feelings of the Indians and French. Before proceeding in the narrative of this expe- dition, however, it will be well to notice a few acts transpiring north of the Ohio River, especially re- lating to the land treaties, as they were not without effect on the British policy. Many of the Indians north and south of the Ohio would not recognize the validity of the Fort Stanwix treaty, claiming the Iroquois had no right to the lands, despite their conquest. These discontented natives har- assed the emigrants in such a manner that many Indians were slain in retaliation. This, and the working of the French traders, who at all times were bitterly opposed to the English rule, filled the breasts of the natives with a malignant hate, which years of bloodshed could not wash out. The murder of several Indians by lawless whites fanned the coal into a blaze, and, by 1774, several retalia- tory murders occurred, committed by the natives in revenge for their fallen friends. The Indian slew any white man he found, as a revenge on some friend of his slain ; the frontiersman, acting on the same principle, made the borders extremely dan- gerous to invaders and invaded. Another cause of fear occurred about this time, which threatened seriously to retard emigration. Pittsburgh had been claimed by both Pennsyl- vania and Virginia, and, in endeavoring to settle the dispute. Lord Dunmore's war followed. Dr, John Connelly, an ambitious, intriguing person, induced Lord Dunmore to assei't the claims of Vir- ginia, in the name of the King. In attempting to carry out his intentions, he was arrested by Arthur St. Clair, representing the proprietors of Pennsyl- vania, who was at Pittsburgh at the time. Con- nelly was released on bail, but went at once to Staunton, where he was sworn in as a Justice of Peace. Returning, he gathered a force of one hundred and fifty men, suddenly took possession of Pittsburgh, refused to allow the magistrates to enter the Court House, or to exercise the functions of their offices, unless in conformity to his will. Connelly refused any terms offered by the Penn- sylvania deputies, kept possession of the place, acted very harshly toward the inhabitants, stirred up the neutral Indians, and, for a time, threatened to make the boundary line between the two colonies a very serious question. His actions led to hostile deeds by some Indians, when the whites, no doubt urged by him, murdered seven Indians at the mouth of the Captina River, and at the house of a settler named Baker, where the Indians were decoyed under promises of friendship and offers of rum. Among those murdered at the latter place, was the entire family of the famous Mingoe chief, Logan. This has been charged to Michael Cresap ; but is untrue. Daniel Glreathouse had command of the party, and though Cresap may have been among them, it is unjust to lay the blame at his feet. Both murders, at Captina and Yellow Creek, were cruel and unwarranted, and were, without doubt, the cause of the war that followed, though the root of the matter lay in Connelly's arbitrary actions, and in his needlessly alarming the Indians. Whatever may have been .the facts in relation to the murder of Logan's family, they were of such a nature as to make all feel sure of an Indian war, and preparations were made for the conflict. An army was gathered at Wheeling, which, some time in July, under command of Col. Mc- Donald, descended the Ohio to the mouth of Cap- tina Creek. They proposed to march against an Indian town on the Muskingum. The Indians sued for peace, but their pretensions being found spurious, their towns and crops were destroyed. The army then retreated to Williamsburg, having accomplished but little. '»t^®" •> "*>> 54 HISTORY OP OHIO. The Delaware's were anxious for peace ; even the Mingoes, whose relatives had been slain at Yellow Creek, and Captina, were restrained; but Logan, who had been turned to an inveterate foe to the Americans, came suddenly upon the Monongahela settlements, took thirteen scalps in revenge for the loss of his family, returned home and expressed himself ready to treat with the Long Knives, the Virginians. Had Connelly acted properly at this juncture, the war might have been ended; but his actions only incensed both borderers and In- dians. So obnoxious did he become that Lord Dunmore lost faith in him, and severely repri- manded him. To put a stop to the depredations of the Indians, two large bodies of troops were gathered in Vir- ginia, one under Gen. Andrew Lewis, and one under command of Dunmore himself Before the armies could meet at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, their objective point, Lewis' army, which arrived first, was attacked by a furious band of Dela- wares, Shawanees, Iroquois and Wyandots. The conflict was bitterly prolonged by the Indians, who, under the leadership of Cornstalk, were deter- mined to make a decisi^'o effort, and fought till late at night (October 10, 177-4), and then only by a strategic move of Lewis' command — which re- sulted in the defeat of the Indians, compelling them to cross the Ohio — was the conflict ended. Mean- while, Dunmorc's army came into the enemy's country, and, being joined by the remainder of Lewis' command, pressed forward intending to an- nihilate the Indian towns. Cornstalk and his chiefs, however, sued for peace, and the conflict closed. Dunmore established a camp on Sippo Creek, where he held conferences with the natives and concluded the war. When he left the country, he stationed 100 men at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, a few more at Pittsburgh, and another corps at Wheeling, then called Fort Fincastle. Dunmore intended to return to Pittsburgh the next spring, meet the Indians and form a definite peace ; but the revolt of the colonies prevented. However, ho opened several offices for the sale of lands iu tho West, some of which were in the limits of tho Pennsylvania colony. This led to the old boundary dispute again; but before it could be settloil, the Revolution began, and Lord Duamore's, as well as almost all other land speculations in the West, were at an end. In 1775 and 177G, the chief events transpiring in the'West relate to the treaties with tho Indians, and the endeavor on the part of the Americans to have them remain neutral in the family quarrel now coming on, which they could not understand. The British, like the French, however, could not let them alone, and finally, as a retaliatory measure,^ Congress, under advice of Washington, won some of them over to the side of the colonies, getting their aid and holding them neutral. The colonies only offered them rewards for prisoners ; never, Uke the British, offering rewards for scalj^s. Under such rewards, the atrocities of the Indians in some quar- ters were simply horrible. The scalp was enough to get a reward, that was a mark of Indian valor, too^ and hence, helpless innocence and decrepit old age were not spared. They stirred the minds of the pioneers, who saw the protection of their fire- sides a vital point, and led the way to the scheme of Col. Clarke, who was now, as has been noted, the leading spirit in Kentucky. He saw through the scheme of the British, and determined, by a quick, decisive blow, to put an end to it, and to cripple their power in the West. Among the acts stimulating Clarke, was the attack on Fort Henry, a garrison about one-half mile above Wheeling Creek, on the Ohio, by a renegade white man, Simon Girty, an agent in the employ of the British, it is thought, and one of the worst wretches ever known on the frontier. When Girty attacked Fort Henry, he led his red allies in regu- lar military fashion, and attacked it without mercy. The defenders were brave, and knew with whom they were contending. Great bravery was displayed by the women in the fort, one of whom, a Miss Zane, carried a keg of gunpowder from a cabin to the fort. Though repeatedly fired at by the sav- ages, she reached the fort in safety. After awhile, however, the effect of the frontiersmen's shotsbegan to be felt, and the Indians sullenly withdrew. Re-cnforcements coming, the fort was held, and Girty and his band were obliged to flee. Clarke saw that if the British once got con- trol over the Western Indians the scene at Fort Henry would be repeated, and would not likely, in all cases, end in favor of the Americans. With- out communicating any of his designs, he lefl Har- rodsburg about the 1st of October, 1777, and reached the capital of Virginia by November 5. Still keeping his mind, he awaited a favorable op- portunity to broach his plans to those in power, and, in the meanwhile, carefully watched the exist- ing state of feeling. When the opportunity came, Clarke broached his plans to Patrick Henry, Gov- ernor of A'irginia, who at once entered warmly into them, recognizing their gi-eat importance. ^f- -^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 55 Through his aid, Clarke profuroil the necessary au- thority to prosecute his plans, and returned at once to Pittsburgh. He intended raising men about this post, but found them fearful of leaving their homes unprotected. However, he secured three companies, and, with these and a number of volun- teers, picked up on the way down the Ohio River, he fortified Corn Island, near the falls, and made ready for his expedition. He had some trouble in keeping his men, some of those from Kentucky refusing to aid in subduing stations out of their own country. He did not announce Ms real inten- tions till he had reached this point. Here Col. Bowman joined him whh his Kentucky militia, and, on the 24th of June, 1778, during a total eclipse of the sun, the party left the fort. Before his start, lie learned of the capture of Burgoyne, and, when nearly down to Fort JIassac, he met some of his spies, who informed him of the exag- gerated accounts of the ferocity of the Long Knives that the French had received fi'om the British. By proper action on liis part, Clarke saw both these items of information could be made very beneficial to him. Leaving the river near Fort Massac, he set out on the march to Kaskas- kia, through a hot summer's sun, over a country foil of savage foes. They reached the town un- noticed, on the evening of July 4, and, before the astonished British and French knew it, they were all prisoners. JI. Rocheblave, the English commander, was secured, but his wife adroitly con- cealed the papers belonging to the garrison. In the person of M. Gibault, the French priest, Clarke found a true friend. When the true character of the Virginians became apparent, the French were easily drawn to the American side, and the priest secured the surrender and allegiance of Cahokia through his personal influence. JM. Gibault told him he would also secure the post at St. Vincent's, which he did, returning from the mission about the 1st of August. During the interval, Clarke re- enlisted his men, formed his plans, sent his pris- oners to Kentucky, and was ready for future action when M. Gibault arrived. He sent Capt. Helm and a single soldier to Vincennes to hold that fort until he could put a garrison there. It is but proper to state that the English commander. Col. Hamilton, and his band of soldiers, were absent at Detroit when the priest secured the village on the "Ouabache." When Hamilton returned, in the autumn, he was greatly surprised to see the Amer- ican flag floating from the ramparts of the fort, and when approaching the gate he was abruptly halted by Capt. Helm, who stood with a lighted fuse in his hand by a cannon, answering Hamilton's demand to surrender with the imperative incjuiry, "Upon what terms, sir?" "Upon the honors of war, " answered Hamilton, and he marclied in greatly chagrined to see he had been halted by two men. The British commander sat quietly down, intending to go on down the river and sub- due Kentucky in the spring, in the mean time off'ering rewards for American scalps, and thereby gaining the epithet " Hair-buyer General." Clarke heard of his actions late in January, 1779, and, as he says, " I knew if I did not take him he would take me," set out early in February with his troops and marched across the marshy plains of Lower Illinois, reaching the Wabash post by the 22d of that month. The unerring aim of the Westerner was effectual. " They will shoot your eyes out," said Helm to the British troops. " There, I told T(3U so," he further exclaimed, as a soldier vent- ured near a port-hole and received a shot directly in his eye. On the 24th the fort surrendered. The American flag waved again over its ramparts. The "Hair-buyer General" was sent a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement for his cruel acts. Clarke returned to Kaskaskia, perfected his plans to hold the Illinois settlements, went on to Kentucky, from where he sent word to the colonial authorities of the success of his expe- dition. Had he received the aid promised him, Detroit, in easy reach, would have fallen too, but Gen. Green, failing to send it as promised, the capt- ure of that important post was delayed. Had Clarke failed, and Hamilton succeeded, the whole West would have been swept, from the Alle- ghanies to the Mississippi. But for this small army of fearless Virginians, the union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might have been effected, and the whole current of American history changed. America owes Clarke and his band more than it can ever pay. Clarke reported the capture of Kaskaskia and the Illinois country early after its surrender, and in October the county of Illinois was established, extending over an unlimited expanse of country, by the Virginia Legislature. John Todd was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor. In November, Clarke and his men received the thanks of the same body, who, in after years, secured them a grant of land, which they selected on the right bank of the Ohio River, opposite Louisville. They expected here a city would rise one day, to be the peer of Louisville, then coming ■^ 56 HISTORY OF OHIO. into prominence as an important place. By some means, their expectations failed, and only the dilapidated village of Clarkesburg perpetuates their hopes. The conquest of Clarke changed the face of affairs in relation to the whole country north of the Ohio River, which would, in all probability, have been made the boundary between Canada and the United States. When this was proposed, the strenuous arguments based on this conquest, by the American Commissioners, secured the present boundary line in negotiating the treaty of 1793. Though Clarke had failed to capture Detroit, Congress saw the importance of the post, and resolved on securing it. Gen. McCosh, commander at Fort Pitt, was piit in command, and 11,000,- 000 and 3,000 men placed at his disposal. By some dilatory means, he got no further than the Tuscarawas Kiver, in Ohio, where a half-way house, called Fort Laurens, for the President of Congress, was built. It was too far out to be of practicable value, and was soon after abandoned. Indian troubles and incursions by the British were the most absorbing themes in the West. The British went so far as Kentucky at a later date, while they intended reducing Fort Pitt, only abandoning it when learning of its strength. Expeditions against the Western Indians were led by Gen. Sullivan, Col. Daniel Broadhead, Col. Bowman and others, which, for awhile, silenced the natives and taught them the power of the Americans. They could not organize so readily as before, and began to attach themselves more closely to the British, or commit their depredations in bands, fleeing into the wilderness as soon as they struck a blow. In this way, several localities suffered, until the settlers became again exasper- ated ; other expeditions were formed, and a second chastisement given. In ITSl, Col. Broadhead led an expedition against the Central Ohio Indians. It did not prove so successful, as the Indians were led by the noted chief Brant, who, though not cruel, was a foe to the Americans, and assisted the British greatly in their endeavors to secure the West. Another class of events occurred now in the West, civil in their relations, yet destined to form an important part of its history — its land laws. It must be borne in mind, that '\^irginia claimed the greater portion of the country north of the Ohio Eiver, as well as a large part south. The other colonies claimed land also in the West under the old Crown grants, which extended to the South or Western Sea. To more complicate mat- ters, several land companies held proprietary rights to portions of these lands gained by grants from the Crown, or from the Colonial Assemblies. Others were based on land warrants issued in 1763; others on selection and survey and still others on settlement. In this state of mixed affairs, it was difficult to say who held a secure claim. It was a question whether the old French grants were good or not, especially since the change in government, and the eminent pros- pect of still another change. To, in some way, aid in setthng these claims, Virginia sent a com- mission to the West to sit as a court and determine the proprietorship of these claims. This court, though of as doubtful authority as the claims themselves, went to work in Kentucky and along the Ohio River in 1779, and, in the course of one year, granted over three thousand certificates. These were considered as good authority for a definite title, and were so regarded in after pur- chases. Under them, many pioneers, like Daniel Boone, lost their lands, as all were required to hold some kind of a patent, while others, who possessed no more principle than "land-sharks" of to-day, acquired large tracts of land by holding a patent the court was bound to accept. Of all the colonies, Virginia seemed to have the best title to the Northwest, save a few parcels, such as the Connecticut or Western Reserve and some similar tracts held by New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. When the territory of the Northwest was ceded to the General Government, this was recognized, and that country was counted as a Virginia county. The Spanish Government, holding the region west of the Mississippi, and a portion east toward its outlet, became an important but secret ally of the Americans. When the French revolt was suppressed by O'Reilly, and the Spanish assumed the government of Louisiana, both Upper and Lower, there was a large tract of country, known as Florida (East and West), claimed by England, and duly regarded as a part of her dominion. The boundaries had been settled when the French first occupied Lower Louisiana. The Spaniards adopted the patriarchal form of rule, as much as was consistent with their interests, and allowed the French full religious and civil liberty, save that all tribunals were after the Spanish fashion, and governed by Spanish rules. The Spaniards, long jealous of England's growing power, secretly sent the Governors of Louisiana word to aid the Americans in their struggle for freedom. Though :^ HISTORY or OHIO. 57 they controlled the Mississippi River, they allowed au American officer (Capt. Willing) to descend the river in Januai-y, 1778, with a party of fifty men, and ravage the British shore from Manchez Bayou to Natchez. On the Sth of May, 1779, Spain declared war against Great Britain; and, on the Sth of July, the people of Louisiana were allowed to take a part in the war. Accordingly, Galvez collected a force of 1,400 men, and, on'' the 7th of September, took Fort Manchac. By the 21st of September, he had taken Baton Rouge and Natchez. Eight vessels were captured by the Spaniards on the Mississippi and on the lakes. In 1780 Mobile fell ; in March, 1781, Pensacola, the chief British post in West Florida, succumbed after a long siege, and, on the 9th of May, all West Florida was surrendered to Spain. This war, or the war on the Atlantic Coast, did not im m ediately affect Upper Louisiana. Great Britain, however, attempted to capture St. Louis. Though the commander was strongly suspected of being bribed by the English, yet the place stood the siege from the combined force of Indians and Canadians, and the assailants were dispersed. This was done during the summer of 1680, and in the autumn, a company of Spanish and French resi- dents, under La Balme, went on an expedition against Detroit. They marched as far north as the British trading-post Ke-ki-ong-a, at the head of the Maumee River, but being surprised in the night, and the commander slain, the expedition was defeated, having done but little. Spain may have had personal interests in aiding the Americans. She was now in control of the Mis- sissippi River, the natural outlet of the Northwest, and, in 1780, began the troubles relative to the navigation of that stream. The claims of Spain were considered very unjust by the Continental Congress, and, while deliberating over the question, Virginia, who was jealously alive to her Western interests, and who yet held jurisdiction over Ken- tucky, sent through Jefferson, the Governor, Gen. George Rogers Clarke, to erect a fort below the mouth of the Ohio. This proceeding was rather unwarrantable, especially as the fort was built in the country of the Chickasaws, who had thus far been true friends to the Americans, and who looked upon the fort as an innovation on their territory. It was completed and occupied but a short time, Clarke being recalled. Virginia, in 1780, did a very important thing; namely, establishing an institution for higher edu- cation. The Old Dominion confiscated the lands of "Robert McKenzie, Henry Collins and Alex- ander McKee, Britons, eight thousand acres," and invested the proceeds of the sale in a public semi- nary. Transylvania University now lives, a monu- ment to that spirit. While Clarke was building Fort Jefferson, a force of British and Indians, under command of Capt. Bryd, came down fi-om Canada and attacked the Kentucky settlements, getting into the country be- fore any one was aware. The winter before had been one of unusual severity, and game was ex- ceedingly scarce, hence the army was not prepared to conduct a campaign. After the capture of Rud- dle's Station, at the south fork of the Licking, Bryd abandoned any further attempts to reduce the set- tlements, except capturing Martin's Station, and returned to Detroit. This expedition gave an additional motive for the chastisement of the Indians, and Clarke, on his return from Fort Jefferson, went on an expedition against the Miami Indians. He destroyed their towns at Loramie's store, near the present city of Sydney, Ohio, and at Piqua, humbling the natives. While on the way, a part of the army remained on the north bank of the Ohio, and erected two block -houses on the present site of Cincinnati. The exploits of Clarke and his men so effectually chastised the Indians, that, for a time, the West was safe. During this period of quiet, the meas- ures which led to the cession of Western lands to the General Government, began to assume a defi- nite form. All the colonies claiming Western lands were wiUing to cede them to the Government, save Virginia, which colony wanted a large scope of Southern country southeast of the Ohio, as far as South Carolina. All recognized the justice of all Western lands becoming public property, and thereby aiding in extinguishing the debts caused by the war of the Revolution, now about to close. As Virginia held a somewhat different view, the cession was not made until 1783. The subject, however, could not be allowed to rest. The war of the Revolution was now drawing to a close ; victory on the part of the colonies was apparent, and the Western lands must be a part of the public domain. Subsequent events brought about the desired cession, though several events transpired before the plan of cession was consum- mated. Before the close of 1780, the Legislature of Virginia passed an act, establishing the "town of Louisville," and confiscated the lands of John 9 ^V li^ 58 HISTORY OP OHIO. Connelly, who was one of its original proprietors, and who distinguished himself in the commence- ment of Lord Dunmore's war, and who was now a Tory, and doing all he could against the patriot cause. The proceeds of the sale of his lands were divided between Virginia and the county of Jefferson. Kentucky, the next year, was divided into three counties, Jefferson, Lincoln and Fayette. Courts were appointed in each, and the entry and location of lands given into their hands. Settlers, in spite of Indian troubles and British intrigue, were pouring over the mountains, particularly so during the years 1780 and 1781. The expeditions of Clarke against the jMiami Indians ; Boone's cap- tivity, and escape from them ; their defeat when attacking Boonesboro, and other places — all combined to weaken their power, and teach them to respect a nation whose progress they could not stay. The pioneers of the West, obliged to depend on themselves, owing to the struggle of the colonies for freedom, grew up a hardy, self-reliant race, with all the vices and virtues of a border life, and with habits, manners and customs necessary to their peculiar situation, and suited to their peculiar taste. A resume of their experiences and daily lives would be quite interesting, did the limits of this history admit it here. In the part relating directly to this county, the reader will find such lives given ; here, only the important events can be noticed. The last event of consequence occurring in the West before the close of the Revolution, is one that might well have been omitted. Had such been the case, a great stain would have been spared the character of Western pioneers. Reference is made to the massacre of the Moravian Christian Indians. These Indians were of the Delaware nation chiefly, though other Western tribes were visited and many converts made. The first converts were made in New York and Connecticut, where, after a good start had been made, and a prospect of many souls being saved, they incurred the enmity of the whites, who, becoming alarmed at their suc- cess, persecuted them to such an extent that they were driven out of New York into Pennsylvania, where, in 1744, four years after their arrival in the New ^^^orld, they began new missions. In 1748, the New York and Connecticut Indians fol- lowed their teachers, and were among the founders of Priedenshutten, "Tents of Peace," a hamlet near Bethlehem, where their teacheis were sta- tioned. Other hamlets grew around them, until in the interior of the colony, existed an Indian community, fi-ee from all savage vices, and grow- ing up in Christian virtues. As their strength grew, lawless whites again began to oppress them. They could not understand the war of 1754, and were, indeed, in a truly embarrassing position. The savages could form no conception of any cause for neutrality, save a secret sympathy with the English ; and if they could not take up the hatchet, they were in the way, and must be removed. Fail- ing to do this, their red brothers became hostile. The whites were but little better. The old suspi- cions which drove them from New York were aroused. They were secret Papists, in league with the French, and furnished them with arms and in- telligence; they were interfering with the liquor traffic; they were enemies to the Government, and the Indian and the white man combined against them. They were obliged to move from place to place; were at one time protected nearly a year, near Philadelphia, from lawless whites, and finally were compelled to go far enough West to be out of the way of French and English arms, or the Iroquois and Cherokee hatchets. They came finally to the Muskingum, where they made a set- tlement called Schonbrun, "beautiful clear spring," in what is now Tuscarawas County. Other settle- ments gathered, from time to time, as the years went on, till in 1772 large numbers of them were within the borders of the State. Until the war of independence broke out, they were allowed to peacefully pursue their way. When that came, they were between Fort Pitt and De- troit, one of which contained British, the other Americans. Again they could not understand the struggle, and could not take up the hatchet. This brought on them the enmity of both belligerent parties, and that of their own forest companions, who could not see wherein their natures could change. Among the most hostile persons, were the white renegades McKee, Girty and Elliott. On their instigation, several of them were slain, and by their advice they were obliged to leave their fields and homes, where they had many comforts, and where they had erected good chapels in which to worship. It was just before one of these forced removals that Mary, daughter of the missionary Heckewelder, was born. She is supposed to be the first white female child born north of the Ohio River. Her birth occurred April 16, 1781. It is but proper to say here, that it is an open ques- tion, and one that will probably never be decided. -^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 59 ('. f . Wlio was the first white child born in Ohio ? In all probability, the child was born during the captivity of its mother, as history plainly shows that when white women were released from the Indians, some of them carried children born while among the natives. When the ^loravians were forced to leave their settlements on the Muskingum, and taken to San- dusky, they left growing fields of corn, to which they were obliged to return, to gather food. This aroused the whites, only wanting some pretext whereby they might attack them, and a party, headed by Col. David Williamson, determined to exterminate them. The Moravians, hearing of their approach, fled, but too late to warn other settle- ments, and Gnadenhutten, Salem and one or two smaller settlements, were surprised and taken. Under deceitful promises, the Indians gave up all their arms, showed the whites their treasures, and went unknowingly to a terrible death. When ap- prised of their fate, determined on by a majority of the rangers, they begged only time to prepare. They were led two by two, the men into one, the women and children into another "slaughter- house," as it was termed, and all but two lads were wantonly slain. An infamous and more bloody deed never darkened the pages of feudal times ; a deed that, in after years, called aloud for venge- ance, and in some measure received it. Some of Williamson's men wrung their hands at the cruel fate, and endeavored, by all the means in their power, to prevent it; but all to no purpose. The blood of the rangers was up, and they would not spare "man, woman or child, of all that peaceful band." Having completed their horrible work, (March 8, 178:^), Williamson and his men returned to Pittsburgh. Everywhere, the Indians lamented the untimely death of their kindred, their savage relatives determining on their- revenge; the Chris- tian ones could only be resigned and weep. Williamson's success, for such it was A'iewed by many, excited the borderers to another invasion, and a second army was raised, this time to go to the Sandusky town, and annihilate the Wyandots. Col. Wilham Crawford was elected leader ; he accepted reluctantly ; on the way, the army was met by hordes of savages on the 5th of June, and totally routed. They were away north, in what is now Wyandot County, and were obliged to flee for their lives. The blood of the murdered Moravians called for revenge. The Indians de- sired it ; were they not relatives of the fallen Christians ? Crawford and many of his men fell into their hands ; all suifered unheard-of tortures, that of Crawford being as cruel as Indian cruelty could devise. He was pounded, pierced, cut with knives and burned, all of which occupied nearly three hours, and finally lay down insensible on a bed of coals, and died. The savage captors, in demoni- acal glee, danced around him, and upbraided him for the cruel murder of their relatives, giving him this only consolation, that had they captured Will- iamson, he might go free, but he must answer for Williamson's brutality. The war did not cease here. The Indians, now aroused, carried their attack as far south as into Kentucky, killing Capt. Estill, a brave man, and some of his companions. The British, too, were active in aiding them, and the 14th of August a large force of them, under Girty, gathered silently about Bryant's Station. They were obliged to re- treat. The Kentuckians pursued them, but were repulsed with considerable loss. The attack on Bryant's Station aroused the peo- ple of Kentucky to strike a blow that would be felt. Gen. Clarke was put at the head of an army of one thousand and fifty men, and the Miami country was a second time destroyed. Clarke even went as far north as the British trading-post at the head of the Miami, where he captured a great amount of property, and, destroyed the post. Other outposts also fell, the invading army suffering but little, and, by its decisive action, practically closing the Indian wars in the West. Pennsylvania suf- fered some, losing Hannahstown and one or two small settlements. Williamson's and Crawford's campaigns aroused the fury of the Indians that took time and much blood and war to subdue. The Revolution was,however, drawing to a-close. Amer- ican arms were victorious, and a new nation was now coming into existence, who would change the whole current of Western matters, and make of the Northwest a land of liberty, equality and union. That nation was now on the stage. rt* ^ s 60 HISTOEY OF OHIO. CHAPTER VI. AMERICAN OCCUPATION— INDIAN CLAIMS— SURVEYS — EARLY LAND COMPANIES— COMPACT OF 1787— ORGANIZATION OF THE TERRITORY — EARLY AMERICAN SETTLE- MENTS IN THE OHIO VALLEY — FIRST TERRITORIAL OFFICERS— ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES. THE occupation of the West by the American, really dates from the campaign of Gen. Clarke in 1778, when he captured the British posts in the Illinois country, and Vincennes on the Wabash. Had he been properly supported, he would have reduced Detroit, then in easy reach, and poorly de- fended. As it was, however, that post remained in charge of the British till after the close of the war of the Revolution. They also held other lake posts; but these were included in the terms of peace, and came into the possession of the Ameri- cans. They were abandoned by the British as soon as the different commanders received notice from their chiefs, and British rule and English occupation ceased in that part of the New World. The war virtually closed by the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., October 19, 1781. The struggle was prolonged, however, by the British, in the vain hope that they could re- trieve the disaster, but it was only a useless waste of men and money. America would not be sub- dued. "If we are to be taxed, we will be repre- sented," said they, "else we will be a free govern- ment, and regulate our own taxes." In the end, they were free. Provisional articles of peace between the United States and Great Britain were signed in Paris on the 30th of November, 1782. This was followed by an armistice negotiated at Versailles on the 20th of January, 178.3 ; and finally, a definite treaty of peace was concluded at Paris on the 3d of the next September, and ratified by Congress on the 4th of January, 1784. By the second article of the defi- nite treaty of 1783, the boundaries of the United States were fixed. A glance at the map of that day shows the boundary to have been as follows: Beginning at Passamaquoddy Bay, on the coast of Maine, the line ran north a little above the forty- fifth parallel of latitude, when it diverged southwest- erly, irregularly, until it reached that parallel, when it followed it until it reached the St. Lawrence River. It followed that river to Lake Ontario, down its center ; up the Niagara River ; through Lake Erie, up the Detroit River and through Lakes Huron and Superior, to the northwest extremity of the latter. Then it pursued another iri'egular western course to the Lake of the Woods, when it turned south- ward to the Mississippi River. The commissioners insisted that should be the western boundary, as the lakes were the northern. It followed the Mis- sissippi south until the mouth of Red River was reached, when, turning east, it followed almost a direct line to the Atlantic Coast, touching the coast a little north of the outlet of St. John's Piiver. Prom this outline, it will be readily seen what boundary the United States possessed. Not one- half of its present domain. At this date, there existed the original thirteen colonies : Virginia occupying all Kentucky and all the Northwest, save about half of Michigan and Wisconsin, claimed by Massachusetts ; and the upper part of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and the lower part (a narrow strip) of Michigan, claimed by Con- necticut. Georgia included all of Alabama and Mississippi. The Spaniards claimed all Florida and a narrow part of lower Georgia. All the coun- try west of the Father of Waters belonged to Spain, to whom it had been secretly ceded when the fam- ily compact was made. That nation controlled the Slississippi, and gave no small uneasiness to the young government. It was, however, happily set- tled finally, by the sale of Louisana to the United States. Pending the settlement of these questions and the formation of the Federal Union, the cession of the Northwest by Virginia again came before Congi-ess. That body found itself unable to fulfill its promises to its soldiers regarding land, and again urged the Old Dominion to cede the Terri- tory to the General Government, for the good of all. Congress forbade settlers from occupying the Western lands till a definite cession had been made, and the title to the lands in question made good. But speculation was stronger than law, and without waiting for the slow processes of courts. . -^ :^ HISTOKY OF OHIO. 61 the adventurous settlers were pouring into the country at a rapid rate, only retarded by the rifle and scalping-knife of the savage — a temporary check. The policy of allowing any parties to obtain land from the Indians was strongly discouraged by Washington. He advocated the idea that only the General Government could do that, and, in a letter to James Duane, in Congress, he strongly urged such a course, and pointed out the danger of a border war, unless some such measure was stringently followed. Under the circumstances. Congress pressed the claims of cession upon Virginia, and finally in- duced the Dominion to modily the terms proposed two years before. On the 20th of December, 1783, Virginia accepted the proposal of Congress, and authorized her delegates to make a deed to the United States of all her right in the territory northwest of the Ohio. The Old Dominion stipulated in her deed of cession, that the territory should be divided into States, to be admitted into the Union as any other State, and to bear a proportionate share in the maintenance of that Union; that Virginia should be re-imbursed for the expense incurred in subduing the British posts in the territory; that the French and Canadian inhabitants should be protected in their rights; that the grant to Gen. George Rogers Clarke and his men, as well as all other similar grants, should be confirmed, and that the lands should be considered as the common property of the United States, the proceeds to be applied to the use of the whole country. Congress accepted these condi- tions, and the deed was made March 1, 1784. Thus the country came from under the dominion of Virginia, and became common property. A serious diflioulty arose about this time, that threatened for awhile to involve England and America anew in war. Virginia and several other States refused to abide by that part of the treaty relating to the payment of debts, especially so, when the British carried away quite a number of negroes claimed by the Americans. This re- fusal on the part of the Old Dominion and her abettors, caused the English to retain her North- western outposts, Detroit, Mackinaw, etc. She held these till 1786, when the questions were finally settled, and then readily abandoned them. The return of peace greatly augmented emigra- tion to the West, especially to Kentucky. When the war closed, the population of that county (the three counties having been made one judicial dis- trict, and Danville designated as the seat of gov- ernment) was estimated to be about twelve thousand. In one year, after the close of the war, it increased to 30,000, and steps for a State governmenl were taken. Owing to the divided sentiment among its citizens, its perplexing questions of land titles and proprietary rights, nine conventions were held before a definite course of action could be reached. This prolonged the time till 1792, when, in De- cember of that year, the election for persons to form a State constitution was held, and the vexed and complicated questions settled. In 1783, the first wagons bearing merchandise came across the mountains. Their contents were received on flat- boats at Pittsburgh, and taken down the Ohio to Louisville, which that spring boasted of a store, opened by Daniel Broadhead. The next year, James Wilkinson opened one at Lexington. Pittsburgh was now the principal town in the West. It occupied the same position regarding the outposts that Omaha has done for several years to Nebraska. The town of Pittsburgh was laid out immediately after the war of 1764, by Col. Campbell. It then consisted of four squares about the fort, and received its name from that citadel. The treaty with the Six Nations in 1768, con- veyed to the proprietaries of Pennsylvania all the lands of the Alleghany below Kittanning, and all the country south of the Ohio, within the limits of Penn's charter. This deed of cession was recog- nized when the line between Pennsylvania and Virginia was fixed, and gave the post to the Key- stone State. In accordance with this deed, the manor of Pittsburgh was withdrawn from market in 1769, and was held as the property of the Penn family. When Washington visited it in 1770, it seems to have declined in consequence of the afore-mentioned act. He mentions it as a "town of about twenty log houses, on the Monongahela, about three hundred yards from the fort." The Penn's remained true to the King, and hence all their land that had not been surveyed and returned to the land office, was confiscated by the common- wealth. Pittsburgh, having been surveyed, was still left to them. In the spring of 1784, Tench Francis, the agent of the Penns, was induced to lay out the manor into lots and offer them for sale. Though, for many years, the place was rather un- promising, it eventually became the chief town in that part of the West, a position it yet holds. In 1786, John Scull and Joseph Hall started the Pittsburgh Gazette^ the first paper published west of the mountains. In the initial number, appeared a lengthy article from the pen of H. H. Brackenridge, V ^ 63 IIISTOEY OF OHIO. afterward one of tlie most prominent members of the Pennsylvania bar. He had located in Pittsburgli in 1781. His letter gives a most hope- ful prospect in store for the future city, and is a highly descriptive article of the Western country. It is yet preserved in the "Western Annals," and is well worth a perusal. Under the act of peace in 1783, no provision was made by the British for their allies, especially the Six Nations. The question was ignored by the English, and was made a handle by the Americans in gaining them to their cause before the war had fully closed. The treaties made were regarded by the Indians as alliances only, and when the En- glish left the country the Indians began to assume rather a hostile bearing. This excited the whites, and for a while a war with that formidable con- federacy was imminent. Better councils prevailed, and Congress wisely adopted the policy of acquiring their lands by purchase. In accordance with this policy, a treaty was made at Fort Stanwix with the Six Nations, in October, 1784. By this treaty, all lands west of a line drawn from the mouth of Oswego Creek, about four miles east of Niagara, to the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and on to the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, thence west along that boundary to its western extremity, thence south to the Ohio River, should be ceded to the United States. (They claimed west of this line by conquest.) The Six Nations were to be secured in the lands they inhabited, reserving only six miles square around Oswego fort for the support of the same. By this treaty, the indefinite claim of the Six Nations to the West was extinguished, and the question of its ownership settled. It was now occupied by other Western tribes, who did not recognize the Iroquois claim, and who would not yield without a purchase. Especially was this the case with those Indians living in the northern part. To get possession of that country by the same process, the United States, through its commissioners, held a treaty at Fort Mcintosh on the 21st of January, 1785. The Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa tribes were pres- ent, and, through their chiefs, sold their lands to the Government. The Wyandot and Delaware nations were given a reservation in the north part of Ohio, where they were to be protected. The others were allotted reservations in Michigan. To all was given complete control of their lands, allow- ing them to punish any white man attempting to settle thereon, and guaranteeing them in their rights. By such means Congress gained Indian titles to the vast realms north of the Ohio, and, a few months later, that legislation was commenced that should determine the mode of its disposal and the plan of its settlements. To facilitate the settlement of lands thus acquired. Congress, on May 20, 1785, passed an act for dispos- ing of lands in the Northwest Territory. Its main provisions were : A surveyor or surveyors should be appointed from the States ; and a geographer, and his assistants to act with them. The surveyors were to divide the territory into townships of six miles square, by lines running due north and south, and east and west. The starting-place was to be on the Ohio River, at a point where the western boundary of Pennsylvania crossed it. This would give the first range, and the first township. As soon as seven townships were surveyed, the maps and plats of the same were to be sent to the Board of the Treasury, who would record them and proceed to place the laud in the market, and so on with all the townships as fast as they could be prepared ready for sale. Each town- ship was to be divided into thirty-six sections, or lots, Out of these sections, numbers 8, 11, 26 and 29 were reserved for the use of the Government, and lot No. 16, for the establishment of a common- school fund. One-third of all mines and minerals was also reserved for the United States. Three townships on Lake Erie were reserved for the use of officers, men and others, refugees from Canada and from Nova Scotia, who were entitled to grants of land. The Moravian Indians were also exempt from molestation, and guaranteed in their homes. Sol- diers' claims, and all others of a like nature, were also recognized, and land reserved for them. Without waiting for the act of Congxess, settlers had been pouring into the country, and, when or- dered by Congress to leave undisturbed Indian lands, refused to do so. They went into the In- dian country at their peril, however, and when driven out by the Indians could get no redress from the Government, even when life was lost. The Indians on the Wabash made a treaty at Fort Finney, on the Miami, January 31, 1786, promising allegiance to the United States, and were allowed a reservation. This treaty did not include the Piankeshaws, as was at first intended. These, refusing to live peaceably, stirred up the Shawa- nees, who began a series of predatory excursions against the settlements. This led to an expedition against them and other restless tribes. Gen. Clarke commanded part of the army on that expedition. 'V -S.^ l^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 65 ■ but got no farther than Vincennes, when, owing to the discontent of his Kentucky troops, he was obhged to return. Col. Benjamin Logan, how- ever, marched, at the head of four or five hundred mounted riflemen, into the Indian country, pene- trating as far as the head-waters of jMad River. He destroyed several towns, much corn, and took about eighty prisoners. Among these, was the chief of the nation, who was wantonly slain, greatly to Logan's regret, who could not restrain his men. His expedition taught the Indians sub- mission, and that they must adhere to their con- tracts. Meanwhile, the difficulties of the navigation of the Mississippi arose. Spain would not relinquish the right to control the entire southern part of the river, allowing no free navigation. She was secretly hoping to cause a revolt of the Western provinces, especially Kentucky, and openly favored such a move. She also claimed, by conquest, much of the land on the east side of the river. The slow move- ments of Congress; the failure of Virginia to properly protect Kentucky, and the inherent rest- lessness in some of the Western men, well-nigh precipitated matters, and, for a while, serious i-esults were imm inent The Kentuckians, and, indeed, all the people of the West, were determined the river should be free, and even went so far as to raise a regiment, and forcibly seize Spanish prop- erty in the West. Great Britain stood ready, too, to aid the West should it succeed, providing it would make an alliance with her. But while the excitement was at its height, Washington coun- seled better ways and patience. The decisive tone of the new republic, though almost overwhelmed with a Ixirden of debt, and with no credit, debarred the Spanish from too forcible measures to assert their claims, and held back the disloyal ones from attempting a revolt. New York, Jilassachusetts and Connecticut ceded their lands, and now the United States were ready to fulfill their promises of land grants, to the sol- diers who had preserved the nation. This did much to heal the breach in the West, and restore confidence there; so that the Mississippi question was overlooked for a time, and Kentucky forgot her animosities. The cession of their claims was the signal for the formation of land companies in the East ; com- panies whose object was to settle the Western coun- try, and, at the same time, enrich the founders of the companies. Some of these companies had been formed in the old colonial days, but the recent war had put a stop to all their proceedings. Congress would not recognize their claims, and new com- panies, under old names, were the result. By such means, the Ohio Company emerged from the past, and, in 1786, took an active existence. Benjamin Tupper, a Revolutionary soldier, and since then a government surveyor, who had been west as far as Pittsburgh, revived the question. He was prevented from prosecuting his surveys by hostile Indians, and returned to Massachusetts. He broached a plan to Gen. Rufus Putnam, as to the renewal of their memorial of 1783, which re- sulted in the publication of a plan, and inviting all those interested, to meet in February in their re- spective counties, and choose delegates to a con- vention to be held at the " Bunch-of-grapes Tav- ern." in Boston, on the first of March, 1786. On the day appointed, eleven persons appeared, and' by the 3d of March an outline was drawn up, and subscriptions under it began at once. The leading- features of the plan were : " A fund of $1 ,000,000, mainly in Continental certificates, was to be raised for the purpose of purchasing lands in the Western country; there were to be 1,000 shares of $1,000 each, and upon each share $10 in specie were to^ be paid for contingent expenses. One year's inter- est was to be appropriated to the charges of making a settlement, and assisting those unable to move without aid. The owners of every twenty shares were to choose an agent to represent them and attend to their interests, and the agents were to choose the directors. The plan was approved, and in a year's time from that date, the Company was organized."* By the time this Company was organized; all claims of the colonies in the coveted territory were done away with by their deeds of cession, Connect- icut being the last. While troubles were still existing south of the Ohio River, regarding the navigation of the Mis- sissippi, and many urged the formation of a sepa- rate, independent State, and while Congress and Washington were doing what they could to allay the feeling north of the Ohio, the New England associates were busily engaged, now that a Com- pany was formed, to obtain the land they wished to purchase. On the 8th of March, 1787, a meet- ing of the agents chose Gen. Parsons, Gen. Put- nam and the Rev. Mannasseh Cutler, Directors for the Company. The last selection was quite a fitting one for such an enterprise. Dr. Cutler' was * Historical CoUcctiona, 11 ■fi» ".£. 60 HISTORY OF OHIO. an aocomplislied scholar, an excellent gentleman, and a firm believer in freedom. In the choice of him as the agent of the Company, lies the fact, though unforeseen, of the beginning of anti-slavery in America. Through him the famous " compact of 1787," the true corner-stone of the Northwest, originated, and by him was safely passed. He was a good " wire-puller," too, and in this had an advantage. Wr. Hutchins was at this time the geographer for the United States, and was, prob- ably, the best-posted man in America regarding the West. Dr. Cutler learned from him that the most desirable portions were on the Muskingum River, north of the Ohio, and was advised by him to buy there if he could. Congress wanted money badly, and many of the members favored the plan. The Southern mem- bers, generally, were hostile to it, as the Doctor would listen to no grant which did not embody the New England ideas in the charter. These members were finally won over, some bribery be- ing used, and some of their favorites made officers of the Territory, whose formation was now going on. This took time, however, and Dr. Cutler, be- coming impatient, declared they would purchase from some of the States, who held small tracts in various parts of the West. This intimation brought the tardy ones to time, and, on the 23d of July, Congress authorized the Treasury Board to make the contract. On the 26th, Messrs. Cutler and Sargent, on behalf of the Company, stated in writing their conditions; and on the 27th, Con- gress referred their letter to the Board, and an order of the same date was obtained. Of this Dr. Cutler's journal says: "By this grant we obtained near five millions of acres of land, amounting to $3,500,000; 1,500,- 000 acres for the Ohio Company, and the remainder for a private speculation, in which many of the principal characters of America are concerned. Without connecting this peculation, similar terms and advantages for the Ohio Company could not have been obtained." Messrs. Cutler and Sargent at once closed a ver- bal contract with the Treasury Board, which was executed in form on the 27th of the next Octo- ber.* By this contract, the vast region bounded on the south by the Ohio, west by the Scioto, east by the seventh range of townships then surveying, and north by a due west line, drawn from the north * Land Laws. boundary of the tenth township from the Ohio, direct to the Scioto, was sold to the Ohio associ- ates and their secret copartners, for $1 per acre, subject to a deduction of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. The whole tract was not, however, paid for nor taken by the Company — even their own portion of a million and a half acres, and extending west to the eighteenth range of townships, was not taken ; and in 1792, the boundaries of the purchase proper were fixed as follows : the Ohio on the south, the seventh range of townships on the east, the six- teenth range on the west, and a lino on the north so drawn as to make the grant 750,000 acres, be- sides reservations ; this grant being the portion which it was originally agreed the Company might enter into at once. In addition to this, 214,285 acres were granted as army bounties, under the resolutions of 1779 and 1780, and 100,000 acres as bounties to actual settlers ; both of the latter tracts being within the original grant of 1787, and adjoining the purchase as before mentioned. While these things were progressing. Congress was bringing into form an ordinance for the gov- ernment and social organization of the North- west Territory. Virginia made her cession in March, 1784, and during the month following the plan for the temporary government of the newly acquired territory came under discussion. On the 19th of April, Mr. Spaight, of North Carolina, moved to strike from the plan reported by Jlr. Jefi'erson, the emancipationist of his day, a provis- ion for the prohibition of slavery north of the Ohio after the year 1800. The motion prevailed. From that day till the 23d, the plan was discussed and altered, and finally passed unanimously wiA the ex- ception of South Carolina. The South would have slavery, or defeat every measure. Thus this hide- ous monster early began to assert himself By the proposed plan, the Territory was to have been divided into States by parallels of latitude and merid- ian lines. This division, it was thought, would make ten States, whose names were as follows, beginning at the northwest corner, and going southwardly : Sylvania, Michigania, Cheresonisus, Assenispia, IMetropotamia, Illinoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotamia and Pclisipia.* A more serious difiiculty existed, however, to this plan, than its catalogue of names — the number of States and their boundaries. Theroot of the evil was in the resolution passed by Congress in October, *= Spark's Wusbington. ^ (! :^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 67 1 TSO, -wliicli fixed the size of the States to be formed from the ceded lands, at one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles square. The terms of that resolu- tion being called up both by Virginia and Massa- chus3tts, further legislation was deemed necessary to change them. July 7, 1786, this subject came up in Congress, and a resolution passed in favor of a division into not less than three nor more than five States. Virginia, at the close of 1788, assented to this proposition, -wliich became the basis upon which the division should be made. On the 29th of September, Congress having thus changed the plan for dividing the Northwestern Territory into ten States, proceeded again to consider the terms of an ordinance for the government of that region. At this juncture, the genius of Dr. Cutler displayed itself. A graduate in medicine, law and divinity ; an ardent lover of liberty ; a celebrated scientist, and an accomplished, portly gentleman, of whom the Southern senators said they had never before seen so fine a specimen from the New England colo- nies, no man was better prepared to form a govern- ment for the new TeiTitory, than he. The Ohio Company was his real object. He was backed by them, and enough Continental money to purchase more than a million acres of land. This was aug- mented by other parties until, as has been noticed, he represented over five million acres. This would largely reduce the public debt. Jefierson and Vir- ginia were I'Cgarded as authority concerning the land Virginia had just ceded to the General Gov- ernment. Jefferson's policy was to provide for the national credit, and still check the growth of slavery. Here was a good opportunity. JMassachusetts owned the Territory of Maine, which she was crowd- ing into market. She opposed the opening of the Northwest. This stirred Virginia. The South caught the inspiration and rallied around the Old Dominion and Dr. Cutler. Thereby ho gained the credit and good will of the South, an auxiliary he used to good purpose. Massachusetts could not vote against him, because many of the constituents of her members were interested in the Ohio Com- pany. Thus the Doctor, using all the arts of the lobbyist, was enabled to hold the situation. True to deeper convictions, he dictated one of the most com- pact and finished documents of wise statesmanship that has ever adorned any statute-book. Jeflferson gave it the term, "Articles of Compact," and rendered him valuable aid in its construction. This " Compact" preceded the Federal Constitution, in both of which are seen Jefferson's master-mind. Dr. Cutler followed closely the constitution of Mas- sachusetts, adopted three years before. The prom- inent features were : The exclusion of slavery from the Territory forever. Provision for public schools, giving one township for a seminary, and every six- teenth section. (That gave one thirty-sixth of all the land for public education.) A provision pro- hibiting the adoption of any constitution or the enactment of any law that would nullify pre-exist- ing contracts. The compact further declared that " Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always be en- couraged." The Doctor planted himself firmly on this plat- form, and would not yield. It was that or nothing. Unless they could make the land desirable, it was not wanted, and, taking his horse and buggy, he started for the Constitutional Convention in Phil- adelphia. His influence succeeded. On the 13th of July, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage and was unanimously adopted. Every member from the South voted for it ; only one man, Mr. Yates, of New York, voted against the measure ; but as the vote was made by States, his vote was lost, and the " Compact of 1787 " was beyond re- peal. Thus the great States of the Northwest Territory were consecrated to freedom, intelligence and morality. This act was the opening stop for freedom in America. Soon the South saw their blunder, and endeavored, by all their power, to re- peal the compact. In 1803, Congress referred it to a committee, of which John Piandolph was chairman. He reported the ordinance was a com- pact and could not be repealed. Thus it stood, like a rock, in the way of slavery, which still, in spite of these provisions, endeavored to plant that infernal institution in the West. Witness the early days of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. But the compact could not be violated ; New England ideas could not be put down, and her sons stood ready to defend the soil of the West from that curse. The passage of the ordinance and the grant of land to Dr. Cutler and his associates, were soon fol- lowed by a request from John Cleve Symmes, of New Jersey, fur the country between the Miamis. Symmes had visited that part of the West in 178G, and, being pleased with the valleys of the Bliamis, had applied to the Board of the Treasury for their purchase, as soon as they were open to set- tlement. The Board was empowered to act by Congress, and, in 1788, a contract was signed, giv- ing him the country he desired. The terms of his '-^ 03 niSTOKY or OHIO. purchase were similar to those of the Ohio Com- pany. His apphcation was followed by others, whose successurfailure will appear in the narrative. The New England or Ohio Company was all this time butrily engaged perfecting its arrange- ments to occupy its lands. The Directors agreed to reserve 5, 7 GO acres near the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum for a city and commons, for the old ideas of the English plan of settling a country yet prevailed. A meeting of the Direct- ors was held at Bracket's tavern, in Boston, No- vember 23, 1787, when four surveyors, and twen- ty-two attendants, boat-builders, carpenters, black- smiths and common workmen, numbering in all forty persons, wero engaged. Their tools were purchased, and wagons wero obtained to transport them across the mountains. Gen. Rufus Putnam was made superintendent of the company, and Ebenezer Sproat, of Ilhode Island, Anselm Tup- per and John Matthews, from Massachusetts, and R. J. Meigs, f om Connecticut, as surveyors. At the same meeting, a suitable person to instruct them in religion, and prepare the way to open a school when needed, was selected. This was Rev. Daniel Storey, who became the first New England minis- ter in the Northwest. The Indians were watching this outgrowth of affairs, and felt, from what they could learn in Ken- tucky, that they would bo gTadually surrounded by the whites. This they did not relish, by any moans, and gave the settlements south of the Ohio no little uneasiness. It was thought best to hold another treaty with them. In the mean time, to insure peace, the Governor of Virginia, and Con- gress, placed troops at Venango, Forts Pitt and Mcintosh, and at Miami, Vinceunes, Louisville, and Muskingum, and the militia of Kentucky were held in readiness should a sudden outbreak occur. These measures produced no results, save insuring the safety of the whites, and not until January, 1789, was Clarke able to carry out his plans. During that month, he held a meeting at Fort) Harmar,* at the mouth of the Muskingum, where the New England Colony expected to locate. The hostile character of the Indians did not deter the Ohio Company from carrying out its plans. In the winter of 1787, Gen. Rufus Put- ^ F rtTTnrmnrwiHliiiilt in 17^5.byarlf^f.nrlimcnt nT rnitpd States BOlflilTS, llluIlT CiiliillJiUHj (Jt M-J. .li.llM ]>'illullly. Ir \V;i.S n iMleil j'l hnnor of Cu!. Jt.si.ili niii iiiiir, t > "w Iniho rt'^nin iitl^MJ LJuUfi:lil,\ m»s atfai-heii. Tt Wintho tirstiiiilitiuy p .st (■I'cclcd Lv Itri AiiiiTn-iiiiH will-in til" I'mitH of Oliiii, cvcciit yurt LTiircnfl, ii temiiorary sffiici- tiielnilt in)77«. WIhti Uliinetla nas Coiinduil it was tlic'inilitaiy ji.ist ot tlint part of tliG couiitiy, and was fur many yearti un impor- tant blation. nam and forty-seven pioneers advanced to the mouth of the Youghiogheny E-iver, and began building a boat for transportation down the Ohio in the spring. The boat was the largest craft that had ever descended the river, and, in allusion to their Pilgrim Fathers, it was called the Mayflower. It was 45 feet long and 12 feet wide, and esti- mated at 50 tons burden. Truly a formidable affair for the time. The bows wero raking and curved like a galley, and were strongly timbered. The sides ware made bullet-proof, and it was covered with a deck roof Capt. Devol, the first ship- builder in the West, was placed in command. On the 2d of April, the Mayflower was launched, and for five days the little band of pioneers sailed down the Monongahela and the Ohio, and, on the 7th, landed at the mouth of the Muskingum. There, opposite Fort Harmar, they chose a loca- tion, moored their boat for a temporary shelter, and began to erect houses for their occupation. Thus was begun the first English settlement in the Ohio Valley. About the 1st of July, they were re-enforced by the arrival of a colony from Massachusetts. It bad been nine weeks on the way. It had hauled its wagons and driven its stock to Wheeling, where, constructing flat-boats, it had floated down the river to the settlement. In October preceding this occurrence, Arthur St. Clair had been appointed Governor of the Ter- ritory by Congress, which body also appointed Winthrop Sargent, Secretary, and Samuel H. Parsons, James iM. Varnum and John Armstrong Judges. Subsequently Mr. Armstrong declined the appointment, and Mr, Synimes was given the vacancy. None of these were on the ground when the first settlement was made, though the Judges came soon after. One of the first things the colony found necessary to do was to organize some form of government, whereby difficulties might be settled, though to the credit of the colony it may bo said, that during the first three months of its existence but one difference arose, and that was settled by a compromise.* Indi'od, hardly a better set of men for the purpose could have been selected. Washington wrote concerning this colony : "No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has com- menced at the Muskingum. Information, prop- erty and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of the settlers personally, and there ='"' Western Monthly Magazine." S ""V liL^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 09 never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." On the 2d of July, a meeting of the Directors and agents was held on the banks of the Mus- kingum for the purpose of naming the ne\Yborn city and its squares. As yet, the settlement had been merely "The Muskingum;" but the name Marietta was now formally given it, in honor of Marie Antoinette. The square upon which the blockhouses stood was called Campus Martins; Square No. 19, Capitolium; Square No. 61, Ce- cilia, and the great road running through the covert-way, Sacra Via* Surely, classical scholars were not scarce in the colony. On the Fourth, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum, one of the Judges, and a public demonstration held. Five days after, the Governor arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The ordinance of 1787 provided two dis- tinct grades of government, under the first of which the whole power was under the Governor and the three Judges. This form was at once recognized on the arrival of St. Clair. The first law established by this court was passed on the 25th of July. It established and regulated the militia of the Territory. The next day after its publication, appeared the Governor's proclamation erecting all the country that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River, into the county of Washington. Marietta was, of course, the county seat, and, from that day, went on prosperously. On September 2, the first court was held with becoming ceremonies. It is thus related in. the American Pioneer: "The procession was formed at the Point (where the most of the settlers resided), in the following order: The High Sherifi', with his di'awn sword; the citizens; the officers of the garrison at Fort Harmar; the members of the bar; the Supreme Judges; the Governor and clergyman ; the newly appointed Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, Gens. Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper. "They marched up the path that had been cleared through the forest to Campus Blartius Hall (stockade), where the whole countermarched, and the Judges (Putnam and Tupper) took their seats. The clergyman. Rev. Dr. Cutler, then invoked the divine blessing. The Sheriff', Col. Ebenezer Sproat, proclaimed with his solemn ' Oh yes ! ' that a court is open for the administration of *" Carey's Museum," Vol.4. even-handed justice, to the poor and to the rich, to the guilty and to the innocent, without respect of persons; none to be punished without a trial of their peers, and then in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case. " Although this scene was exhibited thus early in the settlement of the West, few ever equaled it in the dignity and exalted character of its princi- pal participators. Many of them belonged to the history of our country in the darkest, as well as the most splendid, period of the Revolutionary war." Many Indians were gathered at the same time to witness the (to them) strange spectacle, and for the purpose of forming a treaty, though how far they carried this out, the Pioneer does not relate. The progress of the settlement was quite satis- factory during the year. Some one writing a letter from the town says: "The progress of the settlement is sufiiciently rapid for the first year. We are continually erect- ing houses, but arrivals are constantly coming faster than we can possibly provide convenient covering. Our first ball was opened about the middle of December, at which were fifteen ladies, as well accomplished in the manner of polite circles as any I have ever seen in the older States. I mention this to show the progress of society in this new world, where, I believe, we shall vie with, if not excel, the old States in every accom- plishment necessary to render life agreeable and happy." The emigration westward at this time was, indeed, exceedingly large. The commander at Fort Harmar reported 4,500 persons as having passed that post between February and June, 1788, many of whom would have stopped there, had the associates been prepared to receive them. The settlement was free from Indian depredations until January, 1791, during which interval it daily increased in numbers and strength. Symmes and his friends were not idle during this time. He had secured his contract in October, 1787, and, soon after, issued a pamphlet stating the terms of his purchase and the mode he intended to follow in the disposal of the lands. His plan was, to issue warrants for not less than one-quarter section, which might be located anywhere, save on reservations, or on land previously entered. The locator could enter an entire section should he de- sire to do so. The price was to be 60 f cents per acre till May, 1788 ; then, till November, $1 ; and ■4—^- -4V 70 HISTORY OF OHIO. after that time to be regulated by the demand for land. Each purchaser was bound to begin im- provements "within two years, or forfeit one-sixth of the land to whoever would settle thereon and remain seven years. Military bounties might be taken in this, as iu the purchase of the associates. For himself, Symmes reserved one township near the mouth of the Miami. On this he intended to build a great city, rivaling any Eastern port. He offered any one a lot on which to build a house, providing he would remain three years. Conti- nental certificates were rising, owing to the demand for land created by these two purchases, and Con- gress found the burden of debt correspondingly lessened. Symmes soon began to experience diffi- culty in procuring enough to meet his payments. He had also some trouble in arranging his boundary with the Board of the Treasury. These, and other causes, laid the foundation for another city, which is now what Symmes hoped his city would one day be. In January, 1788, Mathias Denman, of New Jersey, took an interest in Symmes' purchase, and located, among other tracts, the sections upon which Cincinnati has since been built. Retaining one-third of this purchase, he sold the balance to Eobert Patterson and John Filson, each getting the same share. These three, about AugTist, agreed to lay out a town on their land. It was designated as opposite the mouth of the Licking Eiver, to which place it was intended to open a road from Lexington, Ky. These men little thought of the gTeat emporium that now covers the modest site of this town they laid out that summer. Mr. Filson, who had been a schoolmaster, and was of a some- what poetic nature, was appointed to name the town. In respect to its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed races that were in after years to dwell there, he named itLos- antiville,* " which, being interpreted," says the " Western Annals," " means 2)i7^f, the town ; and, oppcsite to ; ox, tjie mouth ; L, of Licking. This may well put to the blush the Campus Martins of the Marietta scholars, and the Fort Solon of the Spaniards." Meanwhile, Symmes was busy in the East, and, by Julji got thirty people and eight four-horse wagons under way for the West. These reached Limestone by September, where they met Mr. Stites, v.'ith several persons from Redstone. All * Jndgo Burnett, in his notes, disputes the above account of the origin of the city of Cincinnati. Ho Bays the name "Losantitille " was determined on, but rot adopted, wlien the town was laid out. This version is probably the correct one, and will bo found fully given in the detailed history of the settlements. came ta Symmes' purchase, and began to look for homes. Symmes' mind was, however, ill at rest. He could not meet his first payment on so vast a realm, and there also arose a difi'erence of opinion be- tween him and the Treasury Board regarding the Ohio boundary. Symmes wanted all the land be- tween the two Miamis, bordering on the Ohio, while the Board wished him confined to no more than twenty miles of the river. To this proposal he would not agree, as he had made sales all along the river. Leaving the bargain in an unsettled state, Congress considered itself released from all its obligations, and, but for the representations of many of Symmes' friends, he would have lost all his money and labor. His appointment as Judge was not favorably received by many, as they thought that by it he would acquire unlimited power. Some of his associates also complained of him, and, for awhile, it surely seemed that ruin only awaited him. But he was brave and hope- ful, and determined to succeed. On his return from a visit to his purchase in September, 1788, he wrote Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, one of his best friends and associates, that he thought some of the land near the Great Miami "positively worth a silver dollar the acre in its present state." A good many changes were made in his original contract, growing out of his inability to meet his payments. At first, he was to have not less than a million acres, under an act of Congi-ess passed in October, 1787, authorizing the Treasury Board to contract with any one who could pay for such tracts, on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, whose fronts should not exceed one-third of their depth. Dayton and IMarsh, Symmes' agents, contracted with the Board for one tract on the Ohio, begin- ning twenty miles up the Ohio from the mouth of the Great Miami, and to run back for quantity be- tween the Miami and a line drawn from the Ohio, parallel to the general course of that river. In 1791, three years after Dayton and 5Iarsh made the contract, Symmes found this would throw the purchase too far back from the Ohio, and applied to Congress to let him have all between the Mi- amies, running back so as to include 1,000,000 acres, which that body, on April 12, 1792, agreed to do. When the lands were surveyed, however, it was found that a line drawn from the head of the Little Miami due west to the Great Miami, would include south of it less than six hundred thousand acres. Even this Symmes could not pay for, and when his patent was issued in September, 1794, it HISTORY or OHIO. 71 gave him and liis associates 248,540 acres, exclu- bive of reservations ■which amounted to 63,142 acres. This tract was bounded by the Ohio, the two Bliamis and a due east and west line run so as to include the desired quantity. Symmes, how- ever, made no further payments, and the rest of his purchase reverted to the United States, who gave those who had bought under him ample pre- emption rights. The Government was able, also, to give him and his colonists but little aid, and as danger from hos- tile Indians was in a measure imminent (though all the natives were friendly to Symmes), settlers were slow to come. However, the band led by Mr. Stites arrived before the 1st of January, 1789, and locating themselves near the mouth of the Little Miami, on a tract of 10,000 acres which Mr. Stites had purchased from Symmes, formed the second settlement in Ohio. They were soon afterward joined by a colony of twenty-six persons, who assisted them to erect a block-house, and gather their corn. The town was named Columljia. While here, the great flood of January, 1789, oc- curred, which did much to ensure the future growth of Losantiville, or more properly, Cincin- nati. Symmes City, which was laid out near the mouth of the Great Miami, and which he vainly strove to make the city of the future, Marietta and Columbia, all suffered severely by this flood, the greatest, the Indians said, ever known. The site of Cincinnati was not overflowed, and hence attracted the attention of the settlers. Denman's warrants had designated his purchase as opposite the mouth of the Licking; and that point escap- ing the overflow, late in December the place was visited by Israel Ludlow, Symmes' surveyor, Mr. Patterson and Mr. Denman, and about fourteen oth- ers, who left Maysville to " form a station and lay ofi" a town opposite the Licking." The river was filled with ice "from shore to shore;" but, says Symmes in May, 1789, "Perseverance triumpliiug over difficulty, and they landed safe on a most dc- hghtful bank of the Ohio, where they founded the town of Losantiville, which populates consid- erably." The settlers of Losantiville built a few log huts and block-houses, and proceeded to im- prove the town. Symmes, noticing the location, says: "Though they placed their dwellings in the most marked position, yet they suff'ored nothing from the freshet." This would seem to give cre- dence to Judge Burnett's notes regarding the origin of Cincinnati, who states the settlement was made at this time, and not at the time mentioned when ]\Ir. Filson named the town. It is further to be noticed, that, before the town was located by Mr. Ludlow and Mr. Patterson, Mr. Filson had been killed by the Miami Indians, and, as he had not paid for his one-third of the site, the claim was sold to Mr. Ludlow, who thereby became one of the origi- nal owners of the place. Just what day the town was laid out is not recorded. All the evidence tends to show it must have been late in 1788, or early in 1789. While the settlements on the north side of the Ohio were thus progressing, south of it fears of the Indians prevailed, and the separation sore was kept open. The country was, however, so torn by internal factions that no plan was likely to suc- ceed, and to this fact, in a large measure, may be credited the reason it did not secede', or join the Spanish or French faction, both of which were intriguing to get the commonwealth. During this year the treasonable acts of James Wilkinson came into view. For a while he thought success was in his grasp, but the two governments were at peace with America, and discountenanced any such efforts. Wilkinson, like all traitors, relapsed into nonentity, and became mistrusted by the govern- ments he attempted to befriend. Treason is al- ways odious. It will be borne in mind, that in 1778 prepa- rations had been made fur a treaty with the Indi- ans, to secure peaceftil possession of the lands owned in the West. Though the whites held these by purchase and treaty, yet many Indians, especially the Wabash and some of the Miami In- dians, objected to their occupation, claiming the Ohio boundary as the original division line. Clarke endeavored to obtain, by treaty at Fort Harmai', in 1778, a confirmation of these grants, but was not able to do so till January, 9, 1789. Rep- resentatives of the Six Nations, and of the Wyan- dots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawato- mies and Sacs, met him at this date, and confirmed and extended the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Fort Mcintosh, the one in 1784, the other in 1785. This secured peace with the most of them, save a few of the Wabash Indians, whom they were compelled to conquer by arms. When this was accomplished, the borders were thought safe, and Virginia proposed to withdraw her aid in sup- port of Kentucky. This opened old troubles, and the separation dogma came out afresh. Virginia offered to allow the erection of a separate State, providing Kentucky would assume part of the old debts. This the young commonwealth would not :^ i^ 73 HISTORY OF OHIO. do, and sent a remonstrance. Virginia withdrew the proposal, and ordered a ninth convention, which succeeded in evolving a plan whereby Ken- tucky took her place among the free States of the .Union. North of the Ohio, the prosperity continued. In 1789, Rev. Daniel Story, who had been ap- pointed missionary to the West, came out as a teacher of the youth and a preacher of the Grospel. Dr. Cutler had preceded him, not in the capacity of a minister, though he had preached ; hence Jlr. Story is truly the first missionary from the Prot- estant Church who came to the Ohio Valley in that capacity. AVhen he came, in 1789, ho found nine associations on the Ohio Company's purchase, comprising two hundred and fifty persons in all ; and, by the close of 1790, eight settlements liad been made: two at Belpre (belle prairie), one at ■Newbury, one at Wolf Creek, one at Duck Creek, one at the mouth of Meig.s' Creek, one at Ander- son's Bottom, and one at Big Bottom. An ex- tended sketch of all these settlements will be found farther on in this volume. Symmes had, all this time, strenuously endeav- ored to get his city — called Cleves City — favorably noticed, and filled with people. He saw a rival in Cincinnati. That place, if made military head- quarters to protect the Miami Valley, would out- rival his town, situated near the bend of the Miami, near its mouth. On the 15th of June, Judge Symmes received news that the Wabash Indians threatened the Miami settlements, and as he had received only nineteen men for defense, he applied for more. Before July, Maj. Doughty arrived at the "Slaughter House" — as the Miami was sometimes called, owing to previous murders that ihad, at former times, occurred therein. Through the influence of Symmes, the detach- ment landed at the North Bend, and, for awhile, it was thought the fort would be erected there. This was what Symmes wanted, as it would secure him the headquarters of the military, and aid in getting the headquarters of the civil gov- ernment. The truth was, however, that neither the .proposed city on the Miami — North Bend, as it afterward became known, from its location — or South Bend, could compete, in point of natural advantages, with the plain on which Cincinnati is built. Had Fort Washington been built elsewhere, after the close of the Indian war, nature would have asserted her advantages, and insured the growth of a city, where oven the ancient and mys- terious dwellers of the Ohio hat! reared the earthen walls of one of their vast temples. Another fact is given in relation to the erection of Fort Wash- ington at Losantiville, which partakes somewhat of romance. The Major, while waiting to decide at which place the fort should be built, happened to make the acquaintance of a black-eyed beauty, the wife of one of the residents. Her husband, notic- ing the affair, removed her to Losantiville. The Major followed; he told Symmes he wished to see how a fort would do there, but promised to give his city the preference. He found the beauty there, and on his return Symmes could not prevail on him to remain. If the story be true, then the importance of Cincinnati owes its existence to a trivial circum- stance, and the old story of the ten years' war which terminated in the downfall of Troy, which is said to have originated owing to the beauty of a Spartan dame, was re-enacted here. Troy and North Bend fell because of the beauty of a wo- man ; Cincinnati was the result of the downfall of the latter place. About the first of January, 1790, Governor St. Clair, with his ofiicers, descended the Ohio Kiver from Marietta to Fort Washington. There he es- tablished the county of Hamilton, comprising the immense region of country contiguous to the Ohio, from the Hocking River to the Great Miami; appointed a corps of civil and military officers, and established a Court of Quarter Ses- sions. Some state that at this time, he changed the name of the village of Losantiville to Cin- cinnati, in allusion to a society of that name which had recently been formed among the officers of the Revolutionary army, and established it as the seat of justice for Hamilton. This latter fact is certain; but as regards changing the name of the village, there is no good authority for it. With this imjDortance attached to it, Cincinnati began at once an active growth, and from that day Cleves' city declined. The next summer, frame houses began to appear in Cincinnati, while at the same time forty new log cabins appeared about the fort. On the 8th of January, the Governor arrived at the falls of the Ohio, on his way to establish a government at Vincennes and Kaskaskia. From Clarkesville, he dispatched a messenger to Major Hamtramck, commander at Vincennes, with speeches to the various Indian tribes in this part of the Northwest, who had not fully agreed to the treaties. St. Clair and Sargent followed in a few days, along an Indian trail to Vincennes, where he organized the county of Knox, comprisiri" all the j) >y A. HISTORY OF OHIO. 73 country along the Ohio, from the Miami to the AVabash, and made Vincennes the county seat. Then they proceeded across the lower part of Illi- nois to Kaskaskia, where he established the county of St. Clair (so named by Sargent), comprising all the country from the Wabash to the Mississippi. Thus the Northwest was divided into three coun- ties, and courts established therein. St. Clair called upon the French inhabitants at Vincennes and in the Illinois country, to show the titles to their lands, and also to defray the expense of a survey. To this latter demand they replied through their priest, Pierre Gibault, showing their poverty, and inability to comply. They were confirmed in their grants, and, as they had been good friends to the patriot cause, were relieved from the expense of the survey. While the Governor was managing these aifairs, Jlajor Hamtramck was engaged in an eifort to con- ciliate the Wabash Indians. For this purpose, he sentAntoine G-amelin, an intelligent French mer- chant, and a true friend of America, among them to carry messages sent by St. Clair and the Govern- ment, and to learn their sentiments and dispositions. Gamelin performed this important mission in the spring of 1790 with much sagacity, and, ts the French were good friends of the natives, ho did much to conciliate these half-hostile tribes. He visited the towns of these tribes along the Wabash and as far north and east as the Miami village, Kc-ki-ong-ga — St. Mary's — at the junction of the St. JIary's aod St. Joseph's Piivers (Fort Wayne). Gamelin's report, and the intelligence brought by some traders from the Upper Wabash, wore con- veyed to the Governor at Kaskaskia. The reports convinced him that the Indians of that part of the Northwest were preparing for a war on the settle- ments north of the Ohio, intending, if possible, to drive them south of it; that river being still consid- ered by them as the true boundary. St. Clair left the administration of affairs in the Western counties to Sargent, and returned at once to Fort Washing- ton to provide for the defense of the frontier. The Indians had begun their predatory incur- sions into the country settled by the whites, and had committed some depredations. The Kentuck- ians were enlisted in an attack against the Scioto Indians. April 18, Gen. Harmar, with 100 regulars, and Gen. Scott, with 230 volunteers, marched from Limestone, by a circuitous route, to the Scioto, accomplishing but little. The savages had fled. THE INDIAN WAK OF CHAPTER VII. 1795— HARMAK'S CAMPAIGN— ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGN— WAYNE'S CAMPAIGN— CLOSE OF THE WAR. A GREAT deal of the liostility at this period was directly traceable to the British. They yet held Detroit and several posts on the lakes, in violation of the treaty of 1783. They alleged as a reason for not abandoning them, that the Ameri- cans had not fulfilled the conditions if the treaty r,\garding the collection of debts. Moreover, they did ;:11 they could to remain at the frontier and en- joy the emoluments derived from the fur trade. That they aided the Indians in the conflict at this time, is undeniable. Just how, it is difficult to say. But it is well known the savages had all the ammunition and fire-arms they wanted, more than they could have obtained from American and French renegade traders. They were also well supplied with clothing, and were able to prolong the war some time. A great confederation was on the eve of formation. The leading spirits were Cornplanter, Brant, Little Turtle and other noted chiefs, and had not the British, as Brant said, "encouraged us to the war, and promised us aid, and then, when we were driven away by the Amer- icans, shut the doors of their fortresses against us and refused us food, when they saw us nearly con- quered, we would have effected our object." McKee, Elliott and Girty were also actively en- gaged in aiding the natives. All of them were in the interest of the British, a fact clearly proven by the Indians themselves, and by other traders. St. Clair and Gen. Harmar determined to send an expedition against the Maumee towns, and se- cure that part of the country. Letters were sent to the militia officers of Western Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, calling on them for militia to co-operate with the regular troops in the cam- paign. According to the plan of the campaign, ^ i ^ - ^ ^. 74 HISTORY OF OHIO. 300 militia were to rendezvous at Fort Steuben (Jeffersonville), march thence to Fort Knox, at Vincennes, and join Maj. Hamtramck in an expe- dition up the Wabash ; 700 were to rendezvous at Fort Washington to join the regular army against the Maumee towns. While St. Clair was forming his army and ar- ranging for the campaign, three expeditions were sent out against the Miami towns. One against the Miami villages, not far from the W^ abash, was led by Gen. Harmar. He had in his army about fourteen hundred men, regulars and militia. These two parts of the army could not bo made to affili- ate, and, as a consequence, the expedition did little beyond burning the villages and destroying corn. The militia would not submit to discipline, and would not serve under regular officers. It will be seen what this spirit led to when St. Clair went on his march soon after. The Indians, emboldened by the meager success of Harmar's command, continued their depreda- dations against the Ohio settlements, destroying the community at Big Bottom. To hold them in check, and also punish them, an army under Charles Scott went against the Wabash Indians. Little was done here but destroy towns and the standing corn. In July, another army, under Col. Wilkin- son, was sent against the Eel River Indians. Be- coming entangled in extensive morasses on the river, the army became endangered, but was finally extricated, and accomplished no more than either the other armies before it. As it was, however, the three expeditions directed against the Miamis and Shawanees, served only to exasperate them. The burning of their towns, the destruction of their corn, and the captivity of their women and chil- dren, only aroused them to more desperate eiforts to defend their country and to harass their in- vaders. To accomplish this, the chiefs of the Miamis, Shawanees and the Delawares, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and Buckongahelas, were en- gaged in forming a confederacy of all the tribes of the Northwest, strong enough to drive the whites beyond the Ohio. Pontiac had tried that before, even when he had open allies among the French. The Indians now had secret allies among the Brit- ish, yet, in the end, they did not succeed. While they were preparing for the contest, St. Clair was gathering his forces, intending to erect a chain of forts from the Ohio, by way of the Miami and Maumee valleys, to the lakes, and thereby effect- ually hold the savages in check. Washington warmly seconded this plan, and designated the junction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers as an important post. This had been a fortification almost from the time the English held the valley, and only needed little work to make it a formid- able fortress. Gen. Knox, the Secretary of War, also favored the plan, and gave instructions con- cerning it. Under these instructions, St. Clair organized his forces as rapidly as he could, although the numerous drawbacks almost, at times, threat- ened the defeat of the campaign. Through the summer the arms and accouterments of the army were put in readiness at Fort Washington. Many were found to be of the poorest quality, and to be badly out of repair. The militia came poorly armed, under the impression they were to be pro- vided with arms. While waiting in camp, habits of idleness engendered themselves, and drunken- ness followed. They continued their accustomed freedom, disdaining to drill, and refused to submit to the regular officers. A bitter spirit broke out between the regular troops and the militia, which none could heal. The insubordination of the mi- litia and their officers, caused them a defeat after- ward, which they in vain attempted to fasten on the busy General, and the regular troops. The army was not ready to move till September 17. It was then 2,300 strong. It then moved to a point upon the Great Miami, where they erected Fort Hamilton, the first in the proposed chain of fortresses. After its completion, they moved on forty-four miles farther, and,,on the 12th of October, began the erection of Fort Jeflerson, about six miles south of the present town of Green- ville, Darke County. On the 24th, the army again took up its line of march, through a wilderness, marshy and boggy, and full of savage foes. The army rapidly declined under the hot sun ; even the commander was suffering from an indisposition. The militia deserted, in companies at a time, leav- ing the bulk of the work to the regular troops. By the 3d of November, the army reached a stream twelve yards wide, which St. Clair sup- posed to be a branch of the St. Mary of the Mau- mee, but which in reality was a tributary of the Wabash. Upon the banks of that stream, the army, now about fourteen hundred strong, en- camped in two lines. A slight protection was thrown up as a safeguard against the Indians, who were known to be in the neighborhood. The Gen- eral intended to attack them next day, but, about half an hour before sunrise, just after the militia had been dismissed from parade, a sudden attack was made upon them. The militia were thrown ■^ '-^ HISTOKY OF OHIO. into confusion, and disregai-ded the command of tlie officers. They had not been sufficiently drilled, and now was seen, too late and too plainly, the evil effects of their insubordination. Through the morning the battle waged furiously, the men falling by scores. About nine o'clock the retreat began, covered by Maj. Cook and his troops. The re- treat was a disgraceful, precipitate flight, though, after four miles had been passed, the enemy re- turned to the work of scalping the dead and wounded, and of pillaging the camp. Through the day and the night their dreadful work con- tinued, one squaw afterward declaring " her arm was weary scalping the white men." The army reached Port Jefferson a little after sunset, having thrown away much of its arms and baggage, though the act was entirely unnecessary. After remain- ing here a short time, it was decided by the oiilcers to move ou toward Fort Hamilton, and thence to Fort Washington. The defeat of St. Clair was the most terrible re- verse the Americans ever suffered from the Indi- ans. It was greater than even Braddock's defeat. His army consisted of 1,200 men and 86 officers, of whom 714 men and 63 officers were killed or wounded. St. Clair's army consisted of 1,400 men and 86 officers, of whom 890 men and 16 officers were killed or wounded. The comparative effects of the two engagements very inadequately represent the crushing effect of St. Clair's defeat. An unprotected frontier of more than a thousand miles in extent was now thrown open to a foe made merciless, and anxious to drive the whites from the north side of the Ohio. Now, settlers were scat- tered along all the streams, and in all the forests, ex- posed to the cruel enemy, who stealthily approached the homes of the pioneer, to murder him and his family. Loud calls arose from the people to defend and protect them. St. Clair was covered with abuse for his defeat, when he really was not alone to blame for it. The militia would not be controlled. Had Clarke been at their head, or Wayne, who succeeded St. Clair, the result might have been different. As it was, St. Clair resigned ; though ever after he en- joyed the confidence of Washington and Congress. Four days after the defeat of St. Clair, the army, in its straggling condition, reached Fort Washing- ton, and paused to rest. On the 9th, St. Clair wrote fully to the Secretary of War. On the 12th, Gen. Knox communicated the information to Con- gress, and on the 26th, he laid before the Presi- dent two reports, the second containing sugges- tions regarding future operations. His sugges- tions urged the establishment of a strong United States Army, as it was plain the States could not control the matter. He also urged a thorough drill of the soldiers. No more insubordination could be tolerated. General Wayne was selected by Washington as the commander, and at once pro- ceeded to the task assigned to him. In June, 1792, he went to Pittsburgh to organize the army now gathering, which was to be the ultimate argu- ment with the Indian confederation. Through the summer he was steadily at work. "Train and dis- cipline them for the work they are meant for," wrote Washington, "and do not spare powder and lead, so the men be made good marksmen." In December, the forces, now recruited and trained, gathered at a point twenty-two miles below Pitts- burgh, on the Ohio, called Legiouville, the army itself being denominated the Legion of the United States, divided into four sub-legions, and provided with the proper officers. Meantime, Col. Wilkinson succeeded St. Clair as commander at Fort Wash- ington, and sent out a force to examine the field of defeat, and bury the dead. A shocking sight met their view, revealing the deeds of cruelty enacted upon their comrades by the savage enemy. While Wayne's army was drilling, peace meas- ures were pressed forward by the United States with equal perseverance. The Iroquois were in- duced to visit Philadelphia, and partially secured from the general confederacy. They were wary, however, and, expecting aid from the British, held aloof. Brant did not come, as was hoped, and it was plain there was intrigue somewhere. Five independent embassies were sent among the West- ern tribes, to endeavor to prevent a war, and win over the inimical tribes. But the victories they had won, and the favorable whispers of the British agents, closed the cars of the red men, and all propositions were rejected in some form or other. All the embassadors, save Putnam, suffered death. He alone was able to reach his goal — the Wabash Indians — and effect any treaty. On the 27th of December, in company with Heckewelder, the Mo- ravian missionary, he reached Vincennes, and met thirty-one chiefs, representing the Weas, Pianke- shaws, Kaskaskias, Poorias, Illinois, Pottawatomies, Mascoutins, Kickapoos and Eel River Indians, and concluded a treaty of peace with them. The fourth article of this treaty, however, con- tained a provision guaranteeing to the Indians their lands, and when the treaty was laid before Congress, February 13, 1793, that body, after much discussion, refused on that account to ratify it. ^1 5^ 76 HISTOEY or OHIO. A great council of the Indians was to be held at Auglaize during the autumn of 1792, when the assembled nations were to discuss fully their means of defense, and determine their future line of action. The council met in October, and was the largest Indian gathering of the time. The chiefs of all the tribes of the Northwest were there. The representatives of the seven nations of Canada, wore in attendance. Cornplanter and forty-eight chiefs of the New York (Six Nations) Indians re- paired thither. " Besides these," said Cornplanter, "there were so many nations we cannot tell the names of them. There were three men from the Gora nation ; it took them a whole season to come ; and," continued he, "twenty-seven nations from beyond Canada were there." The question of peace or war was long and earnestly debated. Their fature was solemnly discussed, and around the council fire native eloquence and native zeal shone in all their simple strength. One nation after another, through their chiefs, presented their views. The deputies of the Six Nations, who had been at Philadelphia to consult the "Thirteen Fires," made their report. The Western bound- ary was the principal question. The nativee, with one accord, declared it must be the Ohio River. An address was prepared, and sent to the President, wherein their views were stated, and agreeing to abstain from all hostilities, until they could meet again in the spring at the rapids of the Maumec, and tliere consult with their white brothers. They desired the President to send agents, "who are men of honesty, not proud land-jobbers, but men who love and desire peace." The good work of Penn was evidenced here, as they desired that the embassadors "be accompanied by some Friend or Quaker." The armistice they had promised was not, how- ever, faithfully kept. On the 6th of November, a detachment of Kentucky cavalry at Port St. Clair, about twenty-five miles above Fort Hamil- ton, was attacked. The commander, JMaj. Adair, was an excellent officer, well versed in Indian tac- tics, and defeated the savages. This infraction of their promises did not deter the United States from taking measures to meet the Indians at the rajiids of the Maumee " when the leaves were fully out." For that purpose, the President selected as commissioners, Charles Car- roll and Charles Thompson, but, as they dechned the nomination, he appointed Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Bandolph and Timothy Pickering, the 1st of March, 1793, to attend the convention, which, it was thought best, should be held at the San- dusky outpost. About the last of April, these commissioners left Philadelphia, and, late in May, reached Niagara, where they remained guests of Lieut. Gov. Simcoe, of the British Government. This of&oer gave them all the aid he could, yet it was soon made plain to them that he would not oijject to the confederation, nay, even rather fav- ored it. They speak of his kindne.ss to them, in grateful tei'ms. Gov. Simcoe advised the Indians to make peace, but not to give up any of their lands. That was the pith of the whole matter. The British rather claimed land in New York, under the treaty of 1783, alleging the Americans had not fully complied with the terms of that treaty, hence they were not as anxious for peace and a peaceful settlement of the difficult boundary question as they sometimes represented. By July, "the leaves were fully out," the con- ferences among the tribes were over, and, on the 15th of that month, the commissioners met Brant and some fifty natives. In a strong speech. Brant set forth their wishes, and invited them to accom- jjany him to the place of holding the council. The Indians were rather jealous of Wayne's continued preparations for war, hence, just before setting out for the Maumee, the commissioners sent a letter to the Secretary of War, asking that all warlike demonstrations cease until the result of their mis- sion be known. On 21st of July, the embassy reached the head of the Detroit Itiver, where their advance was checked by the British authorities at Detroit, com- pelling them to take up their abode at the house of Andrew Elliott, the famous renegade, then a British agent under Alexander McKce. JIcKoe was attending the council, and the commissioners addressed him a note, borne by Elliott, to inform him of their arrival, and asking when they could be received. Elliott returned on the 29th, bring- ing with him a deputation of twenty chiefs from the council. The next day, a conference was held, and the chief of the Wyandots, Sa-wagh-da-wunk, presented to the commissioners, in writing, their explicit demand in regard to the boundary, and their purposes and powers. " The Ohio must be the boundary," said he, " or blood will flow." The commissioners returned an answer to the proposition brought by the chiefs, recapitulating the treaties already made, and denying the Ohio as the boundary line. On the 16th of August, the council sent them, by two Wyandot runners, a final answer, in which they recapitulated their ■^ :>_ mSTOR^E OF OHIO. 77 former assertions, and exhibited great powers of reasoning and clear logic in defense of their po- sition. The commissioners reply that it is impos- ble to accept the Ohio as the boundary, and declare the negotiation at an end. This closed the efforts of the Government to ne- gotiate with the Indians, and there remained of necessity no other mode of settling the dispute but "war. LiljcivJ terms had been oiferod them, but nothing but the boundary of the Ohio Eiver would suffice. It was the only condition upon which the confederation would lay down its arms. " Among the rude statesmen of the wilderness, there was exhibited as pure patriotism and as lofty devotion to the good of their race, as ever W(;n ap- plause among civilized men. The white man had, ever since he came into the country, been encroach- ing on their lands. He had long occupied the re_:^ions bsyond the mountains. He had crushed the conspiracy formed by Pontiac, thirty years be- fore. He had taken possession of the common hunting-gi'ound of all the tribes, on the faith of treaties they did not acknowledge. He was now laying out settlements and building forts in the heart of the country to which all the tribes had been driven, and which now was all tliey could call their own. And now they asked that it should be guaranteed to them, that the boundary which they had so long asked for should be drawn, and a final end be made to the continual aggTessions of the whites ; or, if not, they solemnly determined to stake their all, against fearful odds, in defense of their homes, their country and the inheritance of their children. Nothing could be more patriotic than the position they occupied, and nothing could be more noble than the declarations of their council."''' They did not know the strength of the whites, and based their success on the victories already gained. They hoped, nay, were promised, aid from the British, and even the Spanish had held out to them assurances of help when the hour of conflict came. The Americans were not disposed to yield even to the confederacy of the tribes backed by the two rival nations, forming, as Wayne characterized it, a " hydra of British, Spanish and Indian hostility." On the 16th of August, the commissioners re- ceived the final answer of the council. The 17th, they left the mouth of the Detroit River, and the 23d, arrived at Eort Erie, where they immediately * Annala of tho West. dispatched messengers to Gen. Wayne to inform him of the issue of the negotiation. Wayne had spent the winter of 17'J2-9o, at Legionville, in col- lecting and organizing his army. April 30, 1793, (he army moved down the river and encamped at a point, called by the soldiers " Hobson's choice," Ijjoause from the extreme height of the river they were prevented from landing elsewhere. Here Wayne was engaged, during the negotiations for peace, in drilling his soldiers, in cutting roads, and collecting supplies for the army. He was ready for an immediate campaign in case the council failed in its object. While here, he sent a letter to the Secretary of War, detailing the circumstances, and suggesting the probable course he should follow. He re- mained here during the summer, and, when apprised of the issue, saw it was too late to attempt the campaign then. Tie sent the Kentucky militia home, and, with his regular soldiers, went into winter Cjuarters at a fort he built on a tributary of the Great Miami. He called the fort Green- ville. The present town of Greenville js near the sl:e of the fort. During the winter, he sent a de- tachment to visit the scene of St. Clair's defeat. They found more than six hundred skulls, and were obliged to "scrape the bones together and carry them out to get a place to make their beds." They buried all they could find. Wayne was steadily preparing his forces, so as to have every- thing ready for a sure blow when the time came. All his information showed the faith in the British which still animated the doomed red men, and gave them a hope that could end only in defeat. The conduct of the Indians fully corroborated the statements received by Gen. Wayne. On the aOth of June, an escort of ninety riflemen and fifty di'agoons, under command of Maj. McMahon, v^as attacked under the walls of Fort Recovery by a force of more than one thousand Indians under charge of Little Turtle. They were repulsed and badly defeated, and, the next day, driven away. Their mode of action, their arms and ammunition, all told plainly of British aid. They also ex- pected to find the cannon lost by St. Clair Novem- ber 4, 1791, but which the Americans had secured. The 2(;th of July, Gen. Scott, with 1,600 mounted men from Kentucky, joined Gen. Wayne at Fort Greenville, and, two days after, the legion moved forward. The 8th of August, the army reached the junction of the Auglaize and Mau- mee, and at once proceeded to erect Fort Defiance, where the waters meet. The Indians had abandoned 'V -4^ 78 HISTOEY 0.F OHIO. their to'STns on "tlio approacli of tlie army, and were congregating further northward. While engaged on Fort Defiance, Wayne received continual and full reports of the Indians — of their aid from Detroit and elsewhere; of the nature of the ground, and the circumstances, favorable or unfavorable. From all he could learn, and considering the spirits of his army, now thoroughly disciplined, he determined to march forward and settle matters at once. Yet, true to his own instincts, and to the measures of paace so forcibly taught by Washington, he sent Christopher Miller, who had been naturalized among the Shawances, and taken prisoner by Wayne's spiss, as a messenger of peace, oifering terms of iriendship. Unwilling to waste time, the troops began to move forward the 15th of August, and the next day met Miller with the message that if the Amer- icans would wait ten days at Auglaize the Indians would decide for peace or war. Wayne knew too well the Indian character, and answered the mes- sage by simply marching on. The 18th, the legion had advanced forty-one miles fi-om Auglaize, and, baing near the long-looked-for foe, began to take some measures for protection, should they be at- tacked. A slight breastwork, called Fort Deposit, was erected, wherein most of their heavy baggage was placed. They remained here, building their works, until the 20th, when, storing their baggage, the army began again its mareli. After advancing about five miles, they met a large Ibrce of the ene- my, two thousand strong, who fiercely attacked them. Wayne was, however, prepared, and in the short battle that ensued they were routed, and large numbers slain. The American loss was very slight. The horde of savages were put to flight, leaving the Americans victorious almost under the walls of the British garrison, under Maj. Campbell. This officer sent a letter to Gen. Wayne, asking an explanation of his conduct in fighting so near, and in such evident hostility to the British. Wayne replied, telling him he was in a country that did not belong to him, and one he was not authorized to hold, and also charging him with aiding the Indians. A spirited corre- spondence followed, which ended in the American commander marching on, and devastating the In- dian country, even burning JIcKee's house and stores under tlie muzzles of the English guns. The 1 4ih of September, the army marched from Fort Defiance for the IMiami village at the junc- tion of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph Eivers. It reached there on the 17th, and the next day Gen. Wayne selected a site lor a fort. The 22d of Oc- tober, the fort was completed, and garrisoned by a detachment under Maj. Hamtramck, who gave to it the name of Fort Wayne. The 14th of October, the mounted Kentucky volunteers, who had be- C(jme dissatisfied and mutinous, were started to Fort Washington, wliere they were immediately mustered out of service and discharged. The 28th of October, the legion marched from Fort ^^'ayne to Fort Greenville, where Gen. Wayne at once established his headquarters. The campaign had been decisive and short, and had taught the Indians a severe lesson. The Brit- ish, too, had failed them in their hour of need, and now they began to see they had a foe to contend whose resources were exhaustless. Under these circumstances, losing faith in the English, and at last impressed with a respect for American power, after the defeat experienced at the hands of the "Black Snake," the various tribes made up their minds, by degrees, to ask for peace. During the winter and spring, they exchanged prisoners, and made ready to meet Gen. Wayne at Greenville, in June, for the purpose of forming a definite treaty, as it had been agreed should be done by the pre- liminaries of January 24. During the month of June, 1795, representa- tives of the Northwestern tribes began to gather at Greenville, and, the 16th of the month. Gen. Wayne met in council the Delawares, Ottawas, Pottawato- mies and Eel Biver Indians, and the conferences, which lasted till August 10, bsgan. The 21st of June, Buckongahelas arrived ; the 23d, Little Turtle and other Miamis ; the 13th of July, Tarhe and other Wyandot chiefs ; and the 18th, Blue Jacket, and thirteen Shawanees and Massas with twenty Chippewas. Most of these, as it appeared by their statements, had been tampered with by the English, especially by JIcKee, Girty and Brant, even after the pre- liminaries of January 24, and while Mr. Jay was perfecting his treaty. They had, however, all de- termined to make peace with the "Thirteen Fires," and although some difiiculty as to the ownership of the lands to be ceded, at one time seemed likely to arise, the good sense of Wayne and the leading chiefs prevented it, and, the 30th of July, the treaty was agreed to which should bury the hatchet for- ever. Between that day and the 3d of August, it was engrossed, and, ha-sang been signed by the various nations upon the day last named, it was finally acted upon the 7th, and the presents from :^ ^ HISTOEY or OHIO. 79 tlie United States distributed. Tlio basis of this treaty was the previous one made at Fort Harmar. Tile boundaries made at that time were rc-affirmed ; the whites were secured on the lands now occu- pied by them or secured by former treaties ; and among all the assembled nations, presents, in value not less than one thousand pounds, were distributed to each through its representatives, many thousands in all. The Indians were allowed to remove and punish intruders on their lands, and were permitted to hunt on the ceded lands. " This great and abiding peace document was signed by the various tribes, and dated August 8, 1795. It was laid before the Senate December 9, and ratified the 22d. So closed the old Indian wars in the West." * * Annals of tlio West." CHAPTER VIII. JAY'S TREATY— THE QUESTION OF STATE RIGHTS AKD NATIONAL SUPREMACY— EXTENSION OF OHIO SETTLEMENTS— LAND CLAIMS- SPANISH BOUNDARY QUESTION. WHILE these six years of Indian wars were in progress, Kentucky was admitted as a State, and Pinckney's treaty with Spain was com- pleted. This last occurrence was of vital impor- tance to the West, as it secured the free navigation of the Mississippi, charging only a fair price for the storage of goods at Spanish ports. This, though not all that the Americans wished, was a great gain in their favor, and did much to stop those agitations regarding a separation on the part of Kentucky. It also quieted affairs further south than Kentucky, in the Georgia and South Carolina Territory, and put an end to French and Spanish intrigue for the W^estern Territory. The treaty, was signed November 24, 1794. Another treaty was concluded by Mr. John Jay between the two governments, Lord Greenville representing the English, and Sir. Jay, the Ameri- cans. The negotiations lasted from April to November 19, 1795, when, on that day, the treaty was signed and duly recognized. It decided effectually all the questions at issue, and was the signal for the removal of the British troops from the Northwestern outposts. This was effected as soon as the proper transfers could be made. The second article of the treaty provided that, " His Majesty will withdraw all his troops and garrisons from all posts and places within the boundary lines assigned by the treaty of peace to the United States. This evacuation shall take place on or before the 1st day of June, 1796, and all the proper mea.sures shall be taken, in the interval, by concert, between the G-overnment of the United States and His Majesty's Governor General in America, for settling the previous arrangements wjiich may be necessary respecting the delivery of the said posts ; the United States, in the mean time, at their discretion, extending their settle- ments to any part within the said boundary line, except within the precincts or jurisdiction of any of the said posts. " All settlers and all traders within the precincts or jurisdiction of the said posts shall continue to enjoy, unmolested, all their property of every kind, and shall be protected therein. They shall be at full liberty to remain there or to remove with all, or any part, of their effects, or retain the property thereof at their discretion ; such of them as shall continue to reside within the said boundary lines, shall not be compelled to become citizens of the United States, or take any oath of allegiance to the Government thereof; but they shall be at full liberty so to do, if they think proper ; they shall make or declare their election one year after the evacuation aforesaid. And all persons who shall continue therein after the expiration of the said year, without having declared their intention of remaining subjects to His Britannic INIajesty, shall be considered as having elected to become citizens of the United States." The Indian war had settled all fears from that source ; the treaty with Great Britain had estab- lished the boundaries between the two countries and secured peace, and the treaty with Spain had secured the privilege of navigating the Mississippi, by paying only a nominal sum. It had also bound the people of the West together, and ended the old separation question. There was no danger from that now. Another difficulty arose, however, relating to the home rule, and the organization of J fy A 80 HISTORY OF OHIO. the home government. There were two parties in the country, Ivnown as Federalist and Anti-Federal- ist. One lavored a central government, whose au- thority should ])e supreme ; the other, only a compact, leaving the States supreme. The worth- le.^sness of the old colonial system became, daily, more apparent. While it existed no one felt safe. There was no prospect of paying the debt, and, hence, no credit. AVhen Mr. IlLimilton, Secretary of the Treasury, oiFered his financial plan to the country, favoring centralization, it met, in many places, violent opposition. Washington was strong enougli to carry it out, and gave evidence that he would do so. When, therefore, the excise law passed, and taxes on whisky were collected, an open revolt occurred in Pennsylvania, known as the "Whisky Insurrection." It was put down, finally, by military power, and the malcontents made to know that the United States was a gov- ernment, not a compact liable to rupture at any time, and by any of its members. It taught the entire nation a lesson. Centralization meant pres- ervation. Should a " compact" form of government prevail, then anarchy ;Mid ruin, and ultimate sub- jection to some foreign power, met their view. That they had just fought to dispel, and must it all go for naught? The people saw the rulers were right, and gradually, over the West, spread a spirit antagonistic to State supremacy. It did not revive till Jackson's time, when he, with an iron hand and iron will, crushed out the evil doctrine of State supremacy. It revived again in the late war, again to be crushed. It is to be hoped that ever thus will be its fate. " The Union is insepa- rable," said the Government, and the people echoed the words. During the war, and while all these events had been transpiring, settlements had been taking place upon the Ohio, which, in their influence upon the Northwest, and especially upon the State, as soon as it was created, were deeply felt. The Virginia and the Connecticut Reserves were at this time peopled, and, also, that part of the IMiami Valky about Dayton, which city dates its origin from that period. As early as 17S7, the reserved lands of the Old Dominion north of the Ohio were examined, and, in August of that year, entries were made. As no good title could bo obtained from Congress at this time, the settlement practically ceased until 1790, when the prohibition to enter them was withdrawn. As soon as that was done, surveying began again. Nathaniel Massie was among the foremost men in the survey of this tract, and lo- cating the lands, laid off a town about twelve miles above Maysville. The place was called Manchester, and yet exists. From this point, Massie continued through all the Indian war, despite the danger, to survey the surrounding country, and prepare it for settlers. Connecticut had, as has been stated, ceded her lands, save a tract extending one hundred and twenty miles beyond the western boundary of Pennsyhania. Of this Connecticut Reserve, so far as the Indian title was extinguished, a survey was ordered in October, 1786, and an office opened for its disposal. Part was soon sold, and, in 1792, half a million of acres were given to those citizens of Connecticut who had lost property by the acts of the British troops during the Revolutionary war at New London, New Haven and elsewhere. These lands thereby became known as " Fire lands " and the "Sufferer's lands,'' and were located in the western part of the Reserve. In May, 1795, the Connecticut Legislature authorized a committee to dispose of the remainder of the Reserve. Before autumn the committee sold it to a company known as the Connecticut Land Company for 11,200,000, and about the 5th of September cjuit-claimed the land to the Company. The same day the Company received it, it sold 3,000,000 acres to John Mor- gan, John Caldwell and Jonathan Brace, in trust. Upon these quit-claim titles of the land all deeds in the Reserve are based. Sur^'cys were com- menced in 1796, and, by the close of the next year, all the land east of the Cuyahoga was divided into townships five miles square. The agent of the Connecticut Land Company was Gen. Moses Cleve- land, and in his honor the leading city of the Re- servo was named. That township and five others were reserved for private sale; the balance were disposed of by lottery, the first drawing occurring in February, 1798. Dayton resulted from the treaty made by Wayne. It came out of the boundary ascribed to Symmes, and for a while all such lands were not recognized as sold by Congress, owing to the failure of Symmes and his associates in paying for them. Thereby there existed, for a time, considerable un- easiness regarding the title to these lands. In 1799, Congress was induced to issue patents to the actual settlers, and thus secure them in their pre- emption. Seventeen days after Wayne's treaty, St. Clairs Wilkinson, Jonathan Dayton and Israel Ludlow contracted with Symmes for the seventh and eighth A HISTORY OF OHIO. 83 ranges, between Jlad River and the Little Miami. Three settlements were to be made: one at the mouth of iMad lliver, one on the Little Miami, in the seventh range, and another on ^lad River. On the 21st of September, 1795, Daniel C. Cooper started to survey and mark out a road in the pur- chase, and John Diinlap to run its boundaries, which was completed before October 4. On No- vember 4, iMr. Ludlow laid off the town of Day- ton, which, like land in the Connecticut Reserve, was sold by lottery. A gigantic scheme to purchase eighteen or twenty million acres in Michigan, and then pro- cure a good title from the Government — who alone had such a right to procure land — by giving mem- bers of Congress an interest in the investment, appeared shortly after Wayne's treaty. When some of the members were approached, however, the real spirit of the scheme appeared, and, instead of gaining ground, led to the exposure, resulting in the reprimanding severely of Robert Randall, the principal mover in the whole plan, and in its speedy disappearance: Another enterprise, equally gigantic, a,lso ap- peared. It was, however, legitimate, and hence successful. On the 20th of February, 1795, the North American Land Company was formed in Philadelphia, under the management of such pat- riots as Robert Morris, John Nicholson and James Groenleaf. This Company purchased large tracts in the West, which it disposed of to actual settlors, and thereby aided greatly in populating that part of the country. Before the close of 1795, the Governor of the Territory, and his Judges, published sixty-four statutes. Thirty-four of these were adopted at Cincinnati during June, July and August of that year. Tliey were known as the Maxwell code, from the name of the publisher, but were passed by Governor St. Clair and Judges Symmes and Turner. Among them was that which provided that the common law of England, and all its stat- utes, made previous to the fourth year of James the First, should be in full force within the Terri- tory. "Of the system as a whole," says Mr. Case, " with its many imperfections, it may bo doubted that any colony, at so early a period after its first establishment, ever had one so good and applicable to all." The Union had now safely passed through its most critical period after the close of the war of independence. The danger from an irruption of its own members; of a war or alliance of its West- ern portion with France and Spain, and many other perplexing questions, were now effectually settled, and the population of the Territory began rapidly to increase. Before the close of the year 179G, the Northwest contained over five thousand inhabitants, the requisite number to entitle it to one representative in the national Congress. Western Pennsylvania also, despite the various conflicting claims regarding the land titles in that part of the State, began rapidly to fill with emigrants. The "Triangle" and the " Struck District " were surveyed and put upon the market under the act of 1792. Treaties and purchases from the various Indian tribes, obtained control of the remainder of the lands in that part of the State, and, by 1796, the State owned all the land within its boundaries. Towns were laid off, land put upon the market, so that by the year 1800, the western part of the Keystone State was divided into eight counties, viz., Beaver, Butler, Mercer, Crawford, Erie, Warren, Venango and Armstrong. The ordinance relative to the survey and dis- posal of lands in the Northwest Territory has already been given. It was adhered to, save in minor cases, where necessity required a slight change. The reservations were recognized by Congress, and the titles to them all confirmed to the grantees. Thus, Clarke and his men, the Connecticut Reserve, the Refugee lands, the French inhabitants, and all others holding patents to land from colonial or foreign governments, were all confirmed in their rights and protected in their titles. Before the close of 1796, the upper North- western posts were all vacated by the British, under the terms of Mr. Jay's treaty. Wayne at once transferred his headquarters to Detroit, where a county was named for him, including the north- western part of Ohio, the northeast of Indiana, and the whole of Michigan. The occupation of the Territory by the Ameri- cans gave additional impulse to emigration, and a better feeling of security to emigrants, who fol- lowed closely upon the path of the army. Na- thaniel Mastie, who has already been noticed as the founder of Manchester, laid out the town of Chillicothe, on the Scioto, in 1796. Before the close of the year, it contained several stores, shops, a tavern, and was well populated. With the increase of settlement and the security guar- anteed by the treaty of Greenville, the arts of civilized life began to appear, and their influence upon pioneers, especially those born on the frontier, -^ 84 HISTORY or OHIO. began to manifest itself. Better dwellings, soliools, churches, dress and manners prevailed. Life began to assume a reality, and lost much of that recklessness engendered by the habits of a frontier life. Cleveland, Cincinnati, the Miami, the Mus- kingum and the Scioto Valleys were filling with people. Cincinnati had more than one hundred log cabins, twelve or fifteen frame houses and a population of more than six hundred persons. In 1796, the first house of worship for the Presby- terians in that city was built. Before the close of the same year, Manchester contained over thirty families ; emigrants from Virginia were going up all the valleys from the Ohio; and Ebenezer Zane had opened a bridle- path fi-om the Ohio River, at Wheeling, across the country, by Chilliootho, t(j Limestone, Ky. The next year, the United States mail, for the first time, traversed this route to the West. Zaue was given a section of land for his path. The popu- lation of the Territory, estimated at from five to eight thousand, was chiefly distributed in lower valleys, bordering on the Ohio River. The French still occupied the Illinois country, and were the principal inhabitants about Detroit. South of the Ohio River, Kentucky was pro- gressing favorably, while the " Southwestern Ter- ritory," ceded to the United States by North Carolina in 1790, had so rapidly populated that, in 1793, a Territorial form of government was allowed. The ordinance of 1787, save the clause prohibiting slavery, was adopted, and the Territory named Tennessee. On June 6, 1790, the Terri- tory contained more than seventy-five thousand inhabitants, and was admitted into the Union as a State. Four years after, the census showed a population of 105,602 souls, including 13,584 slaves and persons of color. The same year Tennessee became a State, Samuel Jackson and Jonathan Sharplcss erected the Redstone Paper Mill, four miles east of Brownsville, it being the first manufactory of the kind west of the AUc- ghanies. In the month of December, 179G, Gen. Wayne, who had done so much for the development of the West, while on his way from Detroit to Philadel- phia, was attacked with sickness and died in a cabin near Erie, in the north part of Pennsylvania. He was nearly fifty-one years old, and was one of the bravest officers in the Revolutionary war, and one of America's truest patriots. In 1809, his remains were removed from Erie, by his son. Col. Isaac Wayne, to the Radnor churchyard, near the place of his birth, and an elegant nionument erected on his tomb by the Pennsylvania Cincinnati So- ciety% After the death of Wayne, Gen. "\^ ilkinson was appointed to the command of the ^\'estern army. AVhile ho was in command, Carondelct, the Spanish governor of West Florida and Louisiana, made one more eifort to sej^arate the Union, and set up either an independent government in the West, or, what was more in accord with his wishes, efi'ect a union with the Spanish nation. In June, 1797', he sent Power again into the Northwest and into Kentucky to sound the existing feeling. Now, however, they were not easily won over. The home government was a certainty, the breaches had been healed, and Power was comjselled to abandon the mission , not, however, until he had received a severe reprimand from many who saw through his plan, and openly exposed it. His mission closed the eflxirts of the Spanish authorities to attempt the dismemberment of the Union, and showed them the coming downfall of their power in Amer- ica. They were obliged to surrender the posts claimed by the United States under the treaty of 1795, and not many years after, sold their Amer- ican possessions to the United States, rather than see a rival European power attain control over them. On the 7th of April, 1798, Congress passed an act, appointing Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Northwest Territory, Governor of the Territory of the Mississijjpi, formed the same day. In 1801, the boundary between America and the Spanish pos- sessions was definitely fixed. The Spanish retired from the disputed territory, and henceforward their attempts to dissolve the American Union ceased. The seat of the Mississippi Territory was fixed at Loftus Heights, six miles north of the thirty-first degree of latitude. The appointment of Sargent to the charge of the Southwest Territory, led to the choice of William Henry Harrison, who had been aid-de-camp to Gen. Wayne in 1794, and whose character stood very high among the people of the West, to the Secretaryship of the Northwest, which place he held until appointed to represent that Territory in Con- gi-ess. -V ^. HISTORY or OHIO. 85 CHAPTER IX. FIEST TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS— DIVISION OF THE TERRITORY— FORMA- TION OF STATES— MARIETTA SETTLEMENT— OTHER SETTLEMENTS— SETTLEMENTS IN THE WESTERN RESERVE — SETTLEMENT OF THE CENTRAL VALLEYS- FURTHER SETTLEMENTS IN THE RESERVE AND ELSEWHERE. THE ordinance of 1787 provided that as soon as there were 5,000 persons in the Territory, it was entitled to a representative assembly. On October 29, 1798, G-overnor St. Clair gave notice by proclamation, that the required population ex- isted, and directed that an election be held on the third Monday in December, to choose representa- tives. These representatives were required, when assembled, to nominate ten persons, whose names were sent to the President of the United States, who selected five, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed them for the legislative council. In this mode the Northwest passed into the second grade of a Territorial government. The representatives, elected under the proclama- tion of St. Clair, met in Cincinnati, January 22, 1799, and under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, nominated ten persons, whose names were sent to the President. On the 2d of March, he selected from the list of candidates, the names of Jacob Burnet, James Findlay, Henry Vander- burgh, Robert Oliver and' David Vance. The nest day the Senate confirmed their nomination, and the first legislative council of the Northwest Territory was a reality. The Territorial Legislature met again at Cincin- nati, September 16, but, for want of a quorum, was not organized until the 24th of that month. The House of Representatives consisted of nine- teen members, of whom seven were from Hamilton County, four from Ros.s — erected by St. Clair in 1798; three from Wayne — erected in 1796; two from Adams — erected in 1797; one from Jeffer- son — erected in 1797; one from Washington — erected in 1788; and one from Knox — Indiana Territory. None seem to have been present from St. Clair County flUinois Territory). After the organization of the Legislature, Grov- ernor St. Clair addressed the two houses in the Rep- resentatives' Chamber, recommending such meas- ures as, in his judgment, were suited to the con- dition of the country and would advance the safety and prosperity of the people. The Legislature continued in session till the 19th of December, when, having finished their business, they were prorogued by the Governor, by their own request, till the first Monday in November, 1800. This being the first session, there was, of necessity, a great deal of business to do. The transition from a colonial to a semi-independent form of government, called for a general revision as well as a considerable enlargement of the stat- ute-book. Some of the adopted laws were re- pealed, many others altered and amended, and a long list of new ones added to the code. New ofiices were to be created and filled, the duties at- tached to them prescribed, a*id a plan of ways and means devised to meet the increased expenditures, occasioned by the change which had now occurred. As Mr. Burnet was the principal lawyer in the Council, much of the revision, and putting the laws into proper legal form, devolved upon him. He seems to have been well fitted for the place, and to have performed the laborious task in an excel- lent manner. The whole number of acts passed and approved by the Governor, was thii-ty-seven. The most im- portant related to the militia, the administration of justice, and to taxation. During the session, a bill authorizing a lottery was passed by the covmoil, but rejected by the Legislature, thus interdicting this demoralizing feature of the disposal of lands or for other purposes. The example has always been followed by subsequent legislatures, thus honorably characterizing the Assembly of Ohio, in this re- spect, an example Kentucky and several other States might well emulate. Before the Assembly adjourned, they issued a congratulatory address to the people, enjoining them to " Inculcate the principles of hu-manitjf, benevolence, honesty and punctuality in dealiiic;-, sincerity and charity, and all the social affections." At the same time, they issued an address to the President, expressing entire confidence in the wis- dom and purity of his government, and their warm attachment to the American Constitution. fe 80 HISTORY OF OHIO. The veto on this address proved, however, that the differences of opinion agitating the Eastern States had penetrated the West. Eleven Kepresentatives voted for it, and five against it. One of the important duties that devolved on this Legislature, was the election of a delegate to Congress. As soon as the Governor's proclama- tion made its appearance, the election of a person to fill that position excited general attention. Be- fore the meeting of the Legislature public opinion had settled down on William Henry Harrison, and Arthur St. Clair, Jr., who eventually were the only candidates. On the 3d of October, the tvfo houses met and proceeded to a choice. Eleven votes were cast tor Harrison, and ten for St. Clair. The Leg- islature prescribed the form of a certificate of the election, which was given to Harrison, who at once resigned his office as Secretary of the Territory, proceeded to Philadelphia, and took his seat, Con- gress being then in session. " Though he represented the Territory but one year, " says Judge Burnett, in his notes, " he ob- tained some important advantages for his constitu- ents. He introduced, a resolution to sub-divide the surveys of the public lands, and to offer them for sale in smaller tracts ; he succeeded in getting that measure through both houses, in opposition to the interest of speculators, who were, and who wished to be, the retailers of the land to the poorer classes of the community. Plis proposition be- came a law, and was hailed as the most beneficent act that CongTess had ever done for the Territory. It put in the power of every industrious man, how- ever poor, to become a freeholder, and to lay a foundation for the future support and comfort of his family. At the same session, he obtained a liberal extension of time for the pre-emptioners in the northern part of the Miami purchase, which enabled them to secure their farms, and eventually to become independent, and even wealthy." The first session, as has been noticed, closed December 19. Gov. St. Clair took occasion to enumerate in his speech at the close of the session, eleven acts, to which he saw fit to apply his veto. These he had not, however, returned to the Assem- bly, and thereby saved a long struggle between the executive and legislative branches of the Territory. Of the eleven acts enumerated, six related to the formation of new counties. These were mainly disproved by St Clair, as he always sturdily main- tained that the power to erect new counties was vested alone in the Executive. This free exercise of the veto power, especially in relation to new counties, and his controversy with the Legislature, tended only to strengthen the popular discontent regarding the Governor, who was never fully able to regain the standing he held before his in- glorious defeat in his campaign against the Indians. While this was being agitated, another question came into prominence. Ultimately, it settled the powers of the two branches of the government, and caused the removal of St. Clair, then very distasteful to the people. The opening of the present century brought it fully before the people, who began to agitate it in all their assemblies. The great extent of the Territory made the operations of government extremely uncertain, and the power of the courts practically worthless. Its division was, therefore, deemed best, and a committee was appointed by Congress to inquire into the matter. This committee, the 3d of March, 1800, reported upon the subject that, "In the three western counties, there has been but one court having cognizance of crimes in five years. The immunity which offenders experience, attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and aban- doned criminals, and, at the same time, deters useful and virtuous citizens from making settle- ments in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assistance is experienced in civil as well as criminal cases. The supplying to vacant places such necessary officers as may be wanted, such as clerks, recorders and others of like kind, is, from the impossibility of correct notice and information, utterly neglected. This Territory is exposed as a frontier to foreign nations, whose agents can find sufficient interest in exciting or fomenting insurrection and discontent, as thereby they can more easily divert a valuable trade in furs from the United States, and also have a part thereof on which they border, which feels so little the cherishing hand of their proper gov- ernment, or so little dreads its energy, as to render their attachment perfectly uncertain and am- biguous. " The committee would further suggest, that the law of the 3d of Blarch, 1791, granting land to certain persons in the western part of said Ter- ritory, and directing the laying-out of the same, remains unexecuted; that great discontent, in consequence of such neglect, is excited in those who are interested in the provisions of said laws, which require the immediate attention of this Legislature. To minister a remedy to these evils, it occurs to this committee, that it is expedient 9 V -4v HISTORY OF OHIO. 87 tliat a division of said Territory into two distinct and separate governments should be made ; and that such division be made by a lino beginning at the mouth of the great Miami River, running directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States and Canada."* The recommendations of the committee were favorably received by Congress, and, the 7th of jMay, an act was passed dividing the Ter- ritory. The main provisions of the act are as follows : "That, from and after the 4th of July next, all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it intersects the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the purpose of tem- porary government, constitute a separate Territory, and be called the Indiana Territory. "There shall be established within the said Ter- ritory a government, in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of Congress passed July 13, 1797." t The act further provided for representatives, and for the establishment of an assembly, on the same plan as that in force in the Northwest, stipulating that until the number of inhabitants reached five thousand, the whole number of representatives to the General Assembly should not be less than seven, nor more than nine ; apportioned by the Governor among the several counties in the new Terri- tory. The act further provided that " nothing in the act should be so construed, so as in any manner to affect the government now in force in the terri- tory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River, further than to prohibit the exercise thereof within the Indiana Territory, from and after the aforesaid 4th of July next. " Whenever that part of the territory of the United States, which lies to the eastward of a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, and running thence due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall be erected into an independent State, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the orig- inal States ; thenceforth said line shall become and remain permanently, the boundary line between such State and the Indiana Territory." *Ampri''an State Papers, fLand Laws. It was further enacted, " that, until it shall be otherwise enacted by the legislatures of the said territories, respectively, Chillicothe, on the Scioto River, shall be the seat of government of the ter- ritory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River; and that St. Vincent's, on the Wabash River, shall be the seat of government for the Indiana Territory." * St. Clair was continued as Governor of the old Territory, and William Henry Harrison appointed Governor of the new. Connecticut, in ceding her territory in the West to the General Government, reserved a portion, known as the Connecticut Reserve. AVhen she afterward disposed of her claim in the manner narrated, the citizens found themselves without any government on which to lean for support. At that time, settlements had begun in thirty-five ol' the townships into which the Reserve had been divided ; one thousand persons had established homes there ; mills had been built, and over seven hundred miles of roads opened. In 1800, the settlers petitioned for acceptance into the Union, as a part of the Northwest; and, the mother State releasing her judi- ciary claims, Congress accepted the trust, and granted the request. In December, of that year, the population had so increased that the county of Trumbull was erected, including the Reserve. Soon after, a large number of settlers came from Pennsylvania, from which State they had been driven by the dispute concerning land titles in its western part. Unwilling to cultivate land to which they could only get a doubtful deed, they abandoned it, and came where the titles were sure. CongTess having made Chillicothe the capital of the Northwest Territory, as it now existed, on the 3d of November the General Assembly met at that place. Gov. St, Clair had been made to feel the odium cast upon his previous acts, and, at the open- ing of this session, expressed, in strong terms, his disapprobation of the censure cast upon him. He had endeavored to do his duty in all cases, he said, and yet held the confidence of the President and Congress. He still held the office, notwithstanding the strong dislike against him. At the second session of the Assembly, at Chil- licothe, held in the autumn of 1801, so much out^ spoken enmity was expressed, and so much abuse heaped upon the Governor and the Assembly, that a law was passed, removing the capital to Cincinnati ^' Land Laws, '\ HISTORY OF OHIO. 'A again. It was not destined, however, that the Territorial Assembly should meet again anywhere. The unpopularity of the Governor caused many to long for a State government, where they could choose their own rulers. The unpopularity of St. Clair arose partly from the feeling connected with his defeat ; in part from his being connected with the Federal party, fast falling into disrepute ; and, in part, from his assuming powers which most thought he had no right to exercise, especially the . power of subdividing the counties of the Terri- tory. The opposition, though powerful out of the Assembly, was in the minority there. During the month of December, 1801, it was forced to protest against a measure brought forward in the Council, for changing the ordinance of 1787 in such a man- ner as to make the Scioto, and a line drawn from the intersection of that river and the Indian boundary to the western extremity of the Reserve, the limits of the most eastern State, to be formed from the Territory. Had this change been made, the formation of a State government beyond the Ohio would have been long delayed. Against it, RepresentativesWorthingtoUjLangham, Darlington, Massie, Dunlavy and Morrow, recorded their pro- test. Not content with this, they sent Thomas Worthington, who obtained a leave of absence, to the seat of government, on behalf of the objectors, there to protest, before Congress, against the pro- posed boundary. While Worthington was on his way, Massie presented, the 4th of January, 1802, a resolution for choosing a committee to address Congress in respect to the proposed State govern- ment. This, the next day, the House refused to do, by a vote of twelve to five. An attempt was next made to procure a census of the Ter- ritory, and an act for that purpose passed the House, but the Council postponed the considera- tion of it until the next session, which would com- mence at Cincinnati, the fourth Monday of No- vember. Jleanwhile, Worthington pursued the ends of his mission, using his influence to eifect that organ- ization, "which, terminating the influence of t}^- anny," was to "meliorate the circumstances of thou- sands, by freeing them from the domination of a de.spotio chief" His efforts were successful, and, the 4th of March, a report was made to the House in favor of authorizing a State convention. This report was based on the assumption that there were now over sixty thousand inhabitants in the proposed boundaries, estimating that emigration had increased the census of 1800, which gave the Ter- ritory forty-five thousand inhabitants, to that num- ber. The convention was to ascertain whether it were expedient to form such a government, and to prepare a constitution if such organization were deemed best. In the formation of the State, a change in the boundaries was proposed, by which all the territory north of a line drawn due east from the head of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie was to be excluded from the new government about to be called into existence. The committee appoicted by Congress to report upon the feasibility of forming the State, suggested that Congress reserve out of every township sections numbered 8, 11, 26 and 29, for their own use, and that Section 16 be reserved for the maintenance of schools. The committee also suggested, that, "religion, education and morality being necessary to the good government and happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged." Various other recommendations were given by the committee, in accordance with which. Congress, April 30, passed the resolution authorizing the calling of a convention. As this accorded with the feelings of the majority of the inhabitants of the Northwest, no opposition was experienced ; oven the Legislature giving way to this embryo gov- ernment, and failing to assemble according to ad- journment. The convention met the 1st of November. Its members were generally Jeffersonian in their na- tional politics, and had been opposed to ihe change of boundaries proposed the year before. Before proceeding to business. Gov. St. Clair proposed to address them in his ofiicial character. This propo- sition was resisted by several of the members; but, after a motion, it was agreed to allow him to speak to them as a citizen. St. Clair did so, advising the postponement of a State government until the people of the original eastern division were plainly entitled to demand it, and were not subject to be bound by conditions. This advice, given as it was, caused Jefierson instantly to remove St. Clair, at which time his ofiice ceased.* "When the vote was taken," says Judge Burnet, "upon doing what * After this, St. Clair returnei to his old homo in tho Ligonier ValU-y, Pcnns>'lvnni.i, whore ho lived with his children in iiliiiost abject poverty. He had lost monev in his ] uhlic hfc, as he gave cloBoattention to public affairs, to the detriment of his owti business. He presented a claim to Congress, afterward, for supplies furni-lied to the army, but the claim was outlawed. After trying in vain to get the clai'n allowed, he returned to his home. Pennsylvania, learning of his distress, granted him an annuity of 5.S^iO, afterward raised to S6C0. He lived to enjoy this hut a short time, his death occurring August 31, 1818. He was eighty-four years of age. D ^ :iL^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 80 he advised tliem not to do, but one of thirty-three (Ephraim Cutler, of AVashington County) voted with the Grovernor." On one point only were the proposed boundaries of the new State altered. " To every person who has attended to this sub- ject, and who has consulted the maps of the West- ern country extant at the time the ordinance of 17S7 was passed. Lake Michigan was believed to be, and was represented by all the maps of that day as being, very far north of the position which it has since been ascertained to occupy. I have seen the map in the Department of State which was before the committee of Congress who framed and reported the ordinance for the government of the Territory. On that map, the southern bound- ary of Michigan was represented as being above the forty-second degree of north latitude. And there was a pencil line, said to have been made by the committee, passing through the southern bend of the lake to the Canada line, which struck the strait not far below the town of Detroit. The line was manifestly intended by the committee and by Congress to be the northern boundary of our State; and, on the principles by which courts of chancery construe contracts, accompanied by plats, it would seem that the map, aild the line referred to, should be conclusive evidence of our boundary, without reference to the real position of the lakes. " When the convention sat, in 1802, the under- derstanding was, that the old maps were nearly correct, and that the line, as defined in the ordi- nance, would terminate at some point on the strait above the IMaumee Bay. While the convention was in session, a man who had hunted many years on Lake ^Michigan, and was well acquainted with its position, happened to be in Chillicothe, and, in conversation with one of the members, told him that the lake extended much farther south than was generally supposed, and that a map of the country which he had seen, placed its southern bend many miles north of its true position. This information excited some uneasiness, and induced the convention to modify the clause describing the north boundary of the new State, so as to guard against its being depressed below the most north- ern cape of the Maumee Bay."* With this change and some extension of the school and road donations, the convention agreed to the proposal of Congress, and, November 29, ■f Ilistorical Transactions of Ohio.— Judoe Buenett. their agreement was ratified and signed, as was also the constitution of the State of Ohio — so named from its river, called by the Shawances Ohio, meaning beautiful — forming its southern bound- ary. Of this nothing need be said, save that it bore the marks of true democratic feeling — of full faith in the people. By them, however, it was never voted for. It stood firm until 1852, when ' it was superseded by the present one, made neces- '. sary by the advance of time. The General Assembly was required to meet at - Chillicothe, the first Tuesday of Blarch, 1803. This change left the territory northwest of the Ohio River, not included in the new State, in the Territories of Indiana and Michigan. Subse- quentljf, in 181G, Indiana was made a State, and confined to her present limits. Illinois was made a Territory then, including Wisconsin. In 1818, it became a State, and Wisconsin a Territory at- tached to Jlichigan. This latter was made a State in 1837, and Wisconsin a separate Territory, which, in 1847, was made a State. Minnesota was made a Territory the same year, and a State in 1857, and the five contemplated States of the territory were complete. Preceding pages have shown how the territory north of the Ohio River was peopled by the French and English, and how it came under the rule of the American people. The war of the Revolution closed in 1783, and left all America in the hands of a new nation. That nation brought a change. Before the war, various attempts had been made by residents in New England to people the country west of the Alleghanies. Land com- panies were formed, principal among which were the Ohio Company, and the company of which John Cleves Symmes was the agent and chief owner. Large tracts of land on the Scioto and on the Ohio were entered. The Ohio Company were the first to make a settlement. It was or- ganized in the autumn of 1787, November 27. They made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men to set out for the West under the supervision of Gen. Rufus Putnam, Superintendent of the Com- pany. Early in the winter they advanced to the Youghiogheny River, and there built a strong boat, which they named "Mayflower." It was built by Capt. Jonathan Devol, the first ship-builder in the West, and, when completed, was placed under his command. The boat was launched April 2, 1788, and the band of pioneers, like the Pilgrim Fathers, began their voyage. The 7th of the month, they arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum, 5 >y -^ 90 HISTORY OF OHIO. their destination, opposite Fort Harmar,* erected in the autumn of 1785, by a detachment of United States troops, under command of Maj. John Doughty, and, at the date of the Mayflower's arrival in possession of a company of soldiers. Under the protection of these troops, the little band of men began their labor of laying out a town, and commenced to erect houses for theh' own and subsequent emigrants' occupation. The names of these pioneers of Ohio, as far as can now be learned, are as follows: Gen. Putnam, Return Jonathan Meigs, Win- throp Sargeant (Secretary of the Territory), Judges Parsons and Varnum, Capt. Dana, Capt. Jonathan Devol, Joseph Barker, Col. Battelle, Maj. Tyler, Dr. True, Capt. Wm. Gray, Capt. Lunt, the Bridges, Ebenezer and Thomas Cory, Andrew Mc- Clure, Wm. Mason, Thomas Lord, Wm. Gridley, Gilbert Devol, Moody Russels, Deavens, Cakes, Wright, Clough, Green, Shipman, Dorance, the Masons, and others, whose names are now be- yond recall. On the 19 th of July, the first boat of families arrived, after a nine-weeks journey on the way. They had traveled in their wagons as far as Wheel- ing, where they built large flat-boats, into which they loaded their effects, including their cattle, and thence passed down the Ohio to their destination. The families were those of Gen. Tupper, Col. Ichabod Nye, Col. Cushing, Maj. Coburn, and Maj. Goodale. In these titles the reader will ob- serve the preponderance of military distinction. Many of the founders of the colony had served with much valor in the war for freedom, and were well prepared for a life in the wilderness. They began at once the construction of houses from the forests about the confluence of the rivers, guarding their stock hj day and penning it by night. Wolves, bears and Indians were all about them, and, here in the remote wilderness, they were obliged to always be on their guard. From the ground where they obtained the timber to erect their houses, they soon produced a few vegetables, and when the families arrived in August, they were able to set before them food raised for the *The outlines of Fort Harmar formed a regular pentagon, embracing within the area about tliree-fourths of an acre. Its walla were fnrraed of large horizontiil timbers, and the bastions of large upright timbers aboutfiiurteen feet in height, fastened to each other tiy strips of timber, tree-niiiled into eiicli picket. In the rear of the fort M;ij. noiighty laid out fine gardens. It continued to be occupied by United States troops until September 1790, when they were ordered to Cincinnati. A company, under Capt. Haskell, continued to make the fort their headquarters during the Indian war, oecasionaliy assisting the colonists at JWarietta, Celpre and Waterford against the Indians. When not needed by the troops, the fort was used by the people of Marietta. first time by the hand of American citizens in the Ohio Valley. One of those who came in August, was Mr. Thomas Guthrie, a settler in one of the western counties of Pennsylvania, who brought a bushel of wheat, which he sowed on a plat of ground cleared by himself, and from which that fall he procured a small crop of wheat, the first grown in the State of Ohio. The Marietta settlement was the only one made that summer in the Territory. From their arrival until October, when Governor St. Clair came, they were busily employed making houses, and prepar- ing for the winter. The little colony, of which Washington wrote so favorably, met on the 2d day of July, to name their newborn city and its pub- lic sqares. UntU now it had been known as "The Muskingum" simply, but on that day the name Marietta was formally given to it, in honor of Ma- rie Antoinette. The 4th of July, an ovation was held, and an oration delivered by James M. Var- num, who, with S. H. Parsons and John Arm- strong, had been appointed Judges of the Terri- tory. Thus, in the heart of the wilderness, miles away from any kindred post, in the forests of the Great West, was the Tree of Liberty watered and given a hearty growth. On the morning of the 9th of July, Governor St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The ordinance of 1787 had provided for a form of government under the Governor and the three Judges, and this form was at once put into force. The 25th, the first law relating to the militia was published, and the next day the Gov- ernor's proclamation appeared, creating all the country that had been ceded by the Indians, east of the Scioto River, into the county of Washing- ton, and the civil machinery was in motion. From that time forward, this, the pioneer settlement in Ohio, went on prosperously. The 2d of Septem- ber, the first court in the Territory was held, but as it related to the Territory, a narrative of its pro- ceedings will be found in the history of that part of the country, and need not be repeated here. The 15th of July, Gov. St. Clair had published the ordinance of 1787, and the commissions of himself and the three Judges. He also assembled the people of the settlement, and explained to them the ordinance in a speech of considerable length. Three days after, he sent a notice to the Judges, calling their attention to the subject of organizing the militia. Instead of attending to this important matter, and thus providing for their safety should trouble with the Indians arise, the ;^ HISTORY or OHIO. 91 Judges did not even reply to the Governor's letter, but sent him what they called a "project" of a law for dividing real estate. The bill vv'as so loosely drawn that St. Clair immediately rejected it, and set about organizing the mihtia himself. He divided the militia into two classes, "Senior" and "Junior," and organized them by appointing their officers. In the Senior Class, Nathan Gushing was ap- pointed Captain; George Ingersol, Lieutenant, and James Backus, Ensign. In the Junior Class, Nathan G-oodale and Charles Knowls were made Captains ; Watson Casey and Samuel Stebbins, Lieutenants, and Joseph Lincoln and Arnold Colt, En.agns. The Governor next erected the Courts of Pro- bate and Quarter Sessions, and proceeded to ap- point civil officers. Eufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper and Winthrop Sargeant were made Jus- tices of the Peace. The oUth of August, the day the Court of Quarter Sessions was appointed, Archibald Cary, Isaac Pierce and Thomas Lord were also appointed Justices, and given power to hold this court. They were, in fact. Judges of a Court of Common Pleas. Beturn Jonathan Meigs was appointed Clerk of this Court of Quarter Sessions. Ebenezer Sproat was appointed Sheriff of Washington County, and also Colonel of the militia; William Callis, Clerk of the Supreme Court; Rufus Putnam, Judge of the Probate Court, and E. J. Meigs, Jr., Clerk. Following these appoint- ments, setting the machinery of government in motion, St. Clair ordered that the 25th of Decem- ber be kept as a day of thanksgiving by the infant colony for its safe and propitious beginning. During the fall and winter, the settlement was daily increased by emigrants, so much so, that the greatest difficulty was experienced in finding them lodging. During the coldest part of the winter, when ice covered the river, and prevented navi- gation, a delay in arrivals was experienced, only to be broken as soon as the river opened to the beams of a spring sun. While looked in the winter's embrace, the colonists amused themselves in vari- ous ways, dancing being one of the most promi- nent. At Christmas, a gi'and ball was held, at which there were fifteen ladies, "whose grace," says a narrator, "equaled any in the East." Though isolated in the wildernass, they knew a brilliant prospect lay before them, and lived on in a joyous hope for the future. Soon after their arrival, the settlers began the erection of a stockade fort (Campus Martins), which occupied their time until the winter cf 1791. During the interval, fortunately, no hos- tilities from the Indians were experienotxl, though they wore abundant, and were frequent visitors to the settlement. From a communication in the American Pioneer, by Dr. S. P. llildreth, the following description of Campus JMartius is derived. As it will apply, in a measure, to many early structures for defense in the West, it is given entire : " The fort was made in the form of a regular parallelogram, the sides of each being 180 feet. At each corner was erected a strong block-house, surmounted by a tower, and a sentry box. These houses were twenty feet square below and twenty- four feet square above, and projected six feet be- yond the walls of the fort. The intermediate walls were made up with dwelling-houses, made of wood, whose ends were whip-sawed into timbers four inches thick, and of the requisite width and length. These were laid up similar to the structure of log houses, with the ends nicely dove-tailed together. The whole were two stories high, and covered with shingle roofs. Ccmvenient chimne3's were erected of bricks, for cooking, and warming the rooms. A number of the dwellings were built and owned by individuals who had families. In the west and south fronts were strong gateways ; and over the one in the center of the front looking to the Mus- kingum River, was a belfry. The chamber beneath was occupied by Winthrop Sargeant, as an office, he being Secretary to the Governor, and perform- ing the duties of the office during St. Clair's ab- sence. This room projected over the gateway, like a block-house, and was intended for the jirotection of the gate beneath, in time of an assault. At the outer corner of each block-house was erected a bastion, standing on four stout timbers. The floor of the bastion was a little above the lower story of the block-house. They were square, and built up to the height of a m.an's head, so that, when he looked over, he stepped on a narrow platform or " banquet" running around thesides of the bulwark. Port-holes were made, for musketry as well as for artillery, a single piece of which was mounted in the southwest and northeast bastions. In these, the sentries were regularly posted every night, as more convenient than the towers ; a door leading into them from the upper story of the block-houses. The lower room of the southwest blockhouse was occupied as a guard-house. " Running from corner to corner of the block- houses was a row of palisades, sloping outward, '.i:. 93 HISTOKY OF OHIO. and resting on stout rails. Twenty feet in advance of these, was a row of very strong and large pick- ets, set upright in the earth. Gateways through these, admitted the inmates of the garrison. A few feet beyond the row of outer palisades was placed a row of abattis, made from the tops and branches of trees, sharpened and pointing outward, so that it would have been very difficult for an enemy to have penetrated within their outworks. The dwelling-houses occupied a space from fifteen to thirty feet each, and were sulficient for the ac- commodation of forty or fifty families, and did actually contain from two hundred to three hun- dred persons during the Indian war. " Before the Indians commenced hostilities, the block-houses were occupied as follows : The south- west one, by the family of Gov. St. Clair; the northeast one as an office for the Directors of the Company. The area within the walls was one hundred and forty-four feet square, and afforded a fine parade ground. In the center, was a well eighty feet in depth, for the supply of water to the inhabitants, in case of a siege. A large sun-dial stood for many years in the square, placed on a handsome post, and gave note of the march of time. " After the war commenced, a regTilar military corps was organized, and a guard constantly kept night and day. The whole estabhshment formed a very strong work, and reflected great credit on the head that planned it. It was in a manner im- pregnable to the attacks of Indians, and none but a regular army with cannon could have reduced it. The Indians possessed no such an armament. " The garrison stood on the verge of that beauti- ful plain overlooking the Muskingum, on which are seated those celebrated remains of antiquity, erected probably for a similar purpose — the defense of the inhabitants. The ground descends into shal- low ravines on the north and south sides ; on the west is an abrupt descent to the river bottoms or alluvium, and the east passed out to a level plain. On this, the ground was cleared of trees beyond the reach of rifle shots, so as to afford no shelter to a hidden foe. Extensive fields of corn were grown in the midst of the standing girdled trees be- yond, in after years. The front wall of palisades was about one hundred and fifty yards from the Muskingum River. The appearance of the fort from without was imposing, at a little distance re- sembling the military castles of the feudal ages. Between the outer palisades and the river Wisre laid out neat gardens for the use of Gov. St. Clair and his Secretary, with the officers of the Com- pany. " Opposite the fort, on the shore of the river, was built a substantial timber wharf, at which was moored a fine cedar barge for twelve rowers, built by Capt. Jonathan Devol, for Gen. Putnam ; a number of pirogues, and the light canoes of the country ; and last, not least, the Mayflower, or ' Adventure Galley,' in which the first detach- ments of colonists were transported from the shores of the ' Yohiogany ' to the banks of the Muskingum. In these, especially the canoes, during the war, most of the communications were carried on between the settlements of the Company and the more re- mote towns above on the Ohio River. Traveling by land was very hazardous to any but the rangers or spies. There were no roads, nor bridges across the creeks, and, for many years after the war had ceased, the traveling was nearly all done by canoes on the river." Thus the first settlement of Ohio provided for its safety and comfort, and provided also for that of emigrants who came to share the toils of the wilderness. The next spring, the influx of emigration was so great that other settlements were determined, and hence arose the colonies of Belpre, ^^^aterford and Duck Creek, where they began to clear land, sow and plant crops, and build houses and stockades. At Belpre (French for "beautiful meadow"), were built three stockades, the upper, lower and middle, the last of which was called " Farmers' Castle," and stood on the banks of the Ohio, nearly oppo- site an island, afterward famous in Western history as Blennerhasset's Island, the scene of Burr's con- spiracy. Among the persons settling at the upper stockade, were Capts. Dana and Stone, Col. Bent, William Browning, Judge Foster, John Rowse, Israel Stone and a Mr. Keppel. At the Farmers' Castle, were Cols. Cushing and Fisher, Maj. Has- kell, Aaron Waldo Putnam, Mr. Sparhawk, and, it is believed, George and Israel Putnam., Jr. At the lower, were Maj. Goodale, Col. Rice, Esquire Pierce, Judge Israel Loring, Deacon Miles, Maj. Bradford and Mr. Goodenow. In the summer of 1789, Col. Ichabod Nye and some others, built a block-house at Newberry, below Belpre. Col. Nye sold his lot there to Aaron W. Clough, who, with Stephen Guthrie^ Joseph Leavins, Joel Oakes, Eleazer Curtis, Mr. Denham J. Littleton and Mr. Brown, was located at that place. "Every exertion possible," says Dr. Hildreth, who has preserved the above names and incidents, si ri ^ ' 'A IIISTORr OF OHIO. 93 '' for men in these circumstances, was made to se- cure food for future difficulties. Col. Oliver, Maj. Hatfield White and John Dodge, of the Water- ford settlement, began mills on Wolf Creek, about three miles from the fort, and got them running; and these, the first mills in Ohio, were never de- stroyed during the subsequent Indian war, though the proprietors removed their familes to the fort at IMarietta. Col. E. Sproat and Enoch Shep- herd began mills on Duck Creek, three miles from Marietta, from the completion of which they were driven by the Indian war. Thomas Stanley be- gan mills farther up, near the Duck Creek settle- ment. These were likewise unfinished. The Ohio Company built a large horse mill near Campus Martins, and soon after a floating mill." The autumn before the settlements at Belpre, Duck Creek and Waterford, were made, a colony was planted near the mouth of the Little INIiami River, on a tract of ten thousand acres, purchased from Symmes by Maj. Benjamin Stites. In the pre- ceding pages may be found a history of Symmes' purchase. This colony may be counted the second settlement in the State. Soon after the colony at Marietta was founded, steps were taken to occupy separate portions of Judge Symmes' purchase, be- tween the Bliami Rivers. Three parties were formed for this purpose, but, owing to various delays, chiefly in getting the present colony stead- fast and safe from future encroachments by the savages, they did not get started till late in the fall. The first of these parties, consisting of fifteen or twenty men, led by Blaj. Stites, landed at the mouth of the Little Miami in November, 1788, and, constructing a log fort, began to lay out a village, called by them Columbia. It soon gTew into prominence, and, before winter had thoroughly set in, they were well prepared for a frontier life. In the party were Cols. Spencer and Brown, Maja. Gano and Kibbey, Judges Goforth and Foster, Rev. John Smith, Francis Dunlavy, Capt. Flinn, Jacob White, John Riley, and Mr. Hubbell. All these were men of energy and enterprise, and, with their comrades, were more numerous than either of the other parties, who commenced their settlements below them on the Ohio. This village was also, at first, more flourishing; and, for two or three years, contained more inhabitants than any other in the Miami purchase. The second IMiami party was formed at Lime- stone, under Matthias Donliam and Robert Pat- terson, and consisted of twelve or fifteen persons. They landed on the north bank of the Ohio, oppo- site the mouth of the Licking River, the 24th of December, 1788. They intended to establish a station and lay out a town on a plan prepared at Limestone. Some statements affirm that the town waste be called " L-os-anli-villc," hj a, romantic school-teacher named Filson. However, be this as it may, Mr. Filson was, unfortunately for himself, not long after, slain by the Indians, and, with him probably, the name disappeared. Ho was to have one-third interest in the proposed city, which, when his death occurred, was transferred to Israel Ludlow, and a new plan of a city adopted. Israel Ludlow surveyed the proposed town, whose lots were principally donated to settlers upon certain condi- tions as to settlement and improvement, and the embryo city named Cincinnati. Gov. St. Clair very likely had something to do with the naming of the village, and, by some, it is asserted that he changed the name from Losantiville to Cincinnati, when he created the county of Hamilton the en- suing winter. Tlie original purchase of the city's site was made by Mr. l)enham. It included about eight hundred acres, for which he paid 5 shillings per acre in Continental certificates, then worth, in specie, about 5 shillings per pound, gross weight. Evidently, the original site was a good investment, could Mr. Denham have lived long enough to see its present condition. The third party of settlers for the Miami pur- chase, were under the care of Judge Symmes, himself. They left Limestone, January 29, 1789, and were much delayed on their downward jour- ney by the ice in the river. They reached the " Bend," as it was then known, early in February. The Judge had intended to found a city here, which, in time, would be the rival of the Atlantic cities. As each of the three settlements aspired to the same position, no little rivalry soon mani- fested itself The Judge named his proposed city North Bend, from the fact that it was the most northern bend in the Ohio below the mouth of the Great Kanawha. These three settlements ante- dated, a few months, those made near Marietta, already described. They arose so .soon after, partly from the extreme desire of Judge Symmes to settle his purchase, and induce emigration here instead of on the Ohio Company's purchase. The Judge labored earnestly for this purpose and to further secure him in his title to the land he had acquired, all of which he had so far been unable to retain, owing to his inability to meet his payments. All these emigrants came down the river in the flat-boats of the day, rude affairs, sometimes called i) >y -v « 94 HISTORY OF OHIO. " Ai-ks," and then the only safe mode of travel in the West. Judge Symmes found he must provide for the safety of the settlers on his purchase, and, after earnestly soliciting Gen. Harmar, commander of the AVestern posts, succeeded in obtaining a de- tachment of forty-eight men, under Capt. Kearsey, to protect the improvements just commencing on the Miami. This detachment reached Limestone in December, 1788. Part was at once sent fi.ir- ward to guard Maj. Stitcs and his pioneers. Judge Symmes and his party started in January, and, about February 2, reached Columbia, where the Captain expected to find a fort erected for his use and shelter. The flood on the river, however, de- feated his purpose, and, as he was unprepared to erect another, ho determined to go on down to the garrison at the falls at Louisville. Judge Symmes was strenuously opposed to his conduct, as it left the colonies unguarded, but, all to no purpose ; the Captain and his command, went to Louisville early in March, and left the Judge and his settlement to protect themselves. Judge Symmes immedi- ately sent a strong letter to Maj. NVillis, command- ing at the Falls, complaining of the conduct of Capt. Kearsey, representing the exposed situ- ation of the 3Iiami settlements, stating the indi- cations of hostility manifested by the Indians, and requesting a guard to be sent to the Bend. This request was at once granted, and Ensign Luce, with seventeen or eighteen soldiers, sent. They were at the settlement but a short time, when they were attacked by Indians, and one of their number killed, and four or five wounded. They repulsed the savages and saved the set- tlers. The site of Symmes City, for such ho designed it should ultimately be called, was above the reach of water, and sufficiently level to admit of a conven- ient settlement. The city laid out by Symmes was truly magnificent on paper, and promised in the future to fulfill his most ardent hopes. The plat included the village, and extended acro.ss the peninsula between the Ohio and Miami Rivers. Each settler on this plat was promised a lot if he would improve it, and in conformity to the stipu- lation. Judge Symmes soon found a large number of persons applying for residence. As the number of these adventurers increased, in consequence of this provision and the protection of the military, the Judge was induced to lay out another village six or seven miles up the river, which ho called South Bend, whore lie disposed of some donation lots, but the project failing, the village site was de- serted, and converted into a farm. During all the time these various events were transpiring, but little trouble was experienced with the Indians. They were not yet disposed to evince hostile feelings. This would have been their time, but, not realizing the true intent of the whites until it was too late to conquer them, they allowed them to become prepared to withstand a warfare, and in the end wereobliged to suffer their hunting-grounds to be taken from them, and made the homes of a race destined to entirely sup)er.:ede them in the Now World. By the means sketched in the foregoing pages, were the three settlements on the Miami made. By the time those adjacent to Marietta were well estab- lished, these were firmly fixed, each one striving to become the rival city all felt sure was to arise. For a time it was a matter of doubt which of the rivals, Columbia, North Bend or Cincinnati, would event- ually become the chief seat of business. In the beginning, Columbia, the eldest of the three, took the lead, both in number of its in- habitants and the convenience and appearance of its dwellings. For a time it was a flourishing place, and many believed it would become the great busi- ness town of the Miami country. That apparent fact, however, lasted but a short time. The garri- sim was moved to Cincinnati, Fort Washington built there, and in spite of all that Maj. Stites, or Judge Symmes could do, that place became the metropolis. Fort Washington, the most extensive garrison in the West, was built by Maj. Doughty, in the summer of 1789, and from that time the growth and future greatness of Cincinnati were assured. The first house in the city was built on Front street, east of and near Main street. It was simply a strong log cabin, and was erected of the forest trees cleared away from the ground on which it stood. The lower part of the town was covered with sycamore and maple trees, and the upper with beech and oak. Through this dense forest the streets were laid out, and their corners marked on the trees. The settlements on the Miami had become sufficiently numerous to warrant a separate county, and, in January, 1790, Gov. St. Clair and his Secretary arrived in Cincinnati, and organized the county of Hamilton, so named in honor of the illustrious statesman by that name. It included all the country north of the Ohio, between the Miamis, as far as a lino running " due east from the HISTOKY OF OHIO. 05 Standing Stone forks " of Big Miami to its inter- section ^Yilll the Little Miami. Tlie erection of the new county, and the appointment of Cincin- nati to be the scat of justice, gave the town a fresh impulse, and aided greatly in its growth. Through the summer, but little interruption in the growth of the settlements occurred. The Indians had p^'nuitted the erection of defensive works in their midst, and could not now destroy them. They were also engaged in traffic with the whites, and, though they evinced signs of discon- tent at their settlement and occupation of the country, yet did not openly attack them. The truth was, they saw plainly the whites were always prepared, and no opportunity was given them to plunder and destroy. The Indian would not attack unless success was almost sure. An oppor- tunity, unfortunately, came, and with it the hor- rors of an Indian war. In the autumn of 1790, a company of thirty- six men went from Marietta to a place on the Muskingum known as the Big Bottom. Here they built a block-house, on the east bank of the river, four miles above the mouth of Meigs Creek. They were chiefly young, single men, but little acquainted with Indian warfare or military rules. The savages had given signs that an attack on the settlement was meditated, and several of the know- ing ones at the strongholds strenuously opposed any new settlements that fall, a'dvising their post- ponement until the nest spring, when the question of peace or war would probably be settled. Even Gen. Putnam and the Directors of the Ohio Com- pany advised the postponement of the settlement until the next spring. The young men were impatient and restless, and declared themselves able to protect their fort against any number of assailants. They might have easily done so, had they taken the necessary precautions ; but, after they had erected a rude block-house of unchinked logs, they began to pass the time in various pursuits; setting no guard, and taking no precautionary measures, they left them- selves an easy prey to any hostile savages that might choose to come and attack them. About twenty rods from the block-house, and a little back from the bank of the river, two men, Francis and Isaac Choate, members of the com- pany, had erected a cabin, and commenced clearing lots. Thomas Shaw, a hired laborer, and James Patten, another of the associates, lived with them. About the same distance below the block-house was an old "Tomahawk Improvement" and a small caljin, which two men, Asa and Eleazur Bullard, had fitted up and occupied. The Indian war-path, from Sandusky to the mouth of the Muskingum, passed along the opposite shore of the river. " The Indians, who, during the summer," says Dr. Hildreth, " had been hunting and loitering about the Wolf Creek and Plainfield settlements, holding frequent and friendly intercourse with the settlers, selling them venison and bear's meat in ex- change for green corn and vegetables, had with- drawn and gone up the river, early in the au- tumn, to their towns, preparatory to going into winter quarters. They very seldom entered on any warlike expeditions during the cold weather. But they had watched the gradual encroach- ment of the whites and planned an expedition against them. They saw them in fancied security in their cabins, and thought their capture an easy task. It is said they were not aware of the Big Bottom settlement until they came in sight of it, on the opposite shore of the river, in the afternoon. From a high hill opposite the garrison, they had a view of all that part of the bottom, and could see how the men were occupied and what was doing about the block-house. It was not proi ected with palisades or pickets, and none of the men were aware or prepared for an attack. Having laid their plans, about twilight they crossed the river above the garrison, on the ice, and divided their men into two parties — the larger one to attack the blockhouse, the smaller one to capture the cabins. As the Indians cautiously approached the cabin they found the inmates at supper. Part entered, addressed the whites in a friendly manner, but soon manifesting their designs, made them all pris- oners, tieing them with leather thongs they found in the cabin." At the block-house the attack was far diffisrent. A stout Mohawk suddenly burst open the door, the first intimation the inmates had of the pres- ence of the foe, and while he held it open his comrades shot down those that were within. Rush- ing in, the deadly tomahawk completed the on- slaught. In the assault, one of the savages was struck by the wife of Isaac Woods, with an ax, but only slightly injured. The heroic woman was immediately slain. All the men but two were slain before they had time to secure their arms, thereby paying for their failure to properly secure themselves, with their lives. The two excepted were John Stacy and his brother Philip, a lad six- teen years of age. John escaped to the roof, "^ ^ -^ 96 I-IISTOEY or OHIO. where he was shot by the Indians, while begging for his hfe. The firing at the block-house alarmed the BuUards in their cabin, and hastily barring the door, and securing their arms and ammunition, they fled to the woods, and escaped. After the slaughter was over, the Indians began to collect the plunder, and in doing so discovered the lad Philip Stacy. They were about to dispatch him, but his entrea- ties softened the heart of one of the chiefs, who took him as a captive with the intention of adopt- ing him into his family. The savages then piled the dead bodies on the floor, covered them with other portions of it not needed for that purpose, and set fire to the whole. The building, being made of green logs, did not burn, the fiames con- suming only the floors and roof, leaving the walls standing. There were twelve persons killed in this attack, all of whom were in the prime of life, and valuable aid to the settlements. They were well provided with arms, and had they taken the necessary pre- cautions, always pressed upon them when visited by the older ones from Marietta, they need not have suffered so terrible a fate. The Indians, exultant over their horrible victory, went on to Wolf's mills, but here they found the people prepared, and, after reconnoitering the place, made their retreat, at early dawn, to the great re- lief of the inhabitants. Their number was never definitely known. The news reached Marietta and its adjacent settlements soon after the massacre occurred, and struck terror and dismay into the hearts of all. Many had brothers and sons in the ill-fated party, and mourned their loss. Neither did they know what place would fall next. The Indian hostilities had begun, and they could only hope for peace when the savages were effectually conquered. The next day, Capt. Rogers led a party of men over to the Big Bottom. It was, indeed, a melan- choly sight to the poor borderers, as they knew not now how soon the same fate might befall them- selves. The fire had so disfigured their comrades that but two, Ezra Putnam and William Jones, were recognized. As the ground was frozen out- side, a hole was dug in the earth underneath the block-house floor, and the bodies consigned to one grave. No further attempt was made to settle here till after the peace of 1*705. The outbreak of Indian hostilities put a check on further settlements. Those that were estab- lished were put in a more active state of defense, and every preparation made that could be made for the impending crisis all felt sure must come. Either the Indians must go, or the whites must retreat. A few hardy and adventurous persons ventured out into the woods and made settle- ments, but even these were at the imminent risk of their lives, many of them perishing in the attempt. The Indian war that followed is given fully in preceding pages. It may be briefly sketched by stating that the first campaign, under Gen Ilar- mar, ended in the defeat of his army at the Indian villages on the Miami of the lake, and the rapid retreat to Fort Washington. St. Clair was next commissioned to lead an army of nearly three thou- sand men, but these were furiously attacked at break of day, on the morning of November 4, 1791, and utterly defeated. Indian outrages sprung out anew after each defeat, and the borders were in a continual state of alarm. The most ter- rible sufierings were endured by prisoners in the hands of the savage foe, who thought to annihilate the whites. The army was at once re-organized. Gen. An- thony Wayne put in command by Washington, and a vigorous campaign inaugurated. Though the savages had been given great aid by the Brit- ish, in direct violation of the treaty of 1783, Gen. Wayne pursued them so vigorously that they could not withstand his army, and, the 20th of August, 179-1, defeated them, and utterly annihilated their forces, breaking up their camps, and laying waste their country, in some places under the guns of the British forts. The victory showed them the hopelessness of contending against the whites, and led their chiefs to sue for peace. The British, as at former times, deserted them, and they were again alone, contending against an invincible foe. A grand council was held at Greenville the 3d day of August, 1795, where eleven of the most power- ful chiefs made peace with Gen. Wayne on terms of his own dictation. The boundary established by the old treaty of Fort Mcintosh was confirmed, and extended westward from Loramie's to Fort Recovery, and thence southwest to the mouth of the Kentucky River. He also purchased all the territory not before ceded, within certain limits, comprehending, in all, about four-fifths of the State of Ohio. The hne was long known as " The Green ville Treaty line." Upon these, and a few other minor conditions, the United States received the Indians under their protection, gave them a large number of presents, and practically closed the war with the savages. J "fy ^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 97 Theonly settlement of any consequence made dur- ing the Indian war, was that on the plat of Hamilton, laid out by Israel Ludlow in December, 179-1. Soon after, Darius C. Orcutt, John Green, William Mc- Clennan, John Sutherland, John Torrenoe, Benjamin F. Randolph, Benjamin Davis, Isaac Wiles, Andrew Christy and William Hubert, located here. The town was laid out under the name of Fairfield, but was known only a short time by that name. Until ISOl, all the lands on the west side of the Great Miami were owned by the General Government ; hence, until after that date, no improvements were made there. A single log cabin stood there until the sale of lands in April, 1801, when a company purchased the site of Rossville, and, in March, 1804, laid out that town, and, before a year had passed, the town and country about it was well settled. The close of the war, in 1795, insured peace, and, from that date, Hamilton and that part of the JNIiami A^alley grew remarkably fast. In 1803, Butler County was formed, and Hamilton made the county seat. On the site of Hamilton, St. Clair built Fort Hamilton in 1791. For some time it was under the command of Maj. Rudolph, a cruel, arbitrary man, who was displaced by Gen. Wayne, and who, it is said, perished ignobly on the high seas, at the hands of some Algerine pirates, a fitting end to a man who caused, more than once, the death of men under his control for minor offenses. On the return of peace, no part of Ohio grew more rapidly than the Miami Valley, especially that part comprised in Butler County. While the war with the Indians continued, but little extension of settlements was made in the State. It was too perilous, and the settlers pre- ferred the security of the block-house or to engage with the army. Still, liowever, a few bold spirits ventured away from the settled parts of the Terri- tory, and began life in the wilderness. In tracing the histories of these settlements, attention will be paid to the order in which they were made. They will be given somewhat in detail until the war of is 12, after which time they become too numerous to follow. The settlements made in Washington — ^Marietta and adjacent colonies — and Hamilton Counties have already been given. The settlement at Gal- lia is also noted, hence, the narration can be re- sumed where it ends prior to the Indian war of 170.5. Before this war occurred, there were three small settlements made, however, in addition to those in Washington and Hamilton Counties. They were in what are now Adams, Belmont and Morgan Counties. They were block-house settle- ments, and were in a continual state of defense. The first of these, Adams, was settled in the winter of 1790-91 by Gen. Nathaniel Massie, near where ]Manchester now is. Gen. Jlassie determined to settle here in the Virginia Military Tract — in the winter of 1790, and .sent notice throughout Ken- tucky and other Western settlements that he would give to each of the first twenty-five families who would settle in the town he proposed laying out, one in-lot, one out-lot and one hundred acres of land. Such liberal terms were soon accepted, and in a short time thirty famihes were ready to go with him. After various consultations with his friends, the bottom on the Ohio River, opposite the lower of the Three Islands, was selected as the most eligible spot. Here Blassie fixed his sta- tion, and laid off into lots a town, now called Slanehester. The little confederacy, with Massie at the helm, went to work with spirit. Cabins were raised, and by the middle of March, 1791, the whole town was inclosed with strong pickets, mth block-houses at each angle for de- fense. This was the first settlement in the bounds of the Virginia District, and the fourth one in the State. Although in the midst of a savage foe, now inflamed with war, and in the midst of a cruel conflict, the settlement at Manchester suf- fered less than any of its cotemporaries. This was, no doubt, due to the watchflil care of its in- habitants, who were inured to the rigors of a front- ier life, and who well knew the danger about them. " These were the Beasleys, Stouts, Washburns, Ledoms, Edgingtons, Denings, Ellisons, Utts, McKcnzies, Wades, and others, who were fully equal to the Indians in all the savage arts and stratagems of border war." As soon as they had completed preparations for defense, the whole population went to work and cleared the lowest of the Three Islands, and planted it in corn. The soil of the island was very rich, and produced abundantly. The woods supplied an abundance of game, while the river furnished a variety of excellent fish. The inhabitants thus found their simple wants fully supplied. Their nearest neighbors in the new Territory were at Columbia, and at 'the French settlement at Gallip- olis ; but with these, owing to the state of the country and the Indian war, they could hold little, if any, intercourse. ) ly 98 HISTORY OP OHIO. The station being established, Massie continued to make locations and surveys. Great precautions were necessary to avoid the Indians, and even the closest vigilance did not always avail, as the cver- watchiul foe was always ready to spring uj3on the settlement, could an unguarded moment be ob- served. During one of the spring months. Gen. jiassie, Israel Donalson, William Lytle and James Little, while out on a survey, were surprised, and Mr. Donalson captured, the others escaping at great peril. Jlr. Donalson escaped during the march to the Indian town, and made his way to the town of Cincinnati, after suffering great hard- ships, and almost perishing from hunger. In the spring of 1793, the settlers at Manchester com- menced clearing the out-lots of the town. While doing so, an incident occurred, which shows the danger to which they were daily exposed. It is thus related in Howe's Collections : " Sir. Andrew Ellison, one of the settlers, cleared an out-lot immediately adjoining the fort. He had completed the cutting of the timber,rolled the logs together, and set thenr on fire. The next morning, before daybreak, Mr. Ellison opened one of the gates of the fort, and went out to throw his logs together. By the time he had finished the job, a number of the heaps blazed up brightly, and, as he was passing from one to the other, he ob- served, by the light of the fires, three men walking briskly toward him. This did not alarm him in the least, although, he said, they were dark-skinned fellows ; yet he concluded they were the Wades, whose complexions were very dark, going early to hunt. He continued to right his log-heaps, until one of the fellows seized him by the arms, calling out, in broken English, ' How do ? how do ? ' He instantly looked in their faces, and, to his surprise and horror, found hinisrlf in the clutches of three Indians. To resist was useless. " The Indians f|uicklY moved off with him in Creek. When breakfast sent one of her children but he could not be found at the log-heaps. His absence created no immedi- ate alarm, as it was thought he might have started to hunt, after completing his work. Dinner-time arrived, and, Ellison not returning, the family became uneasy, and began to suspect some acci- dent had happened to him. His gun-rack was examined, and there hung his rifles and his pouch. Gen. Massie raised a party, made a circuit around the place, finding, after some search, the trails of four men, one of whom had on shoes: and the the direction of Paint was ready, i\Irs. Ellison to ask its father home : fact that Mr. Ellison was a prisoner now became apparent. As it was almost night at the time the trail was discovered, the party returned to the station. Early the next morning, preparations were made by Gen. Massie and his friends to con- tinue the search. In doing this, they found great difficulty, as it was so early in the spring that the vegetation was not grovrn sufficiently to show plainly the trail made by the savages, who took the precaution to keep on high and dry ground, where their feet would make little or no impres- sion. The party were, however, as unerring as a pack of hounds, and followed the trail to Paint Creek, when they found the Indians gained so fast on them that pursuit was useless. "The Indians took their prisoner to Upper Sandusky, where he was compelled to run the gantlet. As he was a large, and not very active, man, he received a severe flogging. He was then taken to Lower Sandusky, and again compelled to run the gantlet. He was then taken to Detroit, where he was ransomed by a British ofiioer for $100. The ofiicer proved a good friend to him. He sent him to Montreal, whence he returned home before the close of the summer, much to the joy of his family and friends, whose feelings can only be imagined." "Another incident occurred about this time," says the same volume, "which so aptly illustrates the danger of frontier life, that it well deserves a place in the history of the settlements in Ohio. John and Asahel Edgington, with a comrade, started out on a hunting expedition toward Brush Creek. They camped out sis miles in a northeast direction from where West Union now stands, and near the site of Treber's tavern, on the road from Chillioothe to ?raysville. They had good success in hunting, killing a number of deer and bears. Of the deer killed, they saved the skins and hams alone. They fleeced the bears ; that is, they cut oft' all the meat which adhered to the hide, with- out skinning, and left the bones as a skeleton. They hung up the proceeds of their hunt, on a scaf- fold out of the reach of wolves and other wild ani- mals, and returned to Manchester for pack-horses. No one returned to the camp with the Edgingtons. As it was late in December, few apprehended dan- ger, as the winter season was usually a time of re- pose from Indian incursions. When the Edgingtons arrived at their camp, they alighted from their horses and were preparing to start a fire, when a platoon of Indians fired upon them at a distance of not more than twenty paces. They had -^ V HISTORY OF OHIO. 101 evidently found the results of the white men's labor, and expected they would return tor it, and pre- pared to waylay them. Asahel Edgington fell dead. John was more fortunate. The sharp crack of the rifles, and the horrible yells of the savages as they leaped from their place of ambush, frightened the horses, who took the track for home at full speed. John was very active on foot, and now an opportunity offered which required his utmost speed. The moment the Indians leaped from their hiding-place, they threw down their guns and took after him, yelling with all their power. Edgington did not run a booty race. For about a mile, the savages stepped in his tracks al- most before the bending grass could rise. The uplifted tomahawk was frequently so near his head that he thought he felt its edge. He exerted himself to his utmost, while the Indians strove with all their might to catch him. Finally, he be- gan to gain on his pursuers, and, afler a long race, distanced them and made his escape, safely reach- ing home. This, truly, was a most fearful and well-contested race. The big Shawanee chief, Capt. John, who headed the Indians on this occasion, after peace was made, in narrating the particulars, said, " The white man who ran away was a smart fellow. The white man run ; and I run. He run and run ; at last, the white man run clear off from me." The settlement, despite its dangers, prospered, and after the close of the war continued to grow rapidly. In two years after peace was declared, Adams County was erected by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, the next year court was held, and in 1804, West Union was made the county seat. During the war, a settlement was commenced near the present town of Bridgeport, in Belmont County, by Capt. Joseph Belmont, a noted Dela- ware Revolutionary officer, who, because his State could furnish only" one company, could rise no higher than Captain of that company, and hence always maintained that grade. He settled on a beautiful knoll near the present county seat, but erelong suffered from a night attack by the In- dians, who, though unable to drive him and his companions from the cabin or conquer them, wounded some of them badly, one or two mortally, and caused the Captain to leave the frontier and return to Newark, Del. The attack was made in the spring of 1791, and a short time after, the Captain, having provided for the safety of his family, accepted a commission in St. Clan-'s army, and lost his life at the defeat of the General in November. Shortly after the Captain settled, a fort, called Dillie's Fort, was built on the Ohio, opposite the mouth of Grave Creek. About two hundred and fifty yards below this fort, an old man, named Tato, was shot down at his cabin door by the Indians, just as he was in the act of entering the house. His body was pulled in by his daugh- ter-in-law and grandson, who made an heroic de- fense. They were overpowered, the woman slain, and the boy badly wounded. He, however, man- aged to secrete himself and afterward escaped to the fort. The Indians, twelve or thirteen in num- ber, went off unmolested, though the men in the fort saw the whole transaction and could have punished them. Why they did not was never known. On Captina Creek in this same county, occurred, in May, 1794, the "battle of Captina," a fa- mous local skirmish between some Virginians from Fort Baker, and a party of Indians. Though the Indians largely outnumbered the whites, they were severely punished^ and compelled to abandon the contest, losing several of their bravest warriors. These were the only settlements made until 1795, the close of the war. Even these, as it will be observed from the foregoing pages, were tem- porary in all cases save one, and were maintained at a great risk, and the loss of many valuable lives. They were made inthebeginning of the war,and such were their experiences that further attempts were abandoned until the treaty of Greenville was made, or until the prospects for peace and safety were assured. No sooner, however, had the prospect of quiet been established, than a revival of emigration be- gan. Before the war it had been large, now it was largely increased. Wa3rne's treaty of peace with the Indians was made at Greenville, in what is now Darke County, the 3d of August, 1795. The number of Indians present was estimated at 1,300, divided among the principal nations as follows: 180 Wyandots, 381 Delawares, 143 Shawaneos, 45 Ottawas, 46 Chip- pewas, 240 Pottawatomies, 73 Miamis and Eel River, 12 Weas and Piankcshaws, and 10 Kicka- poos and Kaskaskias. The principal chiefs were Tarhe, Buckongahelas, Black Hoof, Blue Jacket and Little Turtle. Most of them had been tam- pered with by the British agents and traders, but all had been so thoroughly chastised by Wayne, and found that the British only used them as tools, that they were quite anxious to make peace with the " Thirteen Fires." By the treaty, former ones i> ^ liL^ 103 HISTOEY OF OHIO. were cstablisbed, the boundary lines confirmed and enlarged, an exchange and delivery of prisoners effected, and permanent peace assured. In the latter part of September, after the treaty of Greenville, Mr. Bedell, from New Jersey, selected a site for a home in what is now AVarren County, at a place since known as " Bedell's Sta- tion," about a mile south of Union Village. Here ho erected a block-house, as a defense against the IndianSj among whom were mauy renegades as among the v.'hites, who would not respect the terms of the treaty. Whether Mr. Bedell was alone that fall, or whether he was joined by others, is not ni>w accurately known. However that may be, he was not long left to himself; for, ere a year had elapsed, quite a number of settlements were made in this part of the Territory. Soon after his settlement was made. Gen. Davicl Sutton, Capt. Nathan Kelley and others began pioneer life at Deerfield, in the same locality, and, before three years had gone by, a large number of New Jersey people were established in their homes; and, in 1803, the county was formed from Plamilton. Among the early settlers at Deerfield, was Capt. Robert Benham, who, with a companion, in 1779, sustained themselves many days when the Captain had lost the use of his legs, and his companion his arms, from musket-balls fired by the hands of the Indians. They were with a large party com- manded by Maj. Rodgcrs, and were furiously attacked by an immense number of savages, and all but a few slain. The event happened during the war of the Eevolution, before any attempt was made to settle the Northwest Territory. The party were going down the Ohio, probably to the falls, and were attacked when near the site of Cincinnati. As mentioned, these two men sus- tained each other many days, the one having per- fect legs doing the necessary walking, carrying his comrade to water, driving up game for him to shoot, and any other duties necessary; while the one who had the use of his arms could dress his companion's and his own wounds, kill and cook the game, and perform his share. They were rescued, finally, by a flat-boat, whose occupants, for awhile, passed them, fearing a decoy, but, becoming convinced that such was not the case, took them on down to Louisville, where they were nursed into pcrfett health. A settlement was made near the present town of Lebanon, the county seat of Warren County, in the spring of 179G, by Henry Taylor, who built a mill one mile west of the town site, on Turtle Creek. Soon after, he was joined by Ichabod Corwin, John Osbourn, Jacob Vorhees, Samuel Shaw, Daniel Bonte and a Mr. Manning. When Lebanon was laid out, in 1803, the two-story log house built in 1797 by Ichabod Corwin was the only building on the plat. It was occupied by Ephraim Hathaway as a tavern. He had a black horse painted on an immense board for a sign, and continued in business here till 1810. The same year the town was laid out, a store was opened by John Huston, and, from that date, the growth of the county was very prosperous. Three years after, the Western Star was established by Judge John McLain, and the current news of the day given in weekly editions. It was one of the first newspapers established in the Territory, outside of Cincinnati. As has been mentioned, the opening of naviga- tion in the spring of 1796 brought a great flood of emigration to the Territory. The little settle- ment made by Mr. Bedell, in the autumn of 1795, was about the only one made that fall ; others made preparations, and many selected sites, but did not settle till the following spring. That spring, colo- nies were planted in what are now Montgomery, Eoss, JIadison, Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula and Cuyahoga Counties, while preparations were in turn made to occupy additional territory that will hereafter be noticed. The settlement made in Montgomery County was begun early in the spring of 1796. As early as 1788, the land on which Dayton now stands was selected by some gentlemen, who designed laying out a town to be named Venice. They agreed with Judge Symmes, whose contract covered the place, for the purchase of the lands. The Indian war which broke out at this time prevented an extension of settlements from the immediate neighborhood of the parent colonies, and the proj- ect was abandoned by the purchasers. Soon after the treaty of 1795, a new company, composed of Gens. Jonathan Dayton, Arthur St. Clair, James Wilkinson, and Col. Israel Ludlow, purchased the land between the Mianiis, around the mouth of Mad River, of Judge Symmes, and, the 4th of November, laid out the town. Arrangements were made for its settlement the ensuing spring, and donations of lots, with other privileges, were offered to actual settlers. Forty-six persons entered into engagements to remove from Cincinnati to Day- ton, but during the winter most of them scat- tered in different directions, and only nineteen ful- filled their contracts. The first families who liL^ HISTOEY OF OHIO. 103 made a permanent residence here, arrived on the first day of April, 1796, and at once set about establishing homes. Judge Symmes, liowever, becoming unable soon after to pay for his purchase, the laud reverted to the United States, and the set- tlers in and about Dayton found themselves with- out titles to their lands. Congress, however, came to the aid of aU such persons, wherever they had purchased land of Symmes, and passed a pre-emp- tion law, under which they could enter their lands at the regular government price. Some of the set- tlers entered their lands, and obtained titles directly from the United States ; others made arrangements with Daniel C. Cooper to receive their deeds from him, and he entered the residue of the town lands. He had been the surveyor and agent of the first company of proprietors, and they assigned to him certain of their rights of pre-emption, by which he became the titular owner of the land. When the State government was organized in 1803, Dayton was made the seat of justice for Montgomery County, erected the same year. At that time, owing to the title question, only five families resided in the place, the other settlers hav- ing gone to farms in the vicinity, or to other parts of the country. The increase of the town was gradual until the war of 1812, when its growth was more rapid until 1820, when it was again checked by the general depression of busi- ness. It revived in 1827, at the commencement of the -tliami Canal, and since then its growth has always been prosperous. It is now one of the best cities in Ohio. The first canal boats from Cincinnati arrived at Dayton January 25, 1829, and the first one from Lake Erie the 24th of June, 1845. In 1825, a weekly line of stages was established between Columbus and Cincinnati, via Dayton. One day was occupied in coming from Cincinnati to Dayton. On the 18th of September, 1808, the Dayton Eepertori/ was established by William McClureand George Smith. It was printed on a foolscap sheet. Soon after, it was enlarged and changed from a weekly to a daily, and, ere long, found a number of competitors in the field. In the lower part of Jliamisburg, in this county, are the remains of ancient works, scattered about over the bottom. About a mile and a quarter southeast of the village, on an elevation more than one hundred feet above the level of the Miami, is the largest mound in the Northern States, ex- cepting the mammoth mound at Grave Creek, on the Ohio, below Wheeling, which it nearly equals in dimensions. It is about eight hundred feet around the base, and rises to a height of nearly seventy feet. Wlien first known it was covered with forest trees, whose size evidenced great age. The Indians could give no account of the mound. Excavations revealed bones and charred earth, but what was its use, will always remain a con- jecture. One of the most important early settlements was made cotemporary with that of Dayton, in what is now Ross County. The same spring, 1796, quite a colony came to the banks of the Scioto River, and, near the mouth of Paint Creek, began to plant a crop of corn on the bottom. The site had been selected as early as 1792, by Col. Nathaniel Massie* and others, who were so de- lighted with the country, and gave such glowing descriptions of it on their return — which accounts soon circulated through Kentucky — that portions of the Presbyterian congregations of Caneridge and Concord, in Bourbon County, under Rev. Robert W. Finley, determined to emigrate thither in a body. They were, in a measure, induced to take this step by their dislike to slavery, and a desire for freedom from its baleful influences and the un- certainty that existed regarding the validity of the land titles in that State. The Rev. Finley, as a preliminary step, liberated his slaves, and addressed to Col. Massie a letter of inquiry, in December, 1794, rea;arding the land on the Scioto, of which he and his people had heard such glowing ac- counts. "The letter induced Col. Massie to visit Mr. Finley in the ensuing March. A large concourse of people, who wished to engage in the enterprise, assembled on the occasion, and fixed on a day to meet at the Three Islands, in Manchester, and proceed on an exploring expedition. Mr. Finley also wrote to his friends in Western Pennsylvania * Nathaniel Massie was born in Goocliland Connty, Ya., Decem- ber 28, 1763. In 1780, he engaged, fnr a sburt time, in the Revolu- tionary war. In 1783, be left for Kentucky, wliere be acted as a eurTeynr. He was afterward made a Government surveyor, and labored much in that capacity for early Ohio proprielurs. being paid in lauds, the amounis graded by the danger attached to the survfy. In 1791, he established the seltlement at Manchester, and a year or two after, continued his surveys up the Scioto. Here be wns con- tinually in great danger from the Indians, but knew well how to guard against them, and thus preserved himself. In 1796, be estab- lished the C'hillicothe settlement, and made bis home in the Scioto Valley, being now an extensive land owner by recison of his loo;^ surveying service. In 18(17, he and Return J. Meigs were compet- itors for the oflice of Governor of Ohio. Meigs was elected, but Massie contested his eligibility to the oflice, on the grounds of hia absence from the State and insufficiency of time as a resident, as required by the Constitution. Meigs was declared inelieible by the General Assembly, and Miissie declared Governor. He, however, refliffned the oflice at once, not desiring it. He was often Repre- Bentative afterward. He died November 13, 1813. ^- l±^ 104 HISTORY OF OHIO. informing them of the time and place of rendez- vous. "About sixty men met, according to appoint- ment, who were divided into three companies, under ]\!at;sie, Finley and Falenash. They pro- ceeded on their route, without interruption, until they struck the falls of Paint Creek. Proceeding a short distance down that stream, they suddenly found themselves in the vicinity of some Indians who had encamped at a place, since called Reeve's Cros.sing, near the present town of Bainbridge. The Indians were of those who had refused to attend Wayne's treaty, and it was determined to give them battle, it being too late to retreat with safety. The Indians, on being attacked, soon fled with the loss of two killed and several wounded. One of the whites only, Joshua Robinson, was mortally wounded, and, during the action, a Mr. Armstrong, a prisoner among the savages, escaped to his own people. The whites gathered all their plunder and retreated as far as Scioto Brush Creek, where they vfere, according to expectation, attacked early the next morning. Again the In- dians were defeated. Only one man among the whites, Allen GilSUan, was wounded. The party of whites continued their retreat, the next day reached Manchester, and separated for their homes. " After Wayne's treaty, Col. Massie and several of the old explorers again met at the house of Rev. Finley, formed a company, and agreed to make a settlement in the ensuing spring (1796), and raise a crop of corn at the mouth of Paint Creek. According to agreement, they met at Man- chester about the first of April, to the number of forty and upward, from Mason and Bourbon Counties. Among them were Joseph McCoy, Benjauiin and William Rodgers, David Shelby, James Harrod, Henry, Bazil and Reuben Abrams, William Jamison, James Crawford, Samuel, An- thony and Robert Smith, Thomas Dick, William and James Kerr, George and James Kilgrove, John Brown, Samuel and Robert Templeton, Fer- guson Moore, William Nicholson and James B. Finley, later a prominent local Methodist minister. On starting, they divided into two companies, one of which struck across the country, while the other came on in pirogues. The first arrived earliest on the spot of their intended settlement, and had comnienced erecting log huts above tlie mouth of Paint Creek, at the ' Prairie Station,' before the others had come on by water. About three hundred acres of the prairie were cultivated in corn that season. " In August, of this year— 1796— Chillicothe* was laid out by Col. Slassie in a dense forest. He gave a lot to each of the first settlers, and, by the beginning of winter, about twenty cabins were erected. Not long after, a ferry was established across the Scioto, at the north end of Walnut street. The opening of Zane's trace produced a great change in travel westward, it having pre- viously been along the Ohio in keel-boats or canoes, or bj' land, over the Cumberland Mountains, through Crab Orchard, in Kentucky. " The emigrants brought corn-meal in their pi- rogues, and after that was gone, their principal meal, until the next summer, was that pounded in hominy mortars, which meal, when made into bread, and anointed with bear's-oil, was quite pal- atable. " When the settlers first came, whisky was $4.50 per gallon; but, in the spring of 1797, when the keel-boats began to run, the Monongahela whisky- makers, having found a good market for their fire- water, rushed it in, in such quantities, that the cabins were crowded with it, and it soon fell to 50 cents. Men, women and children, with some excep- tions, drank it freely, and many who had been respectable and temperate became inebriates. Many of Wayne's soldiers and camp-women settled in the town, so that, for a time, it became a town of drunkards and a sink of corruption. There was, however, a little leaven, which, in a few months, began to develop itself. " In the spring of 1797, one Brannon stole a great coat, handkerchief and shirt. He and his wife absconded, were pursued, caught and brought back. Samuel Smith was appointed Judge, a jury impanneled, one attorney appointed by the Judge to manage the prosecution, and another the defense ; witnesses were examined, the case argued, and the evidence summed up by the Judge. The jury, having retired a few moments, returned with a verdict of guilty, and that the culprit be sen- tenced according to the discretion of the Judge. The Judge soon announced that the criminal should have ten lashes on his naked back, or that he should sit on a bare pack-saddle on his pony, and that his wife, who was supposed to have had some agency in the theft, should lead the pony to every house in the village, and proclaim, ' This is ^^rhillicothe appears to have been a favorite name among the Tridians, as many localities wore known by that name. Col. John Johnston says : "Chillicotho is tho name of one of the principal tribes of the Shawanees. They wonld say, Chil-i-colhe otamj, i. e., Chillicothe town. The Wyandots would say, for Chillicothe'town, Tat-a~ra-ra, Do-iin, or town at the leaning of the bank." •? ^ HISTOKY OF OHIO. Ill tor. The runner, or upper, was turned by hand, by a pole set in tlie top of it, near the outer edge. The upper end of the pole was inserted into a hole in a board fastened above to the joists, immedi- ately over the hole in the verge of the runner. One person fed the corn into the eye — a hole in the center of the runner — while another turned. It was very hard work to grind, and the operators alternately exchanged places." In 1800, several settlers came to the town and a more active life was the result. From this time, Cleveland began to progress. The 4th of July, ISOl, the first ball in town was held at Major Carter's log cabin, on the hill-side. John and Benjamin Wood, and K. H. Blinn were managers ; and Maj. Samuel Jones, musician and master of ceremonies. The company numbered aboutthirty, very evenly divided, for the times, between the sexes. " Notwithstanding the dancers had a rough puncheon floor, and no better beverage to enliven their spirits than sweetened whisky, yet it is doubt- ful if the anniversary of American independence was ever celebrated in Cleveland by a more joyful and harmonious company than those who danced the scamper-down, double-shuffle, western-swing and half-moon, that day, in IMaj. Carter's cabin." The growth of the town, from this period on, re- mained prosperous. The usual visits of the Indi- ans were made, ending in their drunken carousals and fights. Deer and other wild animals furnished abundant meat. The settlement was constantly augmented by new arrivals, so that, by 1814, Cleve- land was incorporated as a town, and, in 1836, as a city. Its harbor is one of the best on the lakes, and hence the merchandise of the lakes has alwa3's been attracted thither. Like Cincinnati and Chil- licothe, it became the nucleus of settlements in this part of the State, and now is the largest city in Northern Ohio. One of the earliest settlements made in the Western Reserve, and by some claimed as the first therein, was made on the site of Youngstown, Ma- honing County, by a Mr. Young, afterward a Judge, in the summer of 1796. During this summer, before the settlements at Cuyahoga and Conneaut were made, Mr. Young and Mr. Wilcott, proprie- tors of a township of land in Northeastern Ohio, came to their possessions and began the survey of their land. Just when they came is not known. They were found here by Col. James Hillman, then a trader in the employ of Duncan & Wilson, of Pittsburgh, " who had been forwarding goods across the country by pack-saddle horses since 1786, to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, thence to be shipped on the schooner Mackinaw to Detroit. Col. Hillman generally had charge of all these caravans, consisting sometimes of ninety horses and ten men. They commonly crossed the Big Beaver four miles below the mouth of the She- nango, thence up the left bank of the Mahoning — called by the Indians " Malwni " or " 3Ia7wnick" signifying the "lick" or " at the lick" — crossing it about three miles below the site of Youngstown, thence by way of the Salt Springs, over the sites of Milton and Ravenna, crossing the Cuyahoga at the mouth of Breakneck and again at the mouth of Tinker's Creek, thence down the river to its mouth, where they had a log hut in which to store their goods. This hut was there when the surveyors came, but at the time unoccupied. At the mouth of Tinker's Creek were a few log huts built by Moravian Missionaries. These were used only one year, as the Indians had gone to the Tus- carawas River. These and three or four cabins at the Salt Springs were the only buildings erected by the whites prior to 1796, in Northeastern Ohio. Those at the Salt Springs were built at an early day for the accommodation of whites who came from Western Pennsylvania to make salt. The tenants were dispossessed in 1785 by Gen. Harmar. A short time after, one or two white men were killed by the Indians here. In 1788, Col. Hill- man settled at Beavertown, where Duncan & Wilson had a store for the purpose of trading with the Indians. He went back to Pittsburgh soon after, however, owing to the Indian war, and remained there till its close, continuing in his busi- ness whenever opportunity offered. In 1796, when returning from one of his trading expeditions alone in his canoe down the Mahoning River, he discovered a smoke on the bank near the present town of Youngstown, and on going to the spot found Mr. Young and Mr. Wolcott, as before men- tioned. A part of Col. Hillman's cargo consisted of whisky, a gallon or so of which he still had. The price of " fire-water " then was $1 per quart in the currency of the country, a deerskin being legal tender for $1, and a doeskin for 50 cents. Mr. Young proposed purchasing a quart, and having a frolic on its contents during the even- ing, and insisted on paying Hillman his cus- tomary price. Hillman urged that inasmuch as they were strangers in the country, civility re- quired him to furnish the means for the entertain- ment. Young, however, insisted, and taking the deerskin used for his bed — the only one he had — 9 ^ \ ^ "^ _ 113 HISTOKY OF OHIO. paid for liis quart of whisky, and an evening's frolic was the result. " Hillman remained a few days, when they ac- companied him to Beaver Town to celebrate the 4th, and then all returned, and Hillman erected a cabin on the site of Youngstown. It is not cer- tain that they remained here at this time, and hence the priority of actual settlement is generally conceded to Conneaut and Cleveland. The next year, in the fall, a Mr. Brown and one other per- son came to the banks of the Mahoning and made a permanent settlement. The same season Uriah Holmes and Titus Hayes came to the same locality, and before winter quite a settlement was to be seen here. It proceeded quite prosperously until the wanton murder of two Indians occurred, which, for a time, greatly excited the whites, lest the In- dians should retaliate. Through the efforts of Col. Hillman, who had great influence with the natives, they agreed to let the murderers stand a trial. They were acquitted upon some technicality. The trial, however, pacified the Indians, and no trouble came from the unwarranted and unfortu- nate circumstance, and no check in the emigration or prosperity of the colony occurred."* As soon as an effective settlement had been es- tablished at Youngstown, others were made in the surrounding countrj'. One of these was begun by William Fenton in 1798, on the site of the pres- ent town of Warren, in Trumbull County. He remained here alone one year, when he was joined by Capt. Ephraim Quimby. By the last of Sep- tember, the next year, the colony had increased to sixteen, and from that date on continued prosper- ously. Once or twice they stood in fear of the Indians, as the result of quarrels induced by whisky. Sagacious persons generally saved any serious outbreak and pacified the natives. Mr. Badger, the first missionary on the Reserve, came to the settlement here and on the Mahoning, as soon as each was made, and, by his earnest labors, succeeded in forming churches and schools at an early day. He was one of the most efficient men on the Reserve, and throughout his long and busy life, was well known and greatly respected. He died in 1846, aged eighty-nine years. The settlements given are about all that were made before the clo.se of 1797. In following the narrative of these settlements, attention is paid to the chronological order, as far as this can be done. Like those settlements already made, many which * Recollections of Col. Hillrm.n. — Howe^s Annals. are given as occurring in the next year, 1798, were actually begun earlier, but were only tem- porary preparations, and were not considered as made until the next year. Turning again to the southern portion of Ohio, the Scioto, Muskingum and Miami Valleys come prominently into notice. Throughout the entire Eastern States they were still attracting attention, and an increased emigration, busily occupying their verdant fields, was the result. All about Chilli- cothe was now well settled, and, vip the banks of that stream, prospectors were selecting sites for their future homes. 'In 1797, Robert Armstrong, George Skidmore, Lucas SuUivant, William Domigan, James Mar- shall, John Dill, Jacob Grubb, Jacob Overdier, Arthur O'Hara, John Brickell, Col. Culbertson, the Deardorfs, MoElvains, Selles and others, came to what is now Franklin County, and, in August, Mr. SuUivant and some others laid out the town of Franklinton, on the west bank of the Scioto, oppo- site the site of Columbus. The country about this locality had long been the residence of the Wyan- dots, who had a large town on the city's site, and cultivated extensive fields of corn on the river bot- toms. The locality had been visited by the whites as early as 1780, in some of their expeditions, and the fertility of the land noticed. As soon as peace was assured, the whites came and began a settle- ment, as has been noted. Soon afl;er Franklinton was established, a Mr. Springer and his son-in-law, Osborn, settled on the Big Darby, and, in the sum- mer of 1798, a scattering settlement was made on Alum Creek. About the same time settlers came to the mouth of the Gahannah, and along other water-courses. Franklinton was the point to which emigrants came, and from which they always made their permanent location. For several years there was no mill, nor any such commodity, nearer than Chillicothe. A hand-mill was constructed in Franklinton, which was commonly used, unless the settlers made a trip to Chillicothe in a canoe. Next, a horse-mill was tried; but not till 1805, when Col. Kilbourne built a mill at Worthington, settled in 1803, could any efficient grinding be done. In 1789, a small store was opened in Frank- linton, by James Scott, but, for seven or eight years, Chillicothe was the nearest post office. Often, when the neighbors wanted mail, one of their number was furnished money to pay the postage on any letters that might be waiting, and sent for the mail. At first, as in all new localities, a great deal of sickness, fever and ague, prevailed. ■f- ^1 HISTORY OP OHIO. 113 As the people became acclimated, this, however, disappeared. The township of Sharon in this county has a history similar to that of Granville Township in Licking County. It was settled by a " Scioto Company," formed in Granby, Conn., in the winter of 1801-02, consisting at first of eight associates. They drew up articles of association, among which w;is one limiting their number to forty, each of whom must be unanimously chosen by ballot, a single negative beingsufficienttoprcventan election. Col. James Kilbourne was sent out the succeeding spring to explore the country and select and pur- chase a township for settlement. He returned in the fall without making any purchase, through fear that the State Constitution, then about to be formed, would tolerate slavery, in which case the project would have been abandoned. While on this visit. Col. Kilbourne compiled from a variety of sources the first map made of Ohio. Although much of it was conjectured, and hence inaccurate, it was very valuable, being correct as far as the State was then known. "As soon as information was received that the constitution of Ohio prohibited slavery. Col. Kil- bourne purchased the township he had previously- selected, within the United States military land district, and, in the spring of 1803, returned to Ohio, and began improvements. By the succeed- ing December, one hundred settlers, mainly from Hartford County, Conn., and Hampshire County, Mass., arrived at their new home. Obeying to the letter the agreement made in the East, the first cabin erected was used for a schoolhouse and a church of the Protestant Episcopal denomination ; the first Sabbath after the arrival of the colony, divine service was held therein, and on the arrival of the eleventh family a school was opened. This early attention to education and religion has left its favorable impress upon the people until this day. The first 4th of July was unicjuely and appropri- ately celebrated. Seventeen gigantic trees, em- blematical of the seventeen States forming the Union, were cut, so that a few blows of the ax, at sunrise on the 4th, prostrated each successively with a tremendous crash, forming a national salute novel in the world's history."* The growth of this part of Ohio continued without interruption until the establishment of the State capital at Columbus, in 1816. The town was laid out in 1812, but, as that date is considered re- *Howe's CoUectiona. mote in the early American settlements, its history will bo left to succeeding pages, and there traced when the history of the State capital and State government is given. The site of Zanesville, in Muskingum County, was early looked upon as an excellent place to form a settlement, and, had not hostilities opened in 1791, with the Indians, the place would have been one of the earliest settled in Ohio. As it was, the war so disarranged matters, that it was not till 1797 that a permanent settlement was efi'ected. The Muskingum country was principally occu- pied, in aboriginal times, by the Wyandots, Dela- wares, and a few Sonecas and Shawanees. An In- dian town once stood, years before the settlement of the country, in the vicinity of Duncan's Falls, in Muskingum County, from which circumstance the place is often called " Old Town." Near Dres- den, was a large Shawanee town, called Wakato- maca. The graveyard was quite large, and, when the whites first settled here, remains of the town were abundant. It was in this vicinity that the venerable Maj. Cass, father of Lewis Cass, lived and died. He owned 4,000 acres, given him for his military services. The first settlers on the site of Zanesville were William JMcCuUoh and Henry Crooks. The lo- cality was given to Ebenezcr Zane, who had been allowed three sections of land on the Scioto, Mus- kingum and Hockhooking, wherever the road crossed these rivers, provided other prior claims did not interfere, for opening " Zane's trace." When he located the road a.cross the Muskingum, he selected the place where Zanesville now stands, being attracted there by the excellent water privi- leges. He gave the section of land here to his brother Jonathan Zane, and J. Molntire, who leased the ferry, established on the road over the Muskingum, to William McCuUoh and Henry Crooks, who became thereby the first settlers. The ferry was kept about where the old upper bridge was afterward placed. The ferry-boat was made by fastening two canoes together with a stick. Soon after a flat-boat was used. It was brought from Wheeling, by Mr. Mclntire, in 1797, the year after the ferry was established. The road cut out through Ohio, ran from Wheeling, Va., to Maysville, Ky. Over this road the mail was car- ried, and, in 1798, the first mail ever carried wholly in Ohio was brought up from Marietta to McCulloh's cabin by Daniel Convers, where, by arrangement of the Postmaster General, it met a mail from Wheeling and one from Maysville. •^7 \ 114 HISTORY OF OHIO. BIcCulloh, wlio could hardly read, was autliorized to assort the mails and send each package in its proper direction. For this service he received ?30 per annum ; but owing to his inahihty to read well, Mr. Convers generally performed the duty. At that time, the mails met here once a week. Four years after, the settlement had so increased that a regular post office was opened, and Thomas Dowdon appointed Postmaster. He kept his office in a wooden building near the river bank. Blessrs. Zane and Mclntire laid out a town in 1799, which they called Westbourn. When the post office was established, it was named Zanesville, and in a short time the village took the same name. A few families settled on the west side of the river, soon after McCuUoh arrived, and as this locality gTew well, not long after a store and tavern was opened here. Mr. Mclntire built a double log cabin, which was used as a hotel, and in which Louis Philippe, King of France, was once enter- tained. Although the fare and accommodations were of the pioneer period, the honorable guestseems to have enjoyed his visit, if the statements of Lewis Cass in his " Camp and Court of Louis Philippe" may be believed. In 1804, Muskingum County was formed by the Legislature, and, for a while, strenuous efforts made to secure the State capital by the citizens of Zanes- ville. They even erected buildings for the use of the Legislature and Governor, and during the ses- sion of 1810-11, the temporary seat of govern- ment was fixed here. When the permanent State capital was chosen in 181G, Zanesville was passed by, and gave up the hope. It is now one of the most enterprising towns in the Muskingum Valley. During the summer of 1797, John Knoop, then living four miles above Cincinnati, made several expeditions up the Miami Valley and selected the land on which he afterward located. The next spring Mr. Knoop, his brother Benjamin, Henry Garard, Benjamin Hamlet and John Tildus estab- lished a station in what is now Miami County, near the present town of Staunton "\''illage. That sum- mer, Mrs. Knoop planted the first apple-tree in the Miami* country. They all lived together for greater safety for two years, during which time they wore occupied clearing their farms and erect- ing dwellings. During the summer, the site of Piquawas settled, and three young men located at a place known as " Freeman's Prairie." Those who * The word Mi.anii in the Indian tongue signified mother. The Miamis were the original owners of the valley by that name, and affirmttd tliey were created there. settled at Piqua were Samuel Hilliard, Job Garard, Shadrao Hudson, Jonah Rollins, Daniel Cox, Thomas Eich, and a Mr. Hunter. The last named came to the site of Piqua first in 1797, and selected his home. Until 1799, these named were the only ones in this locality ; but that year emi- gration set in, and very shortly occupied almost all the bottom land in JMiami County. With the increase of emigration, came the comforts of life, and mills, stores and other necessary aids to civil- ization, were ere long to be seen. The site of Piqua is quite historic, being the theater of many important Indian occurrences, and the old home of the Shawanees, of which tribe Tecumseh was a chief During the Indian war, a fort called Fort Piqua was built, near the residence of Col. John Johnston, so long the faith- ful Indian Agent. The fort was abandoned at the close of hostilities. When the Miami Canal was opened through this part of the State, the country began rapidly to improve, and is now probably one of the best por- tions of Ohio. About the same time the Miami was settled, a company of people from Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia, who were principally of German and Irish descent, located in Lawrence County, near the iron region. As soon as that ore was made available, that part of the State rapidly filled with settlers, most of whom engaged in the mining and working of iron ore. Now it is very prosperous. Another settlement was made the same season, 1797, on the Ohio side of the river, in Columbiana County. The settlement progressed slowly for a while, owing to a few difficulties with the Indians. The celebrated Adam Poe had been here as early as 1782, and several localities are made locally famous by his and his brother's adventures. In this county, on Little Beaver Creek, near its mouth, the second paper-mill west of the Alle- ghanies was erected in 1805-6. It was the pioneer enterprise of the kind in Ohio, and was named the Ohio Paper-Mill. Its proprietors were John Bever and John Coulter. One of the most noted localities in the State is comprised in Greene County. The Shawanee town, " Old Chillicothe," was on the Little Miami, in this county, about three miles north of the site of Xenia. This old Indian town was, in the an- nals of the West, a noted place, and is frequently noticed. It is first mentioned in 1773, by Capt. Thomas Bullitt, of Virginia, who boldly advanced alone into the town and obtained the consent of HISTORY OF OHIO. llo the Indians to go on to Kentucky and make his settlement at the falls of the Ohio. His audacious bravery gained his request. Daniel Boone was taken prisoner early in 1778, with twenty-seven others, and kept for a time at Old Chillioothe. Through the influence of the British Governor, Hamilton, who had taken a great fancy to Boone, he and ten others were sent to Detroit. The In- dians, however, had an equal fancy for the brave frontiersman, and took him back to Chillieothe, and adopted him into their tribe. About the 1st of June he escaped from them, and made his way back to Kentucky, in time to prevent a universal massacre of the whites. In July, 1779, the town was destroyed by Col. John Bowman and one hundred and sixty Kentuckians, and the Indians dispersed. The Americans made a permanent settlement in this county in 1797 or 1798. This latter year, a mill was erected in the confines of the county, which implies the settlement was made a short time previously. A short distance east of the mill two block -houses were erected, and it was in- tended, should it become necessary, to surround them and the mill with pickets. The mill was used by the settlers at " Dutch Station," in Miami County, fully thirty miles distant. The richness of the country in this part of the State attracted a great number of settlers, so that by 1803 the county was established, and Xenia laid out, and des- ignated as the county seat. Its first court house, a primitive log structure, was long preserved as a curiosity. It would indeed be a curiosity now. Zane's trace, passing from Wheeling to Mays- ville, crossed the Hockhocking* River, in Fairfield County, where Lancaster is now built. Sir. Zane located one of his three sections on this river, covering the site of Lancaster. Following this trace in 1797, many individuals noted the desira- bleness of the locality, some of whom determined to return and settle. " The site of the city had in former times horn the home of the Wyuudots, who had a town here, that, in 1790, contained over 500 wigwams and more tlian 1 ,000 souls. Their town was called Tarln-e, or, in Enghsh, the Ci-ane-toivn,sind derived its name from the princi- « The wurd Hock-hock-ing in the Delaware language signifies a boUle: the Shan-antes have it Wea-lha-lagh-qun sepo, ie ; iV l^ 120 HISTOBY OF OHIO. November 7, the first wedding took place. John Campbell and Sarah Ely were joined in wedlock by Calvin Austin, Esq., of Warren. He was accompanied from Warren, a distance of twenty- seven miles, by Mr. Pease, then a lawyer, after- ward a well-known Judge. They came on foot, there being no road; and, as they threaded their way through the woods, young Pease taught the Justice the marriage ceremony by oft repetition. "In 1802, Franklin Township was organized, cm- bracing all of Portage and parts of Trumbull and Summit Counties. About this time the settlement received accessions from all parts of the East. In February, 1801, Rev. Badger came and began his labors, and two years later Dr. Shadrac Bostwick organized a Methodist Episcopal church.* The remaining settlement in this county. Palmyra, was begun about the same time as the others, by David Daniels, from Salisbury, Conn. The next year he brought out his family. Soon after he was joined by E. N. and W. Bacon, E. Cutler, A. Thurber, A. Preston, N. Bois, J. T. Baldwin, T. and C. Gilbert, D. A. and S. Waller, N. Smith, Joseph Fisher, J. Tuttle and others. " When this region was first settled, there was an Indian trail commencing at Fort Mcintosh (Beaver, Penn.), and extending westward to San- dusky and Detroit. The trail followed the highest ground. Along the trail, parties of Indians were frequently seen passing, for several years after the whites came. It seemed to be the great aboriginal thoroughfare from Sandusky to the Ohio River. There were several large piles of stones on the trail in this locality, under which human skeletons have been discovered. These are supjjosed to be the remains of Indians slain in war, or murdered by their enemies, as tradition says it is an Indian custom for each one to cast a stone on the grave of an enemy, whenever he passes by. These stones appear to have been picked up along the trail, and cast upon the heaps at different times. "At the point where this trail crosses Silver Creek, Fredrick Daniels and others, in 1814, dis- covered, painted on several trees, various devices, evidently the work of Indians. The bark was carefully shaved off two-thirds of the way around, and figures cut upon the wood. On one of these was delineated seven Indians, equipped in a par- ticular manner, one of whom was without a head. This was supposed to have been made by a party on their return westward, to give intelligence to * Uowe'fl Collections. their friends behind, of the loss of one of their party at this place ; and, on making search, a hu- man skeleton was discovered near by." * The celebrated Indian hunter, Brady, made his remarkable leap across the Cuyahoga, in this county. The county also contains Brady's Pond, a large sheet of water, in which he once made his escape from the Indians, from which circumstance it received its name. The locality comprised in Clark County was settled the same summer as those in Summit County. John Humphries came to this part of the State with Gen. Simon Kenton, in 1799. With them came six families from Kentucky, who settled north of the site of Springfield. A fort was erected on iMad River, for security against the In- dians. F(jurteen cabins were soon built near it, all being surrounded by a strong picket fence. David Lowery, one of the pioneers here, built the first flat-boat, to operate on the Great Miami, and, in 1800, made the first trip on that river, coming down from Dayton. He took his boat and cargo on down to New Orleans, where he disposed of his load of " five hundred venison hams and bacon." Springfield was laid out in March, 1801. Griffith Foos, who came that spring, built a tavern, which he completed and opened in June, remaining in this place till 1814. He often stated that when emigrating West, his party were four days and a half getting from Franklinton, on the Scioto, to Springfield, a distance of forty-two miles. When crossing the Big Darby, they were obliged to carry all their goods over on horseback, and then drag their wagons across with ropes, while some of the party swam by the side of the wagon, to prevent its upsetting. The site of the town was of such practical beauty and utility, that it soon attracted a large number of settlers, and, in a few years, Springfield was incorporated. In 1811, a church was built by the residents for the use of all denom- inations. Clark County is made famous in aboriginal history, as the birthplace and childhood home of the noted Indian, Tecumseh.f He was born in * Ilowf's Collections. f Tecnmseli, or Tecumshe, was a son of Puckeshinwa, a member of tile Kiacopuke tribe, and Methoataske, of the Turtle tribe of tbe Sliawaiiee nation. They removed from Floiida to Ohio soon after their miirriage. Tho father, Puckeshinwa, rose to the rank of a chief, and fell at the bfittleof Point Pleasant, in 1774. After his death, tlie m iither, Methoata ke, returned to tbe south, where she died at an advanced aee. Teciim^eh was born about tbe year 1768. He early pbow^d a piv'^sion for war, and, when only 27 years of age, was made a chief. Tbe next year he removed to Deer Creek, in the vicinity of Urbana. and from there to the site of Piqua, on the Great Miami, in 1798 he accepted the invitation of the Delawarea in the vicinity of White Biver, Indiana, and from that time made V iiL I-IISTOEY or OHIO. 121 tlio old Indian town of Piqua, tliG ancient Piqua of the Shawances, on the north side of Mad River, about five miles west of Springfield. The town was destroyed by the Kentucky Rangers under Gen. George Rogers Clarke in 1780, at the same time he destroyed " Old Chillicothe." Immense fields of standing corn about both towns were cut down, compelling the Indians to resort to the hunt with more than ordinary vigor, to sustain them- selves and their wives and children. This search insured safety for some time on the borders. The site of Cadiz, in Harrison County, was settled in April, 1799, by Alexander Henderson and his family, from Washington County, Penn. When they arrived, they found neighbors in the persons of Daniel Peterson and his family, who lived near the forks of Short Creek, and who had preceded them but a very short time. The next year, emi- grants began to cross the Ohio in great numbers, and in five or six years large settlements could be seen in this part of the State. The county was erected in 1814, and Cadiz, laid out in 1803, made the county seat. While the settlers were locating in and about Cadiz, a few families came to what is now Monroe County, and settled near the present town of BeaUsville. Shortly after, a few pei'sons settled on the Clear Foik of the Little Muskingum, and a few others on the east fork of Duck Creek. The next season all these settlements received addi- tions and a few other localities were also occupied. Before long the town of BeaUsville was laid out, and in time became quite populous. The county was not erected until 1818, and in 1815 Woodsfield was laid out and made the seat of justice. The opening of the season of 1800 — the dawn of a new century — saw a vast emigration west- ward. Old settlements in Ohio received immense increase of emigrants, while, branching out in all directions like the radii of a circle, other settle- ments were constantly formed until, in a few years, all parts of the State knew the presence of the white man. Towns sprang into existence here and there ; mills and factories were erected; post offices and post-routes were established, and the comforts and conveniences of life began to appear. AVith this came the desire, so potent to the mind of all American citizens, to rule themselves through representatives chosen by their own votes. Hith- erto, they had been ruled by a Governor and Judges appointed by the President, who, in turn, appointed county and judicial ofiioers. The arbitrary rulings of the Governor, St. Clair, had arrayed the mass of the people against him, and made the desire for the second grade of government stronger, and finally led to its creation. CHAPTER X. FORMATION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT— OHIO A STATE— THE STATE CAPITALS— LEGIS- LATION— THE "SWEEPING RESOLUTIONS "—TERRITORIAL AND STATE GOVERNORS. to be held on the third Monday in December, and directed the representatives to meet in Cincinnati January 22, 1799. On the day designated, the representatives * assembled at Cincinnati, nominated ten persons, whose names were sent to the President, who selected five to constitute the Legislative Council, SETTLEMENTS increased so rapidly in that part of the Northwest Territory included in Ohio, during the decade from 1788 to 1798, despite the Indian war, that the demand for an election of a Territorial Assembly could not be ignored by Gov. St. Clair, who, having ascertained that 5,000 free males resided within the limits of the Temtory, issued his proclamation October 29, 1798, directing the electors to elect representatives to a General Assembly. He ordered the election his home with them. He was most active in tlie war of 1812 ajraiiist tlie AmericHiifl, and frorn the time lie ln'^'an liia wnrk ti) unilellie tribes, hid Ijiafoiy is Be iloiHly identiliuil Iherewilh that the reaili-rid reterred to tlielii.it.ry I'f tijut war in snecoerlingpaKes. It may notbe ami=s ti fav tliat aU stories regarding tlie tunnnor of liis death are consirtered ermnenni. Ho was uiidnuhtwily liilled in the ontsft of the battle if tli'i Thames in Canada in 1814, and his body secretly buried by the Indians. * Those elected were; from Washington County, Return Jona- than Meig:^ and Paul Fearing; from Hamiltun County, William Golorth, William McMillan, John Smilli, John Lvnllow, Kohert Benharn, Aarun Caldw-ll anil Isaac Martni; trom l^t. Clair County (Illinois), Shsidracli liimd; from Knox County (Indiana), Juhu Small; from jlandolph County (lllinoih), John Edgar; from Wayne County, Solomon SiMey, Jacob Visgar and Charles F. i habert de .loncaire; from Adams County, Jo-eph Itarlinfiton and Nathaniel MaHSie; from Jefferson Co' nty,Jaojea Fritcliari'; fiom Uosa County, Tlnrnias Worthington, Ellas Langhau}, Samnol Findley and Edward Tiffin. The five gentlemen, except Vanderbnrjih, chosen as the Upper House were all from counties afterward included in Ohio. S) ^ '.^ 123 HISTOEY OF OHIO. or Upper House. These five were Jacob Burnet, James Findley, Henry Vanderburgh, Robert Oliver and David Vance. On the 3d of March, the Senate confirmed their nomination, and the Territorial Government of Ohio* — or, more prop- erly, the Northwest — was complete. As this comprised the essential business of this body, it was prorogued by the Governor, and the Assembly directed to meet at the same place September 1 G, 1799, and proceed to the enactment of laws for the Territory. That day, the Territorial Legislature met again at Cincinnati, but, for want of a quorum, did not organize until the 24th. The House consisted of nineteen members, seven of whom were from Ham- ilton County, four from Ross, three from Wayne, two from Adams, one from Jefferson, one from Washington and one from Knox. Assembling both branches of the Legislature, Gov. St. Clair addressed them, recommsnding such measures to their consideration as, in his judgment, were suited to the condition of the country. The Council then organized, electing llcnry Vanderburgh, Presi- dent; William C. Schenok, Secretary; George Howard, Doorkeeper, and Abraham Carey, Ser- gcant-at-arms. The House also organized, electing Edward Tif- fin, Speaker ; John Reilly, Clerk ; Joshua Row- land, Doorkeeper, and Abraham Carey, Sergeant- at-arms. This was the first legislature elected in the old Northwestern Territory. During its first session, it passed thirty bills, of which the Governor vetoed eleven. They also elected William lienry Harri- son, then Secretary of the Territory, delegate to Congress. The Legislature continued in session till December 19, having much to do in forming new laws, when they were prorogiied by the Gov- ernor, until the first i'Monday in November, 1800. The second session was held in Chiilicothe, which had been designated as the seat of government by Congress, until a permanent capital should be selected. jMay 7, 1800, Congress passed an act establish- ing Indiana Territory, including all the country west of the Great Miami River to the Mississippi, and appointed AVilliam Henry Harrison its Gov- ernor. At the autumn session of the Legislature ■^ Ohio npver cxisteil .13 .'I Territory proper. It was l^nnwn, bnfli linf .re itM I alter Hio (iivi..,ii.ii of ihe N ■rtti've'^t Territory, :is llic "Ti'rritory 7ioitll\ve"t of tlin Oliio River." Still, 113 tl'e ccmnlry coiiipri-^e't ill il.s litnitrf Avnn tlie jiriticiiMl ttipatir ol action, tlie slioi t r'-snni" yis'. n liero i.^ lu.aile peces.iiry in tlie lufxical course (.feventn. O'lio, OS Oliio, never e.visteil until llio creation of tlie State in llaicb, 1SU3. of the eastern, or old part of the Territory, Will- iam .^IcMillan was elected to the vacancy caused by this act. By the organization of this Territory, the counties of Knox, St. Clair and Randolph, were taken out of the jurisdiction of the old Ter- ritory, and with them the representatives, Henry Vandenburgh, Shadraoh Bond, John Small and John Edgar. Before the time for the next Assembly came, a new election had occurred, and a few changes were the result. Robert Oliver, of Marietta, was cho- sen Sp, aker in the place of Henry A^mderburgh. There was ccnsiderable business at this session ; several new counties were to be erected ; the coun- try was rapidly filling with people, and where the scruples of the Governor could be overcome, some organization was made. He was very tenacious of his power, and arbitrary in his rulings, afiirming that he, alone, had the power to create new coun- ties. This dogmatic exercise of his veto power, his rights as ruler, and his defeat by the Indians, all tended against him, resulting in his displace- ment by the President. This was done, however, just at the time the Territory came from the second grade of government, and the State wa-* created. The third session of the Territorial Legislature continued from November 24, 1801, to January 23, 1802, when it adjourned to meet in Cincin- nati, the fourth Monday in November, but owing to reasons made obvious by subsequent events, was never held, and the third session marks the decline of the Territorial government. April 30, 1802, Congress passed an act "to enable the people of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, to form a constitution and State - government, and for the admission of such States into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and for other purposes." In pursuance of this act, an election had been held in this part of the Ten-itory, and members of a constitutional convention cho- sen, who were to meet at Chiilicothe, November 1, to perform the duty assigned them. The people throughout the country contemplat- ed in the new State were anxious for the adoption of a State government. The arbitrary acts of the Territorial Governor had heightened this feeling ; the census of the Territory gave it the lawful number of inhabitants, and nothing stood in its way. The convention met the day designated and proceeded at once to its duties. When the time arrived for the opening of the Fourth Territorial l^ HISTOEY or OHIO. 123 Legislature, the convention was in session and had evidently about completed its labors. The mem- bers of the Legislature (eight of whom were mem- bers of the convention) seeing that a speedy termination of the Territorial government was inev- itable, wisely concluded it was inexpedient and unnecessary to'hold the proposed session. The convention concluded its labors the 29th of November. The Constitution adopted at that time, though rather crude in some of its details, was an excellent organic instrument, and remained almost entire until 1851, when the present one was adopted. Either is too long for insertion here, but either will well pay a perusal. The one adopted by the convention in 1802 was never submitted to the people, owing to the circumstances of the times; but it was submitted to Congress February 19, 1803, and by that body accepted, and an act passed admitting Ohio to the Union. The Territorial government ended March 3, 1803, by the organization, that day, of the State government, which organization defined the pres- ent limits of the State. " We, the people of the Eastern Division of the Ter- ritory 01 the United States. Northwest of the River Ohio, having the right of admission into the General GoTernmeiit as a member of the Union, consistent with the Constitution of the United States, the Ordinance of Congress of one thousand seven hundred and eighty- seven, and of the Ixw of Congress, entitled 'An act to enable the people of the Eastern Division of the Terri- tory of the United States Northwest of the River Ohio, to form a Constitution and a State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the origin il States, and for other purpo- ses ;' in order to establish justice, promote the well- fare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the follow- ing Constitution or form of government; and do mu- tually agree with each other to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the name of the State of Ohio."^ — Preamble, Cvnstitution of ISOZ. When the convention forming the Constitution, completed its labors and presented the results to Congress, and that body passed the act forming * The name of the State ia deriver] from the river formiog its southern lioumlary. Its orifjin is sniiiewtiat obscure, Lut is cuni- monly ascribed to tti-^ I iidiiiiis. Ontlti-i jK-iiit, C')l. .Jeliiiston fi.ays: "The Sliawaijoese callrjt lie Ohio Ki\'er'7irt--A:^-/ii-fi, S'^)'-, i. e , 'E"f/!e River* The WyaQ lois were id tlie CQiincry Keneratioiis betoro t'lo Sliawanoes", and, ronseqncntly, their riaiiioof tlio river ia tlie prim- itive one and alionld t-tand in ])referonco lo all othprs. Ohio may be called an improvemen'; ou the expression, ^0-ht-zuh^ and was, no doubt, adopted by the earlv Frencti voyagers in th'-ir boat-songs, and \i subslantially the same wor i aa nsi-d iiy (he Wyand^t8: tlio meaning applfed I'y tlie French, lair and tieantiful Uit belle river,* being thi same precisely aa that meant l>y llie InJiana— 'great, grand and fair to loolc upon ' " — HfiWf*e Collfcli't'ift. AVetister'a Oictionary pivea the word as of Indian origin, and its meaning to be, " lieautiful." the State, the territory included therein was di- vided into nine counties, whose names and dates of erectitin were as follows: Washington, July 27, 1788; Hamilton, Janu- ary 2, 1790; (owing to the Indian war no other counties were erected till peace was restored); Ad- ams, July 10, 1797; Jeiferson, July 29, 1797; Iloss, August 20, 1798; Clermont, Fairfield and Trumbull, December 9, 1800; Belmont, Septem- ber 7, 1801. These counties were the thickest- settled part of the State, yet many other localities needed organization and were clamoring for it, but owing to St. Clair's views, he refused to grant their requests. One of the first acts on the as- sembling of the State Legislature, March 1, 1803, was the creation of seven new counties, viz., Gal- lia, Scioto, Geauga, Butler, Warren, Greene and Montgomery. Section Sixth of the "Schedule" of the Consti- tution required an election for the various officers and Representatives necessary under the new gov- ernment, to be held the second Tuesday of Janu- ary, 1803, these officers to take their seats and as- sume their duties March 3. The Second Article provided fur the regular elections, to be held on the second Tuesday of October, in each year. The Governor elected at first was to hold his office until the first regular election could be held, and thereafter to continue in ofiioe two years. The January elections placed Edward Tiffin in the Governor's office, sent Jeremiah Morrow to Congress, and chose an Assembly, who met on the day designated, at Chillicothe. Michael Baldwin was chosen Speaker of the House, and Nathaniel ^lassie, of the Senate. The Assembly appointed William Creighton, Jr., Secretary of State ; Col. Thomas Gibson, Auditor ; William McFarland, Treasurer; Return J. Meigs, Jr., Samuel Hun- tington and William Sprigg, Judges of the Su-' preme Court; Francis Dunlevy, Wyllys Silliman and Calvin Pease, President Judges of the First, Second and fhird Districts, and Thomas Worth- ington and John Smith, United States Senators. Charles Willing Byrd was made the United States District Judge. The act of Congress forming the State, con- tained certain requisitions regarding public schools, the " salt springs," public lands, taxation of Gov- ernment lands, Symmes' purchase, etc., which the constitutional convention agreed to with a few minor considerations. These Congress accepted, and passed the act in accordance thereto. The First General Assembly found abundance of work '^s a ^ '■ J^j 'A 124 HISTORY OF OHIO. to do regarding these various items, and, at once, set themselves to the task. Laws were passed re- garding all these ; new counties created ; officers appointed for the same, until they could be elected, and courts and machinery of government put in motion. President Judges and lawyers traveled their circuits holding courts, often in the open air or in a log shanty ; a constable doing duty as guard over a jury, probably seated on a log under a tree, or in the bushes. The President Judge in- structed the officers of new counties in their duties, and though the whole keeping of matters accorded with the times, an honest feeling generally pre- vailed, inducing each one to perform his part as effectually as his knowledge permitted. The State continually filled with people. New towns arose all over the country. Excepting the occasional sicknesses caused by the new climate and fresh soil, the general health of the people im- proved as time went on. They were fully in ac- cord with the President, Jefferson, and carefully nurtured those principles of personal liberty en- grafted in the fundamental law of 1787, and later, in the Constitution of the State. Little if any change occurred in the natural course of events, following the change of govern- ment until Burr's expedition and plan of secession in 1805 and 1806 appeared. What his plans were, have never been definitely ascertained. His action related more to the General Grovernment, yet Ohio was called upon to aid in putting down his insurrection — for such it was thought to be — and defeated his purposes, whatever they were. His plans ended only in ignominious defeat ; the breaking-up of one of the finest homes in the Western country, and the expulsion of himself and all those who were actively engaged in his scheme, whatever its imports were. Again, for a period of four or five years, no exciting events occurred. Settlements continued ; mills and factories increased ; towns and cities grew ; counties were created ; trade enlarged, and naught save the common course of events trans- pired to mark the course of time. Other States were made fi'om the old Northwest Territory, all parts of which were rapidly being occupied by settlers. The danger from Indian hostilities was little, and the adventurous whites were rapidly occupying their country. One thing, however, was yet a continual source of annoyance to the Americans, viz., the British interference with the Indians. Their traders did not scruple, nor fail on every opportunity, to aid these sons of the forest with arms and ammunition as occasion offered, endeavoring to stir them up against the Americans, until events here and on the high seas culminated in a declaration of hostilities, and the war of 1812 was the result. The deluded red men found then, as they found in 1795, that they were made tools by a stronger power, and dropped when the time came that they were no longer needed. Before the opening of hostilities occurred, how- ever, a series of acts passed the General Assembly, causing considerable excitement. These were the famous "Sweeping Kesolutions," passed in 1810. For a few years prior to their passage, considera- ble discontent prevailed among many of the legis- lators regarding the rulings of the courts, and by many of these embryo law-makers, the legislative power was considered omnipotent. They could change existing laws and contracts did they desire to, thought many of them, even if such acts con- flicted with the State and National Constitutions. The " Sweeping Eesolutions " were brought about mainly by the action of the judges in declaring that justices of the peace could, ih the collection of debts, hold jurisdiction in amounts not exceed- ing fifty dollars without the aid of a jury. The Constitution of the United States gave the jury control in all such cases where the amount did not exceed twenty dollars. There was a direct con- tradiction against the organic law of the land — to which every other law and act is subversive, and when the judges declared the legislative act uncon- stitutional and hence null and void, the Legisla- ture became suddenly inflamed at their independ- ence, and proceeded at once to punish the admin- istrators of justice. The legislature was one of the worst that ever controlled the State, and was composed of many men who were not only igno- rant of common law, the necessities of a State, and the dignity and true import of their office, but were demagogues in every respect. Having the power to impeach officers, that body at once did so, having enough to carry a two-thirds majority, and removed several judges. Further maturing their plans, the " Sweepers," as they were known, construed the law appointing certain judges and civil officers for seven years, to mean seven j'ears from the organization of the State, whether they had been officers that length of time or not. All officers, whether of new or old counties,, were con- strued as included in the act, and, utterly ignoring the Constitution, an act was passed in January, 1810, removing every civil officer in the State. ) fy n>L HI.STORY OF OHIO. 125 February 10, they proceeded to fill all these va- cant offices, from State ofiicers down to the lowest county ofiice, either by appointment or by ordering an election in the manner prescribed by law. The Constitution provided that the ofiice of judges should continue for seven years, evidently seven years from the time they were elected, and not from the date of the admission of the State, which latter construction this headlong Legisla- ture had construed as the meaning. Jlany of the counties had been organized but a year or two, others three or four years ; hence an indescribable confusion arose as soon as the new set of ofiicers were appointed or elected. The new order of things could not be made to work, and finally, so utterly impossible did the injustice of the proceed- ings become, that it was dropped. The decisions of the courts were upheld, and the invidious doc- trine of supremacy in State legislation received such a check that it is not likely ever to be repeated. Another act of the Assembly, during this pe- riod, shows its construction. Congress had granted a township of land for the use of a university, and located the township in Symmes' purchase. This Assembly located the university on land outside of this purchase, ignoring the act of Congress, as they had done before, showing not only ignorance of the true scope of law, but a lack of respect un- becoming such bodies. The seat of government was also moved from Chillicothe to Zanesville, which vainly hoped to be made the permanent State capital, but the next session it was again taken to Chillicothe, and com- missioners appointed to locate a permanent capital site. These commissioners were James Findley, Jo- seph Darlington, Wyllys Silliman, Reason Beall, and AVilliam McFarland. It is stated that they reported at first in favor of Dublin, a small town on the Scioto about fourteen miles above Colum- bus. At the session of 1812-13, the Assembly accepted the proposals of Col. James Johnston, Alexander McLaughlin, John Kerr, and Lyne Starling, who owned the site of Columbus. The Assembly also decreed that the temporary seat of government should remain at Chillicothe until the buildings necessary for the State officers should be erected, when it would bo taken there, forever to remain. This was done in 181G, in December of that year the first meeting of the Assembly being held there. The site selected for the capital was on the east bank of the Scioto, about a mile below its junction with the Olentangy. Wide streets were laid out, and preparations for a city made. The expecta- tions of the founders have been, in this respect, re- alized. The town was laid out in the spring of 1 8 1 2, under the direction of Moses Wright. A short time after, the contract for making it the capital was signed. June 18, the same day war was declared against Great Britain, the sale of lots took place. Among the early settlers were George McCor- mick, George B. Harvey, John Shields, Michael' Patton, Alexander Patton, William Altman, John- CoUett, William SIcElvain, Daniel Kooser, Peter Putnam, Jacob Hare, Christian Heyl, Jarvis, George and Benjamin Pike, William Long, and Dr. John M. Edminson. In 1814, a house of worship was built, a school opened, a newspaper — The Wtsiern IntelUc/encer and Columbus Gazette, now the Ohio State Journal — was started, and the old State House erected. In 1816, the "Borough of Columbus" was incorporated, and a mail route once a week between Chillicothe and Columbus started. In 1819, the old United States Court House was erected, and the seat of justice removed from Frauklinton to Columbus. Until 1826, times were exceedingly " slow " in the new capital, and but lit- tle growth experienced. The improvement period revived the capital, and enlivened its trade and gTowth so that in 1834, a city charter was granted. The city is now about third in size in the State, and contains many of the most prominent public institutions. The present capitol building, one of the best in the West, is patterned soniev/hat after the national Capitol at Washington City. From the close of the agitation of the " Sweeping Resolutions," until the opening of the war of 1812, but a short time elapsed. In fact, scarcely had one subsided, ere the other was upon the country. Though the war was national, its theater of opera- tions was partly in Ohio, that State taking an act- ive part in its operations. Indeed, its liberty depended on the war. -s «)■ 'V A« :>> 126 HISTOllY OF OHIO. LIST OF TEERITOEIAL AND STATE GOVERNORS, From the organization of ihe first civil government in the Northwest Territory (1788 to ISQi), of which the State of Ohio was apart, until the year 1880. (a) Arthur St, Clair *Charles Willing liyrd {b\ Edward Tiffin \c) fThomas Kirker Samuel Huntington (d) Return Jonathan Meigs.. fOthniel Looker Thomas Worthiugtoii (e) Ethan Allen Brown ■j-AlIen Trimble Jeremiah Morrow Allen Trimble Duncan McArthur Robert Lucas Joseph Vance Wilson Shannon Thomas Corwin (/) Wilson Shannon JThomas W. B.artley IVIordecai Bartley William Bebb ig) Seabury Ford (A) Reuben Wood h')\ William Medill Salmon P. Chase William Dennison David Tod [k) John Brough ^Charles Anderson Jacob D. Cox Rutherford B. Hayes Edward F. Noyes William Allen (l) Rutherford B. Hayes (m) Thomas L. Young Richard M. Bishop Charles Foster Hamilton Ross Adams Trumbull Washington.., Hamilton Koss Hamilton Highland Warren Highland Ross like Champaign ... Belmont Warren Belmont liichland Richland Butler Geauga Cuyahoga Fairfield Hamilton Franklin Mahoning Cuyahoga Montgomery.. Trumbull Hamilton Hamilton Ross Sandusky Hamilton Hamilton Sandusky Term Commenced. July Nov. March March Dec. Dec. .4] ail Dec. Dec. ■Jan. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec, April Dec. Dec. Jan. Dec. July Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Aug. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. March Jan. Jan. 13, 3, 4, 12, 8, 14, 8, 14, 7, 28, 19, 18, 7, 13, 13, 16, 14, 13, 3, 12, 22, 12, 15, 14, 9, 13, 12, 30, 9, 13, 8, 12, 14, 2, 14, 14, 1788 1802 1803 1807 1808 1810 1814 1814 1818 1822 1822 1826 1830 1832 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1844 1846 1849 1850 1853 1856 1860 1862 1864 \%&h 1866 1868 1872 1874 1876 1877 1878 1880 Term Ended. Nov. March March Dec. Dec. March Dec. Dec. Jan. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. April Dec. Dec. Jan. Dec. July Jan. Jan. Jan, Jan. Aug. Jan. Jan. J.an. Jan. Jan. March Jan. Jan. 1802 3, 1803 4, 1807 12, 1808 8, 1810 25, 1814 8, 1814 14, 1818 4, 1822 28, 1822 19, 1826 18, 1830 7, 1832 13, 1836 13, 1838 16, 1840 14, 1842 13, 1844 3, 1844 12, 1846 22, 1849 12, 1850 15, 1853 14, 1856 9, 1860 13, 1862 12, 1864 29, 1865 9, 1866 13, 1868 8, 1872 12, 1874 14, 1876 2, 1877 14, 1878 14, 1880 (a) ArthnrSt.CIair,ofrennsjlTania,wng Governor of the Horlh- westTorritory.of wbichOliio was aiKirf, from July 13, 1788, wtientlie first civil goN-ernment was ostiibliBhed in the Territory, until ahont the close of the year lfi02,wlien he was removed by the President. *Secretary of the Territory, and was acting Governor of the Territory after the removal of Gov. St. Clair. (h) PiPsigned March .S, ]8n7, to accept the otBce of U. S. Senator. (c) Iletnrn Jonatlian Bloifis was electnd Governor on the hecond Tuesday of October, 1 SOT, over Nathanifl Maasie, who contested tlie election of Dlciss, on the ground thaf'h'* had not been a resident of this State for four years next preceding the electimi, as required by the Constiuition,"' and the General Assembly, in joint convention, declared that ho was not eligible. The office was not given to Ma'i'jie, nor doesit appear, frointhe records that he claimed it, but Thomas Kirker, acting Governor, continued to discharge the duties of the office until December 12, 1808, wljon Samuel Huntington was inaugurated, he having been elected on the second Tuesday of October in that year. id) Resigned March 26, 1814, to accept the offico of Postmaster- General uf the United States. (e) Resigned January 4, 1822. to accept the office of United States t-enator. if) Uesigned April 13, 1844, to accept the office of Minister to Mexico. {Qi The resnltof the election in IStSwasnotfinallydetermioedin joint convention of the two houses of tho General Assembly until January 19,1849, and the inauguration did not take place until the 22d of that month. (ft) Resigned July 15, 1853 to accept the office of Consul to Val- paraiso. (.7) Elected in October, 1853, for tho regular term, to commence OD the second Monday of January, 1854. (fc) Died August 29,1805. i Acting Governor. X Acting Governor, vicn Wilson Shannon, resigned. 11 Acting Governor, vice Reuben Wood, resigned. ^ Acting Governor, vice John Brough, deceased. 0) designed March 2, 1877, to accept the office of President of the United states. (m) Vice Rutherford B. Hayes, resigned. :^ (S W_ HISTOEY OF OHIO. 127 THE WAR OF 1812- CHAPTER XL -GROWTH OF THE STATE— CANAL, RAILROADS AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS —DEVELOPMENT OF STATE RESOURCES. N June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain. Before this, an act was passed by Con- gress, autliorizing the increase of the regular ai'my to thirty -five thousand troops, and a large force of volunteers, to serve twelve months. Under this act, lleturn J. J.leigs, then Governor of Ohio, in April and May, 1812, raised three regiments of troops to serve twelve months. They lendez- voused at Dayton, elected their officers, and pre- pared for the campaign. These regiments were numbered First, Second and Third. Duncan Mc- Arthur was Colonel of the First ; James Findlay, of the Second, and Lewis Cass, of the Third. Early in June these troops marched to Urbana, where they were joined by Boyd's F^ourth Regiment of regular troops, under command of Col. Miller, who had been in the battle of Tippecanoe. Near the middle of June, this little army of about twenty-five hundred men, under command of Gov. William Hull, of Michigan, who had been author- ized by Congress to raise the troops, started on its northern march. By the end of June, the army had reached the Maumee, after a very severe march, erecting, on the way, Forts Mc Arthur, Ne- cessity and Findlay. By some carelessness on the part of the American Government, no official word had been sent to the frontiers regarding the war, while the British had taken an early precaution to prepare for the crisis. Gov. Hull was very care- ful in military etiquette, and refused to march, or do any offensive acts, unless commanded by his superior officers at Washington. While at the Maumee, by a careless move, all his personal eifects, including all his plans, number and strength of his army, etc., fell into the hands of the enemy. His campaign ended only in ignominious defeat, and well-nigh paralyzed future efforts. All Mich- igan fell into the hands of the British. The com- mander, though a good man, lacked bravery and promptness. Had Gen. Ilarrrson been in com- mand no such results would have been the case, and the war would have probably ended at the outset. Before Hull had surrendered, Charles Scott, Governor of Kentucky, invited Gen. Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory, to visit Frankfort, to consult on the subject of defending the North- west. Gov. Harrison had visited Gov. Scott, and in August, 1812, accepted the appointment of Major General in the Kentucky militia, and, by hasty traveling, on the receipt of the news of the surrender of Detroit, reached Cincinnati on the morning of the 27th of that month. On the 30th he left Cincinnati, and the next day overtook the army he was to command, on its way to Dayton. After leaving Dayton, he was overtaken by an ex- press, informing him of his appointment by the Government as Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Indiana and Illinois Territories. The army reached Piqua, September 3. From this place Harrison sent a body of troops to aid in the de- fense of Fort Wayne, threatened by the enemy. On the Cth he ordered all the troops forward, and while on the march, on September 17, he was informed of his appointment as commander of the entire Northwestern troops. H e found the army poorly clothed for a winter campaign, now ap- proaching, and at once issued a stirring address to the people, asking for food and comfortable cloth- ing. The address was not in vain. After his appointment, Gen. Harrison pushed on to Au- glaize, where, leaving the army under command of Gen. Winchester, he returned to the interiorof the State, and establishing his headquarters at Frank- linton, began active measures for the campaign. Early in March, 1812, Col. John Miller raised, under orders, a regiment of infantry in Ohio, and in July assembled his enlisted men at Chillicotlie, where, placing them — only one hundred and forty in number — under command of Captain Angus Lewis, he sent them on to the frontier. They erect- ed a block-house at Piqua and then went on to Defiance, to the main body of the armv. In July, 1812, Gen. Edward W. "Tupper, of Gallia County, raised one thousand men for six months' duty. Under orders from Gen. Winches- ter, they marched through Chillicotlie and Urbana, on to the Maumee, where, near the lower end of the rapids, they made an ineffectual attempt to drive off the enemy. Failing in this, the enemy ^1 ,^ 1S8 HISTOEY OF OHIO. attacked Tupper and his troops, who, though worn down with the march and not a httle disorganized through the jealousies of the ofl&cers, withstood the attack, and repulsed the British and their red allies, who returned to Detroit, and the Americans to Fort McArthur. In the fall of I8I2, Gen. Harrison ordered a detachment of sis hundred men, mostly mounted, to destroy the Indian towns on the Missisineway River, one of the head-waters of the Wabash. The winter set in early and with unusual severity. At the same time this expedition was carried on, Bonaparte was retreating from Moscow. The expe- dition accomplished its design, though the troops suifered greatly from the cold, no less than two hundred men being more or less frost bitten. Gen. Harrison determined at once to retake Michigan and establish a line of defense along the southern shores of the lakes. Winchester was sent to occupy Ports Wayne and Defiance; Perkins' brigade to Lower Sandusky, to fortify an old stockade, and some Pennsylvania troops and artil- lery sent there at the same time. As soon as Gen. Harrison heard the results of the Missis- ineway expedition, he went to Chillicothe to con- sult with Gov. Meigs about further movements, and the best methods to keep the way between the Upper Miami and the Maumee continually open. He also sent Gen. Winchester word to move for- ward to the rapids of the Maumee and prepare for winter quarters. This Winchester (fid by the middle of January, 1813, establishing himself on the northern bank of the river, just above Wayne's old battle-ground. He was well fixed here, and was enabled to give his troops good bread, made from corn gathered in Indian corn-fields in this vicinity. While here, the inhabitants of Frenchtown, on the Raisin River, about twenty miles from Detroit, sent Winchester word claiming protection from the threatened British and Indian invasion, avowing themselves in sympathy with the Americans. A council of war decided in favor of their request, and Col. Lewis, with 550 men, sent to their relief Soon after. Col. Allen was sent with more troops, and the enemy easily driven away from about Frenchtown. Word was sent to Gen. Winchester, who determined to march with all the men he could spare to aid in holding the post gained. He left, the 19th of January, with 250 men, and ar- rived on the evening of the 20th. Failing to take the necessary precaution, from some unex- plained reason, the enemy came up in the night, established his batteries, and, the next day, sur- prised and defeated the American Army with a terrible loss. Gen. Winchester was made a pris- oner, and, finally, those who were intrenched in the town surrendered, under promise of Proctor, the British commander, of protection from the Indians. This promise was grossly violated the next day. The savages were allowed to enter the town and enact a massacre as cruel and bloody as" any in the annals of the war, to the everlasting ignominy of the British General and his troops. Those of the American Army that escaped, ar- rived at the rapids on the evening of the 22d of January, and soon the sorrowful news spread throughout the army and nation. Gen. Harrison set about retrieving the disaster at once. Delay could do no good. A fort was built at the rapids, named Fort Meigs, and troops from the south and west hurriedly advanced to the scene of action. The investment and capture of Detroit was aban- doned, that winter, owing to the defeat at French- town, and expiration of the terms of service of many of the troops. Others took their places, all parts of Ohio and bordering States sending men. The erection of Fort. jMeigs was an obstacle in the path of the British they determined to remove, and, on the 28th of February, 1813, a large band of British and Indians, under command of Proc- tor, Tecumseh, Walk-in-the-water, and other In- dian chiefs, appeared in the Maumee in boats, and prepared for the attack. Without entering into details regarding the investment of the fort, it is only necessary to add, that after a prolonged siege, lasting to the early part of May, the British were obliged to abandon the fort, having been severely defeated, and sailed for the Canadian shores. Next followed the attacks on Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky, and other predatory excur- sions, by the British. All of these failed of their design; the defense of Maj. Croghan and his men constituting one of the most brilliant actions of the war. For the gallant defense of Fort Stephenson by Maj. Croghan, then ayoung man, the army merited the highest honors. "The ladies of Chillicothe voted the heroic Major a fine sword, while the whole land rejoiced at the exploits of him and his band. The decisive efforts of the army, the great num- bers of men offered — ^many of whom Gen. Harrison was obliged to send home, much to their disgust — Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 — all presaged the triumph of the American arms, soon to ensue. As soon as the battle on the lake was over, the British at Maiden burned ij V- '-^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 129 their stores, and fled, -wliile the Americans, under their gallant commander, followed them in Perry's vessel to the Canada shore, overtaking them on the Kiver Thames, October 5. In the battle that ensued, Tecumseh was slain, and the British Army routed. The war was now practically closed in the West. Ohio troops had done nobly in defending their northern frontier, and in regaining the Northwest- ern country. Gen. Harrison was soon after elected to Congress by the Cincinnati district, and Gen. Duncan McArthur was appointed a Brigadier General in the regular army, and assigned to the command in his place. Gen. McArthur made an expedition into Upper Canada in the spring of 1814, destroying considerable property, and driv- ing the British farther into their own dominions. Peace was declared early in 1815, and that spring, the troops were mustered out of service at Chilli- cothe, and peace with England reigned supreme. The results of the war in Ohio were, for awhile, similar to the Indian war of 1795. It brought many people into the State, and opened new por- tions, before unknown. Many of the soldiers im- mediately invested their money in lands, and became citizens. The war drove many people from the Atlantic Coast west, and as a result much money, for awhile, circulated. Labor and provisions rose, which enabled both workmen and tradesmen to enter tracts of land, and aided emigration. At the conclusion of Wayns's war in 1795, probably not more than five thousand people dwelt in the limits of the State ; at the close of the war of 1812, that number was largely increased, even with the odds of war against them. After the last war, the emigration was constanc and gradual, building up the State in a manner that betokened a healthful life. As soon as the eifects of the war had worn off, a period of depression set in, as a result of too free speculation indulged in at its close. Gradu- ally a stagnation of business ensued, and many who found themselves iinable to meet contracts made in " flush " times, found no alternative but to fail. To relieve the pressure in all parts of the West, Congress, about 1815, reduced the price of public lands from $2 to 81.25 per acre. This measure worked no little hardship on those who owned large tracts of lands, for portions of which they had not fully paid, and as a consequence, these lands, as well as all others of this class, reverted to the Government. The general market was in New Orleans, whither goods were transported in flat- boats built especially for this pupose. This com- merce, though small and poorly repaid, was the main avenue of trade, and did much for the slow prosperity prevalent. The few banks in the State found their bills at a discount abroad, and gradu- ally becoming drained of their specie, either closed business or failed, the major part of them adopt- ing the latter course. The steamboat began to be an important factor in the river navigation of the West about this period. The first boat to descend the Ohio was the Orleans, built at Pittsburg in 1812, and in December of that year, while the fortunes of war hung over the land, she made her first trip from the Iron City to New Orleans, being just twelve days on the way. The second, built by Samuel Smith, was called the Comet, and made a trip as far south as Louisville, in the summer of 1813. The third, the Vesuvius, was built by Fulton, and went to New Orleans in 1814. The fourth, built by Daniel French at Brownsville, Penn., made two trips to Louisville in the summer of 1814. The next vessel, the iEtna, was built by Fulton & Company in 1815. So fast did the business increase, that, four years after, more than forty steamers floated on the Western waters. Improvements in machinery kept pace with the building, until, in 1838. a competent writer stated there were no less than four hundred steamers in the West. Since then, the erection of railways has greatly retarded ship-building, and it is alto- gether probable the number has increased but httle. The question of canals began to agitate the Western country during the decade succeeding the war. They had been and were being constructed in older countries, and presaged good and prosper- ous times. If only the waters of the lakes and the Ohio River could be united by a canal run- ning through the midst of the State, thought the people, prosperous cities and towns would arise on its banks, and commerce flow through the land. One of the firmest friends of such improvements was De Witt Clinton, who had been the chief man in forwarding the " Clinton Canal," in New York. He was among the first to advocate the feasibility of a canal connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio River, and, by the success of the New York canals, did much to bring it about. Popular writers of the day all urged the scheme, so that when the Assena- bly met, early in December, 1821, the resolution, offered by Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, :^ 'A 130 HISTORY OP OHIO. for the appointment of a committee of iive mem- bers to take into consideration so mucli of the Governor's message as related to canals, and see if some feasible plan could not be adopted whereby a beginning could be made, was quickly adopted. The report of the committee, advising a survey and examination of routes, met with the approval of the Assembly, and commissioners were ap- pointed who were to employ an engineer, examine the country and report on the practicability of a canal between the lakes and the river. The com- missioners employed James Geddes, of Onondaga County, N. Y., as an engineer. He arrived in Columbus in June, 1822, and, before eight months, the corps of engineers, under his direction, had examined one route. During the next two sum- mers, the examinations continued. A number of routes were examined and surveyed, and one, from Cleveland on the lake, to Portsmouth on the Ohio, was recommended. Another canal, from Cincin- nati to Dayton, on the Miami, was determined on, and preparations to commence work made. A Board of Canal Fund Commissioners was created, money was borrowed, and the morning of July 4, 1S25, the first shovelful of earth was dug near Newark, with imposing ceremonies, in the presence of De Witt Clinton, Governor of New York, and a mighty concourse of people assembled to witness the au.spicious event. Gov. Clinton was escorted all over the State to aid in developing the energy evei-ywhere apparent. The events were important ones in the history of the State, and, though they led to the creation of a vast debt, yet, in the end, the canals were a benefit. The main canal — the Ohio and Erie Canal — was not completed till 1832. The IMaumee Canal, from Dayton to Cincinnati, was finished in 1834. They cost the State about $0,000,000. Each of the main canals had branches leading to important towns, where their construction could be made without too much expense. The Miami and Mau- mee Canal, from Cincinnati northward along the Miami River to Piqua, thence to the Maumee and on to the lake, was the largest canal made, and, for many years, was one of the most important in the State. It joined the Wabash Canal on the eastern boundary of Indiana, and thereby saved the construction of many miles by joining this great canal from Toledo to Evansvil'lc. The largest artificial lake in the world, it is said, was built to supply water to the Miami Canal. It exists yet, though the canal is not much used. It is in the eastern part of Mercer County, and is about nine miles long by from two to four wide. Tt was formed by raising two walls of earth from ten to thirty feet high, called respectively the east and west embankments ; the first of which is about two miles in length ; the second, about four. These walls, with the elevation of the ground to the north and south, formed a huge basin, to retain the water. The reservoir was commenced in 1837, and finished in 1845, at an expense of several hundred thousand dollars. When first built, dur- ing the accumulation of water, much malarial disease prevailed in the surrounding country, owing to the stagnant condition of the water. The citi- zens, enraged at what they considered an innova- tion of their rights, met, and, during a dark night, tore out a portion of the lower wall, letting the water flow out. The damage cost thousands of dollars to repair. All who participated in the proceedings were liable to a severe imprisonment, but the state of feeling was such, in Mercer County, where the offense was committed, that no jury could be found that would try them, and the affair gradually died out. The canals, so efficacious in their day, were, however, superseded by the railroads rapidly find- ing their way into the West. From England, where they were early used in the collieries, the transition to America was easy. The first railroad in the United States was built in the summer of 1826, from the granite quarry belonging to the Bunker Hill Monument Associa- tion to the wharf landing, three miles distant. The road was a shght decline from the quarry to the wharf, hence the loaded cars were pro- pelled by their own gravity. On their return, when empty, they were drawn up by a single horse. Other roads, or tramways, quickly followed this. They were built at the Pennsylvania coal mines, in South Carolina, at Ncyv' Orleans, and at Baltimore. Steam motive power was used in 1831 or 1832, first in America on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and in Charlestown, on a railroad there. To transfer these highways to the West was the question of but a few years' time. The prairies of Illinois and Indiana offered superior inducements to such enterprises, and, early in 1835, they began to be agitated there. In 1838, the first rail was laid in Illinois, at Meredosia, a little town on the Illinois River, on what is now the "\^^ibash Railway. ''The first railroad made in Ohio," writes Caleb Atwater, in his "History of Ohio," in 1838, "was finished in 1836 by the people of Toledo, a town 9 V ^1 ^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 131 some two years old then, situated near the mouth of Maumee Kiver. The road extends westward in- to Jliehigan and is some thirty miles in length. There is a road about to be made from Cincinnati to Springfield. This road follows the Ohio Kiver up to the Little Miami River, and there turns northwardly up its valley to Xenia, and, passing the Yellow Spring.^, reaches Springfield. Its length must be about ninety miles. The State will own one-half of the road, individuals and the city of Cincinnati the other half. This road will, no doubt, be extended to Lake Eric, at Sandusky City, within a few short years." " There is a railroad." continues Mr. Atwater, " about to be made from Painesville to the Ohio River, There are many charters for other roads, which will never be made." Mr. Atwater notes also, the various turnpikes as well as the famous National road from Baltimore westward, then completed only to the mountains. This latter did as much as any enterprise ever en- acted in building up and populating the West. It gave a national thoroughfare, which, for many years, was the principal wagon-way from the At- lantic to the Slississippi Valley. The railroad to which Mr. Atwater refers as about to be built from Cincinnati to Springfield, was what was known as the Mad River Railroad. It is commonly conceded to bo the first one built in Ohio.* Its history shows ihat it was chartered March 11, 183G, that work began in 1837; that it was completed and opened for business from Cincinnati to Milford, in December, 1842; to Xe- nia, in August, 1845, and to Springfield, in Au- gust, 1846. It was laid with strap rails until about 1818, when the present form of rail was adopted. One of the earliest roads in Ohio was what was known as the Sandusky, M ansficld & Newark Rail- road. It was chartered at fir.st as the Monroeville & SanduskyCity Railroad, March 9, 1835. March 12, 1836, the Mansfield & New Haven road was chartered; the Columbus & Lake Erie, March 12, 1345, and the Huron & Oxford, February 27, 1846. At first it ran only from Sandusky to Monroeville, then from Mansfield to Huron. These *non. E D. ManBfleld stet^n, in 187.% th'itthf " flr."t artiial piece nf railrnnd jail in Oiii't, was made on lli'^ Cinciniiali & Saniliiskv Kailr.iad; lait, abont tlifi Binri" time wn Lave tl'O l.ittio Jliiimi It lil- ruad, wliicli was snrvpvi'J in IS'.iJand 1H37. If thin, the gi-iipr.illy accepted opinion, is rnrrcct, then Mr. Atwater's etat.'mcnt as given, is wrong. His liistoi^ i.", how.-ver, gcnt-rallv con edcil t^i bo correct. Written in 1838, lie surely oiiffht to know whereof he was wrltinp:, as the railroads were then only in construction; but few, if any, in operation. two were cimnected and consolidated, and then ex- tended to Newark, and finally, by connections, to Columbus. It is unnecessary to follow closely the history of these impri;iveuients through the years succeeding their introduction. At first the State owned a share in nearly all railroads and canals, but finally finding itself in debt about $15,0UO,OOU for such improvements, and learnitig by its own and neigh- bors' experiences, that .such policy was detrimental to the best interests of the people, abandoned the plan, and allowed private parties entire control of all such works. After the close of the Mexican Wiir, and the return to solid values in 1 854 or there- abouts, the increase of railroads in all parts of Ohio, as well as all parts of the West, was simply marvel- ous. At this date there are more than ten thou- sand miles of railroads jn Ohio, alongside of vfhich stretch innumerable lines of telegraph, a system of swifl messages invented by Prof. Morse, and adopted in the United States about 1851. About the time railroad building began to as- sume a tangible shape, in 1840, occurred the cele- brated political campaign known in history as the " Hard Cider Campaign." The gradual encroach- ments of the slave power in the West, its arrogant attitude in the Congress of the United States and in several State legislatures : its forcible seizure of slaves in the iree States, and the enactment and attempted enforcement of the " fugitive slave" law all tended to awaken in the minds of the Northern people an antagonism, terminating only in the late war and the abolishment of that hideous system in the United States. The " Whig Party" strenuously urged the abridgment or confinement of slavery in the Southern States, and in the contest the party took a most active part, and elected William Henry Harrison President of the United States. As he had been one of the foremqgt leaders in the war of 1812, a resident of Ohio, and one of its most pop- ular citizens, a log cabin and a baiTcI of cider were adopted as his exptments of popular opinion, as expressive of the rule of the common people repre- sented in the cabin and cider, in turn reijresenting their primitive and simple habits of life. He lived but thirty days after his inauguration, dying on the 9th of April, 1841, when John Tyler, the Vice I'resident, succeeded him as Chief Executive of the nation. The building of railroads ; the extension of com- merce; the settlement of all parts of the State; its growth in commerce, education, religion and V t^ 133 HISTORY or OHIO. population, are tho chief events from 1841 to the j an insane idea that something could be had for Mexican war. Hard times occurred about as often | nothing. The bubble burst as often as inflated, as they do now, preceded by " flush" times, when j ruining many people, but seemingly teaching few speculation ran rife, the people all infatuated with 1 lessons. MEXICAN WAB- CHAPTER XII. -CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE STATE— WAR OF THE REBELLION - TART IN THE CONFLICT. -OHIO'S THE Mexican War grew out of the question of the annexation of Texas, then a province of Mexico, whose territory extended to the Indian Territory on the north, and on up to the Oregon Territory on the Pacific Coast. Texas had been settled largely by Americans, who saw the condi- tion of afl'airs that would inevitably ensue did the country remain under Mexican rule. They first took steps to secede from Mexico, and then asked the aid of America to sustain them, and annex the country to itself. The Whig party and many others opposed this, chiefly on the grounds of the extension of slave territory. But to no avail. The war came on, Mexico was conquered, the war lasting from April 20, 184G, to May 30, 1848. Fifty thousand vol- unteers were called for the war by the Congress, and $10,000,000 placed at the disposal of the President, James K. Polk, to sustain the army and prosecute the war. The part that Ohio took in the war may be briefly summed up as follows : She had flve vol- unteer regiments, five companies in the Fifteenth Infantry, and several independent companies, with her ftill proportion among the regulars. When war was declared, it was something of a crusade to many ; full of romance to others ; hence, many more were offered than could be received. It was a campaign of romance to some, yet one of reality, ending in death, to many. When the first call for troops came, the First, Second and Third Regiments of infantry responded at once. Alexander Mitchell was made Colonel of the First; John B. Wellerits Lieutenant Colonel ; and L. Hamer Giddings, of Dayton, its Major. Thomas Ilanna, one of the ablest lawyers in Oliio, started with the First as its Major, but, before the regiment left the State, ho was made a Brigadier General of Volunteers, and, at the battle of Mon- terey, distinguished himself ; and there contracted disease and laid down his life. The regiment's Colonel, who had been wounded at Monterey, came home, removed to Minnesota, and there died. Lieut. Col. Weller went to California after the close of the war. He was United States Senator from that State in the halls of Congress, and, at last, died at New Orleans. The Second Regiment was commanded by Col. George W. Morgan, now of Mount Vernon ; Lieut. Col. William Irwin, of Lancaster, and Maj. Will- iam Wall. After the war closed, Irwin settled in Texas, and remained there till he died. Wall lived out his days in Ohio. The regiment was never in active field service, but was a credit to the State. The officers of the Third Regiment were. Col. Samuel R. Curtis; Lieut. Col. G. W.'McCook and Maj. John Love. The first two are now dead; the Major lives in McConnellsville. At the close of the first year of the war, these regiments (First, Second and Third) were mustered out of service, as their term of enlistment had expired. When the second year of the war began, the call for more troops on the part of the Government induced the Second Ohio Infantry to re-organize, and again enter the service. William Irwin, of the former organization, was chosen Colonel; William Latham, of Columbus, Lieutenant Colonel, and William 11. Link, of Circleville, Major. Nearly all of them are now dead. The regular army was increased by eight Ohio companies of infantry, the Third Dragoons, and the Voltigeurs — light-armed soldiers. In the Fif- teenth Regiment of the United States Army, there were five Ohio companies. The others were three from Michigan, and two from Wisconsin. Col. Morgan, of the old Second, was made Colonel of the Fifteenth, and John Howard, of Detroit, an old artillery officer in the regular army. Lieutenant Colonel. Samuel Wood, a captain in the Sixth r L^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 133 United States Infantry, was made Major ; but was afterward succeeded by Mill, of Vermont. The Fifteenth was in a number of skirmishes at first, and later in the battles of Contreras, Gherubusco and Chapultepec. At the battle of Gherubusco, the Colonel was severely wounded, and Maj. Mill, with several officers, and a large number of men, killed. For gallant service at Gontreras, Col. Mor- gan, though only twenty-seven years old, was made a Brevet Brigadier General in the United States Army. Since the war he has delivered a number of addresses in Ohio, on the campaigns in Mex- ico. The survivors of the war are now few. Though seventy-five thousand men from the United States went into that conflict, less than ten thousand now survive. They are now veterans, and as such de- light to recount their reminiscences on the fields of Mexico. They are all in the decline of life, and ere a generation passes away, few, if any, will be left. After the war, the continual growth of Ohio, the change in all its relations, necessitated a new organic law. The Constitution of 1852 was the result. It re-affirmed the political principles of the "ordinance of 1787 " and the Constitution of 1802, and made a few changes necessitated by the advance made in the interim. It created the office of Lieutenant Governor, fixing the term of service at two years. This Constitution yet stands notwithstanding the prolonged attempt in 1873-74: to create a new one. It is now the organic law of Ohio. From this time on to the opening of the late war, the prosperity of the State received no check. Towns and cities grew ; railroads multiplied ; com- merce was extended ; the vacant lands were rapidly filled by settlers, and everything tending to the advancement of the people was well prosecuted. Banks, after much tribulation, had become in a measure somewhat secure, their only and serious drawback being their isolation or the confinement of their circulation to their immediate localities. But signs of a mighty contest were apparent. A contest almost without a parallel in the annals of history ; a contest between freedom and slavery ; between wrong and right ; a contest that could only end in defeat to the wrong. The Republican party came into existence at the close of President Pierce's term, in 1855. Its object then was, prin- cipally, the restriction of the slave power ; ultimately its extinction. One of the chief exponents and sup- porters of this growing party in Ohio, was Salmon P. Chase; one who never faltered nor lost faith ; and who was at the helm of State; in the halls of Con- gress ; chief of one the most important bureaus of the Government, and, finally. Chief Justice of the United States. When war came, after the election of Abraham Lincoln by the Republican party, Ohio was one of the first to answer to the call for troops. Mr. Chase, while Governor, had re-organized the militia on a sensible basis, and rescued it from the ignominy into which it had fallen. When Mr. Lincoln asked for seventy-five thousand men, Ohio's quota was thirteen regiments. The various chaotic regiments and militia troops in the State did not exceed 1,500 men. The call was issued April 15, 1861 ; by the 18th, two regiments were organized in Columbus, whither these companies had gathered; before sunrise of the 19th the first and second regiments were on their way to Wash- ington City. The President had only asked for thirteen regiments; thirti/ were gathering; the Government, not yet fully comprehending the nature of the rebellion, refused the surplus troops, but Gov. Dennison was authorized to put ten additional regiments in the field, as a defensive measure, and was also authorized to act on the defensive as well as on the offensive. The immense extent of southern border made this necessary, as all the loyal people in West Virginia and Ken- tucky asked for help. In the limits of this history, it is impossible to trace all the steps Ohio took in the war. One of her most talented sons, now at the head of one of the greatest newspapers of the world, says, regard- ing the action of the people and their Legislature : " In one part of the nation there existed a grad- ual growth of sentiment against the Union, ending in open hostility against its integrity and its Con- stitutional law ; on the other side stood a resolute, and determined people, though divided in minor matters, firmly united on the question of national supremacy. The people of Ohio stood squarely on this side. Before this her people had been di- vided up to the hour when — " ' That fierce and sudden flash across the rugged black- ness broke, And, with a voice that shook the laud, the guns of Sum- ter spoke; X * * X * X * * * And whereso'er the summons came, there rose the angry din, As when, upon a rocky coast, a stormy tide sets in.' " All waverings then ceased among the people and in the Ohio Legislature. The Union must be ■^^ ^1 liL^ 134 HISTORY OF OHIO. preserved. The white heat of patriotism and fe- alty to the flag that had been victorious in three wars, and had never met but temporary defeat then melted all parties, and dissolved all hesitation, and, April 18, 18G1, by a unanimous vote of ninety-nine Representatives in its favor, there was passed a bill appropriating 8500,000 to carry into effect the requisition of the President, to protect the National Government, of which sum $450,000 were to purchase arms and equipments for the troops required by that requisition as the quota of Ohio, and $50,0U0 as an extraordinary contingent fund for the Governor. The commissioners of the State Sinking Fund were authorized, by the same bill, to borrow this money, on the 6 per cent bonds of the State, and to issue for the same certificates, freeing such bonds from taxation. Then followed other such legislation that declared the property of volunteers free from execution for debt during their term of service; that declared any resident of the State, who gave aid and comfort to the enemies of the Union, guilty of treason against the State, to be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for life; and, as it had become already evi- dent that thousands of militia, bej^ond Ohio's quota of the President's call, would volunteer, the Legislature, adopting the sagacious suggestion of Gov. Dennison, resolved that all excess of volunteers should be retained and paid for service, under direction of the Governor. Thereupon a bill was passed, authorizing the acceptance of volunteers to form ten regiments, and providing $500,000 for their arms and equipments, and $1,500,000 more to be disbursed lor troops in case of an in- vasion of the State. Then other legislation was enacted, looking to and providing against the ship- ment from or througli the State of arms or mu- nitions of war, to States either assuming to bo neutral or in open rebellion ; organizing the whole body of the State militia; providing suitable offi- cers, for duty on the staff of the Governor; re- quiring contracts for subsistence of volunteers to be lot to the lowest bidder, and authorizing the appointment of additional general officers. "Before the adjournment of that Legislature, the Speaker of the House had resigned to take command of one of the regiments then about to start for Washington City ; two leading Senators had been appointed Brigadier Generals, and many, in fact nearly all, of the other members of both houses had, in one capacity or another, entered the military service. It was the first war legislature ever elected in Ohio, and, under sudden pressure. nobly met the first shock, and enacted the first measures of law for war. Laboring under difficul- ties inseparable from a condition so unexpected, and in the performance of duties so novel, it may be historically stated that fijr patriotism, zeal and ability, the Ohio Legislature of 18G1 was the equal of any of its successors ; while in that exu- berance of patriotism which obliterated party lines and united all in a common effort to meet the threatened integrity of the United States as a nation, it surpassed them both. " The war was fought, the slave power forever destroyed, and undc_'r additional amendments to hei' organic law, the United States wiped the stain of human slavery from her escutcheon, liberating over four million human beings, nineteen-twentieths of whom were native-born residents. " When Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Ohio had two hundred regiments of all arms in the National service. In the course of the war, she had furnished two hundred and thirty regiments, besides twenty-six independent batteries of artillery, five independent companies of cavalry, several companies of sharpshooters, large parts of five regiments credited to the ^\"est ^'irginia con- tingent, two regiments credited to the Kentucky contingent, two transferred to the United States colored troops, and a large proportion of the rank and file of the Fifty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Massa- chusetts Regiments, also colored men. Of these or- ganizations, twenty-three were infantry regiments furnished on the first call of the President, an ex- cess of nearly one-half over the State's quota ; one hundred and ninety-one wore infantry regiments, furnished on subsequent calls of the President — one hundred and seventeen for three years, twenty- seven for one year, two for six months, two for three months, and forty-two for one hundred days. Thirteen were cavalry, and three artillery for three years. Of these three-years troops, over twenty thousand re-enlisted, as veterans, at the end of their long term of service, to fight till the war would end." As original members of these organizations, Ohio furnished to the National service the magnificent army of 310,054 actual soldiers, omitting from the above number all those who paid commuta- tion money, veteran enlistments, and citizens who enlisted as soldiers or sailors in other States. The count is made from the reports of the Provost Marshal General to the War Department. Penn- sylvania gave not quite 28,000 more, while Illinois fell 48,000 behind; Indiana, 116,000 less; liL^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 137 Kentucky, 235,000, and Blassachusetts, 1G-1:,000. Thus Ohio more than maintaiacd, in the National army, the rank among lier sisters which her popu- lation supported. Ohio furnished more troops than the President ever required of her ; and at the end of the war, with more than a thousand men in i'.ie camp of the Suite who were never mustered into the service, she still had a credit on the rolls of the War Department for 4,:i32 soldiers, beyond the ag2;rjj;at3 of all quotas ever assigned to her ; and, besides all these, G,479 citizens had, in lieu of personal service, paid the commutation ; while In- diana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York were all ftom five to one hundred thousand behind their quotas. So ably, through all those years of trial and death, did she keep the promise of the memorable dispatch from her first war Governor : " If Kentucky refuses to fill her quota, Ohio will fill it for her." "Of these troops 11,237 were killed or mor- tally wounded in action, and of these 6,503 v/ere left dead on the field of battle. They fought on well-nigh every battle-field of the war. Within forty-eight hours after the first call was made for troops, two regiments were on the way to Wash- ington. An Ohio brigade covered the retreat from the first battle of Bull Run. Ohio troops formed the bulk of army that saved to the Union the territory afterward erected into West Virginia ; the bulk of the army that kept Kentucky from seceding ; a large part of the army that captured Fort Donelson and Island No. 10 ; a great part of the army that from Stone Piivcr and Chickamauga, and Mission Ridgo and Atlanta, swept to the sea and captured Port McAllister, and north through the Carolinas to Virginia." Wlien Sherman started on his famous march to the S3a,s3in30n3 said to President Lincoln, "T hey will never get through; they will all be captured, and the Union will be lost." " It is impossible," replied the President ; "it cannot bo done. There is a mi.ghfy sight of fight in one hundred thou- sand Western men." Ohio troopsfought at PeaRidge. They charged at Wagner. They helped redeem North Carolina. They were in the sieges of Vicksburg, Charleston, Mobile and Richmond. At Pittsburg Landing, at Antietam, Getty.sburg and Corinth, in the Wilderness, at Five Forks, before Nashville and Appomattox Court House ; " their bones, reposing on the fields they won and in the graves they fill, are a perpetual pledge that no flag shall ever wave over their graves but that flag they died to maintain." Ohio's soil gave birth to, or furnished, a Grant, a Sherman, a Sheridan, a McPherson, a Rosecrans, a McClellan, a McDowell, a Mitchell, a Gilmore, a Hazen,a Sill,a Stanley, a Steadman, and others — all but one, children of the country , reared at West Point for such emergencies. Ohio's war record shows one General, one Lieutenant General, twenty Major Generals, twenty seven Brevet Major Generals, and thirty Brigadier Generals, and one hundred and fifty Brevet Brigadier Generals. Her three war Governors were William Dennison, David Todd, and John Brough. She furnished, at the same time, one Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and one Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. Her Senators were Benjamin P. Wade and John Sherman. At least three out of five of Ohio's able-bodied men stood in the line of battle. On the head stone of one of these soldiers, who gave his life for the country, and who now lies in a National Cemetery, is inscribed these words : " Wo charge the living to preserve that Constitution we have died to defend." The close of the war and return of peace brought a period of fictitious values on the country, occa- sioned by the immense amount of currency afloat. Property rose to unheard-of values, and everything with it. Ere long, however, the decline came, and with it " hard times." The climax broke over the country in 1873, and for awhile it seemed as if the country was on the verge of ruin. People found again, as preceding generations had found, that real value was the only basis of true prosper- ity, and gradually began to work to the fact. The Government established the specie basis by gradual means, and on the 1st day of January, 1879, began to redeem its outstanding obligations in coin. The effect was felt everywhere. Busi- ness of all kinds sprang anew into life. A feehng of confidence grew as the times went on, and now, on the threshold of the year 1880, the State is en- tering on an era of steadfast prosperity ; one which has a sure and certain foundation. Nearly four years have elaped since the great Centennial Exhibition was held in Philadelphia ; an exhibition that brought from every State in the Union the best products of her soil, factories, and all industries. In that exhibit Ohio made an ex- cellent display. Her stone, iron, coal, cereals, woods and everything pertaining to her welfare were all represented. Ohio, occupying the middle ground of the Union, was expected to show to foreign na- tions what the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio ^7 i>t. 138 PIISTORY OF OHIO. could produce. The State nobly stood the test and ranked foremost among all others. Her cen- tennial building was among the first completed and among the neatest and best on the grounds. During the summer, the Centennial Commission extended invitations to the Grovernors of the several States to apjjoint an orator and name a day for his delivery of an address on the history, progress and resources of his State. Gov. Hayes named the Hon. Edward D. Mansfield for this purpose, and August 9th, that gentleman delivered an addriss so valuable for the matter which it contains, that we here give a synopsis of it. CHAPTER XIII. OHIO IN THE CENTENNIAL— ADDRESS OF EDWAED D. MANSFIELD, LL. D., PHILADELPHIA, AUGUST 9, 1876. NE hundred years ago, the whole territory, from the Alleghany to the Rocky Mountains was a wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts and Indians. The Jesuit and Moravian missionaries were the only white men who had penetrated the wilderness or beheld its mighty lakes and rivers. While the thirteen old colonies were declarins: tneir independence, the thirteen new States, which now lie in the western interior, had no existence, and gave no sign of the future. The solitude of nature was unbroken by the steps of civilization. The wisest statesman had not contemplated the probability of the coming States, and the boldest patriot did not dream that this interior wilderness should soon contain a greater population than the thirteen old States, with all the added growth of one hundred years. Ten years after that, the old States had ceded their Western lands to the Greneral Government, and the Congress of the United States had passed the ordinance of 1785, for the survey of the pub- lic territory, and, in 1787, the celebrated ordinance which organized the Northwestern Territory, and dedicated it to freedom and intelligence. Fifteen years after that, and more than a quarter of a century after the Declaration of Independ- ence, the State of Ohio was admitted into the Union, being the seventeenth which accepted the Constitution of the United States. It has siffce grown up to be great, populous and prosperous under the influence of those ordinances. At her admittance, in 1803, the tide of emigration had begun to flow over the Alleghanies into the Valley of the Mississippi, and, although no steamboat, no railroad then existed, nor even a stage coach helped the_ immigrant, yet the wooden " ark " on the Ohio, and the heavy wagon, slowly winding over the mountains, bore these tens of thousands to the wilds of Kentucky and the plains of Ohio. In the spring of 1788 — the first year of settlement — four thousand five hundred persons passed the mouth of the Muskingum in three months, and the tide continued to pour on for half a century in a widening stream, mingled with all the races of Europe and America, until now, in the hundredth yearof America'sindependenoe, thcfive Statesof the Northwestern Territory, in the wilderness of 1776, contain ten millions of people, enjoying all the blessings which peace and prosperity, freedom and Christianity, can confer upon any people. Of these five States, born under the ordinance of 1787, Ohio is the first, oldest, and, in many things, the greatest. In some things it is the greatest State in the Union. Let us, then, attempt, in the briefest terms, to draw an outline portrait of this great and remark- able commonwealth. Let us observe its physical aspects. Ohio is just one-,sixth part of the Northwestern Territory — 10,000 square miles. It lies between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, having 200 miles of navigable waters, on one side flowing into the Atlantic Ocean,, and on the other into the Gulf of Mexico. Through the lakes, its vessels touch on 6,000 miles of interior coast, and, through the JJississippi, on 36,000 miles of river coast; so that a citizen of Ohio may pursue his navigation through 42,000 miles, all in his own country, and all within naviga- ble reach of his own State. He who has circumnavi- gated the globe, has gone but little more than half the distance which the citizen of Ohio finds within his natural reach in this vast interior. Looking upon the surface of this State, we find no mountains, no barren sands, no marshy wastes, no lava-covered plains, but one broad, compact 9 V ^ — ^v , HISTOEY or OHIO. 139 body of arable land, intersected with rivers and streams and running waters, while the beautiful Ohio ilovra tranquilly by its side. More than three times the surface of Belgium, and one-third of the whole of Italy, it has more natural resources in proportion than cither, and is capable of ultimately supporting a larger population than any equal sur- face in Europe. Looking from this great arable surface, where upon the very hills the grass and the forest trees now grow exuberant and abundant, we find that underneath this surface, and easily accessible, lie 10,000 square miles of coal, and 4,000 square miles of iron — coal and iron enough to supply the basis of manufacture for a world ! All this vast deposit of metal and fuel does not in- terrupt or take from that arable surface at all. There you may find in one place the same machine bringing up coal and salt water from below, while the wheat and the corn grow upon the surface above. The immense masses of coal, iron, salt and freestone deposited below have not in any way diminished the fertility and production of the soil. It has been said by some writer that the char- acter of a people is shaped or modified by the character of the country in which they live. If the people of Switzerland have acquired a certain air of liberty and independence from the rugged mountains around which they live; if the people of Southern Italy, or beautiful France, have ac- quired a tone of ease and politeness from their mild and genial clime, so the people of Ohio, placed amidst such a wealth of nature, in the tem- perate zone, should show the best fruits of peace- ful industry and the best culture of Christian civilization. Have they done so? Have their own labor and arts and culture come up to the ad- vantages of their natural situation? Let us exam- ine this growth and their product. The first settlement of Ohio was made by a colony from New England, at the mouth of the Muakingum. It was literally a remnant of the officers of the Revolution. Of this colony 'no piaiso of the historian can be as competent, or as strong, aa the language of Washington. He says, in answer to inquiries addressed to him: "No col- ony in America wa.s over settled under such favor- able auspices as that which has just commenced at the IMuskingum. Information, prosperity and strength will be its characterislica. I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the Vf^elfarc of such a community;" and he adds that if he were a young man, he knows no country in which he would sooner settle than in this Western region." This colony, left alone for a time, made its own government and nailed its laws to a tree in the vil- lage, an early indication of that law-abiding and peaceful spirit which has since made Ohio a just and well-ordered community. The subsequent settlements on the Miami and Scioto were made by citizens of New Jersey and Virginia, and it is cer- tainly remarkable that among all the early immi- gration, there were no ignorant people. In the language of Washington, they came with " infor- mation," qualified to promote the welfare of the community. Soon after the settlement on the Muskingum and the Miami, the great wave of migration flowed on to the plains and valleys of Ohio and Ken- tucky. Kentucky had been settled earlier, but the main body of emigrants in subsequent years went into Ohio, influenced partly by the great ordinance of 1787, securing freedom and schools forever, and partly by the greater security of titles under the survey and guarantee of the United States Government. Soon the new State grew up, with a rapidity which, until then, was unknown in the history of civilization. On the Muskingum, where the buifalo had roamed; on the Scioto, where the Shawanees had built their towns ; on the Miami, where the great chiefs of the Miamis had reigned ; on the plains of San- dusky, yet red with the blood of the white man ; on the Maumee, whtre Wayne, by the victory of the " Fallen Timbers," had broken the power of the Indian confederacy — the emigrants from the old States and from Europe came in to cultivate the fields, to build up towns, and to rear the insti- tutions of Christian civilization, until the single State of Ohio is greater in numbers, wealth, and education, than was the whole American Union when the Declaration of Independence was made. Let us now look at the statistics of this growth and magnitude, as they are exhibited in the cen- sus of the United States. Taking intervals of twenty years, Ohio had: In 1810, 230,700; in 1830, 937,903; in 1850, 1,980,329; in 1870, 2,6(15,260. Add to this the increase of population in the last six years, and Ohio now has, in round numbers, 3,000,000 of people — half a million more than the thirteen States in 1776 ; and her cities and towns have to-day six times the population of all the cities of America one hund- red years ago. This State is now the third in numbers and wealth, and the first in some of those institutions which mark the progress of ^ <; ^_y •"♦re- '-^ 140 HISTORY OF OHIO. mankind. That a small part of tho wiIJerne.ss of 177U .sliould be more populous than the whole Union was then, and that it should have made a social and moral advance greater than that of any nation in the same time, must be regarded as one of the most startling and instructive facts which attend this year of commemoration. If such has been the social growth of Ohio, let us look at its physical development; this is best expressed "by the aggregate productions of the labor and arts of a people applied to the earth. In the census statistics of tho United States these are expressed in tho aggregate results of agriculture, mining, manufact- ures, and commerce. Let us simplify these statis- tics, by comparing the aggregate and ratios as between several States, and between Ohio and some countries of Europe. The aggregate amount of grain and potatoes — farinaceous food, produced in Ohio in 1870 was 134,938,413 bushels, andin 1874, there were 157,- 323,597 bushels, being the largest aggregate amount raised in any State but one, Illinois, iind larger per square mile than Illinois or any other State in the country. The promises of nature were thus vindicated by the labor of man ; and the industry of Ohio has fulfilled its whole duty to the sustenance of the country and tho world. She has raised more grain than ten of the old States together, and more than half raised by Great Britain or by France. I have not the recent statistics of Europe, but McGrregor, in his statistics of nations for 1832 — a period of pro- found peace — gives the following ratios for the leading countries of Europe : Great Britain, area 120,324 miles ; amount of grain, 262,500,000 bushels; rate per square mile, 2,190 to 1; Austria — area 258,603 miles ; amount of grain, 306,800,000 bushels; rate per square mile, l,422to 1 ; France — area 215,858 miles ; amount of grain, 233,847,300 bushels ; rate per square mile, 1,080 to 1. The State of Ohio — area per square miles, 40,000 ; amount of grain, 150,000,000 bushels ; rate per square mile, 3,750. Combining the great countries of Great Britain, Austria, and France, we find that they had 594,785 square miles and produced 863,147 ,300 bushels ofgrain, which was, at the time these statistics were taken, 1 ,450 bushels per square mile, and ten bushels to each one of tiie population. Ohio, on tho other hand, had 3,750 bushels per square mile, and fifty bushels to each one of the population ; that is, there was five times as much grain raised in Ohio, in proportion to the people, as in these great countries of Europe. As letters make words, and words express ideas, so these dry figures of statistics express facts, and these facts make the whole history of civilization. Let us now look at the statistics of domestic animals. These are always indicative of the state of society in regard to the physical comforts. The horse must furnish domestic conveyances ; the cattle must furnish the products of the dairy, as well as meat, and the sheep must; furnish wool. Let us see how Ohio compares with other States and with Europe : In 1870, Ohio had 8,818,000 domestic animals ; Illinois, 6,925,000 ; New York, 5,283,000; Pennsylvania, 4,493,000; and other States less. The proportion to population in these States was, in Ohio, to each person, 3.3 ; Illinois, 2.7; New York, 1.2; Pennsylvania, 1.2. Let us now see the proportion of domestic ani- mals in Europe. The results given by McGregor's statistics are : In Great Britain, to each person, 2.44; Russia, 2.00; France, 1.50 ; Prus.sia,1.02; Austria, 1.00. It will be seen that the proportion in Great Britain is only two-thirds that of Ohio; in France, only one-half; and in Austria and Prussia only one-third. It may be said that, in the course of civilization, the number of animals diminishes as the density of population increases ; and, therefore, this result might have been ex- pected in the old countries of Europe. But this does not apply to Russia or Germany, still less to other States in this country. Russia in Europe has not more than half the density of population now in Ohio. Austria and Prussia have less than 150 to the square mile. Tho whole of the north of Europe has not so dense a population as the State of Ohio, still less have the States of Illinois and Missouri, west of Ohio. Then, therefore, Ohio showing a larger proportion of domestie aui- mals than the north of Europe, or States west of her, with a population not so dense, wo see at once there must be other causes to produce such a phenomenon. Looking to some of the incidental results of this vast agricultural production, we see that the United States exports to Europe immense amounts of grain and provisions; and that there is manufivct- ured in this country an immense amount of woolen goods. Then, taking these statistics of tho raw material, we find that Ohio produces one-fifth of all the wool; one-sfventh of all the cheese; o)ie- eighlh of all the corn, and one-ten/h of all the wheat ; and yet Ohio has but a fourieentli part of the population, and one-eightieth part of the sur- face of this country. :\^ HISTORY or OHIO. 141 Let us take another — a commercial view of this matter. We have seen that Ohio raises five times as much grain per square mile as is raised per square mile in the empires of Great Britain, France and Austria, taken together. After making allow- ance for the differences of living, in the working classes of this country, at least two-thirds of the food and grain of Ohio are a surplus beyond the necessities of life, and, therefore, so much in the commercial balance of exports. This corresponds with the fact, that, in the shape of grain, meat, liquors and dairy products, this vast surplus is con- stantly moved to the Atlantic States and to Europe. The money value of this exported product is equal to 8 1 00,000,000 per annum, and to a .solid capital of $1,500,000,000, after all the sustenance of the people- has been taken out of the annual crop. We are speaking of agriculture alone. \Ve are speaking of a State which began its career more than a quarter of a century after the Declaration of Independence was made. And now, it may be asked, what is the real cause of this extraordinary result, which, without saying anything invidious of other States, we may safely say has never been surpassed in any country? We have already stated two of the advantages possessed by Ohio. The first is that it is a compact, unbroken body of arable land, surrounded and intersected by water- courses, equal to all the demands of commerce and navigation. Next, that it was secured forever to freedom and intelligence by the ordinance of 1787. The intelligence of its future people was secured by immense grants of public lands for the purpose of education; but neither the blessings of nature, nor the wisdom of laws, could obtain such results without the continuous labor of an intelligent people. Such it had, and we have only to take the testimony of Waishington, already quoted, and the statistical results I have given, to prove that no people has exhibited more steady industry, nor has any people directed their labor with more in- telligence. After the agricultural capacity and production of a country, its most important physical feature is its mineral products; its capacity for coal and iron, the two great elements of material civiliza- tion. If we were to take away from G-roat Britain her capacity to produce coal in such vast quanti- ties, we should reduce her to a third-rate position, no longer numbered among the great nations of the earth. Coal has smelted her iron, run her steam engines, and is the basis of her manufactures. But when we compare the coal fields of Great Britain with those of this country, they are insig- nificant. The coal fields of all Europe are small compared with those of the central United States. The coal district of Durham and Northumberland, in England, is only 880 scpare miles. There are other districts of smaller extent, making in the whole probably one-half the extent of that in Ohio. The English coal-beds arc represented as more important, in reference to extent, on account of their thickness. There is a small coal district in Lancashire, where the workable coal-beds are in all 150 feet in thickness. But this involves, as is well knowQ, the necessity of going to immense depths and incurring immense expense. On the other hand, the workable coal-beds of Ohio are near the surface, and some of them require no ex- cavating, except that of the horizontal lead from the mine to the river or the railroad. In one county of Ohio there are three beds of twelve, six and four feet each, within fifty feet of the surface. At some of the mines having the best coal, the lead from the mines is nearly horizontal, and just high enough to dump the coal into the railroad cars. These coals are of all qualities, from that adapted to the domestic fire to the very best qual- ity for smelting or manufacturing iron. HeeoUoot- ing these facts, let us try to get an idea of the coal district of Ohio. The bituminous coal region de- escending the western slopes of the AUcghanies, occupies large portions of Western Penn.sylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. I suppose that this coal field is not less than fifty thousand square miles, exclusive of Western Mary- land and the southern terminations of that field in Georgia and Alabama. Of this vast field of coal, exceeding anything found in Europe, about one- fifth part lies in Ohio. Prof Mather, in his report on the geology of the Sta.te (first Geologi- cal Report of the State) says: " The coal-measures within Ohio occupy a space of about one hundred and eighty miles in length by eighty in breadth at the widest part, with an area of about ten thousand square miles, extending along the Ohio from Trumbull County in the north to near the mouth of the Scioto in the south. The regularity in the dip, and the moderate incli- nation of the strata, afford facilities to the mines not known to those of most other countries, espe- cially Great Britain, where the strata in which the coal is imbedded have been broken and thrown out of place since its deposit, occasioning many slips and faults, and causing much labor and expense in again recovering the bed. In Ohio there is very s \> ^^ 142 HISTORY OF OHIO. littlo difficulty of this kind, the faults being small and seldom found." Now, taking into consideration these geological facts, let us look at the extent of the Ohio coal field. It occupies, wholly or in part, thirty-six counties, including, geographically, 14,000 square miles ; but leaving out tractions, and reducing the Ohio coal field within its narrowest limits, it is 10,000 square miles in extent, lies near the surface, and has on an average twenty feet thickness of work- able coal-beds. Let us compare this with the coal mines of Durham and Northumberland (England), the largest and best coal mines there. That coal district is estimated at 850 square mUes, twelve feet thick, and is calculated to contain 9,000,000,- 000 tons of coal. The coal field of Ohio is twelve times larger and one-third thicker. Estimated by that standard, the coal field of Ohio contains 180,- 000,000,000 tons of coal. Marketed at only «2 per ton, this coal is worth $360,000,000,000, or, in other words, ten times as much as the whole valuation of the United States at the present time. But we need not undertake to estimate either its quantity or value. It is enough to say that it is a quantity which we can scarcely imagine, which is tenfold that of England, and which is enough to supply the entire continent for ages to come. After coal, iron is beyond doubt the most val- uable mineral product of a State. As the mate- rial of manufacture, it is the most important. What are called the " precious metals " are not to be compared with it as an clement of industry or profit. But since no manufactures can be success- fully carried on without fuel, coal becomes the first materia] element of the arts. Iron is unquestion- ably the next. Ohio has an iron district extending from the mouth of the Scioto Biver to some point north of the Mahoning Kiver, in Trumbull County. The whole length is nearly two hundred miles, and the breadth twenty miles, making, as near as we can ascertain, 4,000 square miles. The iron in this dis- trict is of various qualities, and is manufactured largely into bars and castings. In this iron dis- trict are one hundred furnaces, forty-four rolling- mills, and fifteen rail-mills, being the largest num- ber of either in any State in the Union, except only Pennsylvania. Althoughonly the seventeenth State initsadmis- sion, I find that, by the census statistics of 1870, it is the thinl State in the production of iron and iron manufactures. Already, and within the life of one man, this State begins to show what must in future time be the vast results of coal and iron. applied to the arts and manufactures. In the year 1874, there were 420,000 tons of pig iron produced in Ohio, which is larger than the prod- uct of any State, except Pennsylvania. The product and the manufacture of iron in Ohio have increased so rapidly, and the iasis for increase is so great, that we may not doubt that Ohio will continue to be the greatest producer of iron and iron fabrics, except only Pennsylvania. At Cincinnati, the iron manufacture of the Ohio Valley is concentrating, and at Cleveland the ores of Lake Superior are being smelted. After coal and iron, we may place salt among the necessaries of life. In connection with the coal region west of the Alleghanies, there lies in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, a large space of country underlaid by the salt rock, which already produces immense amounts of salt. Of this, Ohio has its full proportion. In a large section of the southeastern portion of the State, salt is produced without any known limitation. At Pomeroy and other points, the salt rock lies about one thousand feet below the surface, but salt water is brought easily to the surface by the steam engine. There, the salt rock, the coal seam, and the noble sandstone lie in successive strata, while the green corn and the yellow wheat bloom on the surface above. The State of Ohio produced, in 1874, 3,500,000 bushels of salt, being one-fifth of all produced in the United States. The salt section of Ohio is exceeded only by that of Syracuse, New York, and of Saginaw, Michigan. There is no definite limit to the underlying salt rock of Ohio, and, therefore, the production will be proportioned only to the extent of the demand. Having now considered the resources and the products of the soil and the mines of Ohio, we may properly ask how far the people have employed their resources in the increase of art and manu- facture. We have two modes of comparison, the rate of increase within the State, and the ratio they bear to other States. The aggregate value of the products of manufacture, exclusive of mining, in the last three censuses were; in 1850, $62,692,000; in 1860, $121,691,000; in 1870, $269,713,000. The ratio of increase was over 100 per cent in each t«n years, a rate far beyond that of the in- crease of population, and much beyond the ratio of increase in the whole country. In 1850, the man- ufactures of Ohio were one-sixteenth part of the aggregate in the country; in 1860, one-fifleenth rV '•^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 143. part; in 1870, one- twelfth part. In addition to this, wo find, from the returns of Cincinnati and Cleveland, that the value of the manufactured prod- ucts of Ohio in 1875, must have reached S400,- 000,000, and, by reference to the census tables, it will be seen that the ratio of increase exceeded that of the great manufacturing States of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Of all the States admitted into the Union prior to Ohio, Pennsylvania alone has kept pace in the progress of manufacture. Some little reference to the manufacture of leading articles may throw some light on the cause of this. In the production of agricultural machinery and implements, Ohio is the first State ; in animal and vegetable oils and in pig iron, the second; in cast iron and in tobacco, the third ; in salt, in machinery and in leather, the fourth. These facts show how largely the resources of coal, iron and agriculture have entered into the manufactures of the State. This great advance in the manufactures of Ohio, when we consider that this State is, relatively to its surface, the first agricultural State in the country, leads to the inevitable inference that its people are remarkably industrious. When, on forty thousand square miles of surface, three mill- ions of people raise one hundred and fifty million bushels of grain, and produce manufactures to the amount of $269,000,000 (which is fifty bushels of breadstuff to each man, woman and child, and $133 of manufacture), it will be difficult to find any community surpassing such results. It Ls a testimony, not only to the State of Ohio, but to the industry, sagacity and energy of the American people. Looking now to the commerce of the State, we have said there are six hundred miles of coast line, which embraces some of the principal internal ports of the Ohio and the lakes, such as Cincinnati, Cleve- land, Toledo and Portsmouth, but whose commerce is most wholly inland. Of course, no comparison can be made with the foreign commerce of the ocean ports. On the other hand, it is well known that the inland trade of the country far exceeds that of all its foreign commerce, and that the larg- est part of this interior trade is carried on its rivers and lakes. The materials for the vast con- sumption of the interior must be conveyed in its vessels, whether of sail or steam, adapted to these waters. Let us take, then, the ship-building, the navigation, and the exchange trades of Ohio, as elements in determining the position of this State in reference to the commerce of the country. At the ports of Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky and Cin- cinnati, there have been built one thousand sail and. steam vessels in the last twenty years, making an average of fifty each year. The number of sail, steam and all kinds of vessels in Ohio is eleven hundred and ninety, which is equal to the number in all the other States in the Ohio Valley and the Upper Mississippi. When we look to the navigable points to which these vessels are destined, we find them on all this vast coast line, which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Yellowstone, and from Duluth to the St. Lawrence. Looking again to see the extent of this vast in- terior trade which is handled by Ohio alone, we find that the imports and exports of the principal: articles of Cincinnati, amount in value to $500,- 000,000; and when we look at the great trade of Cleveland and Toledo, we shall find that the an- nual trade of Ohio exceeds $700,000,000. The- lines of railroad which connect with its ports, are more than four thousand miles in length, or rather, more than one mile in length to each ten square miles of surface. This great amount of railroads iS'. engaged not merely in transporting to the Atlantic and thence to Europe, the immense surplus grain, and meat in Ohio, but in carrying the largest part, of that greater surplus, which exists in the States west of Ohio, the granary of the West. Ohio. holds the gateway of every railroad north of the' Ohio, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, and hence it is that the great transit lines of the coun- try pass through Ohio. Let us now turn from the progress of the arts to the progress of ideas ; from material to intellect- ual development. It is said that a State consists of men, and history shows that no art or science, wealth or power, will compensate for the want, of moral or intellectual stability in the minds of a, nation. Hence, it is admitted that the strength, and perpetuity of our republic must consist in the intelligence and morality of the people. A re- public can last only when the people are enlight- ened. This was an axiom with the early legislators. of this country. Hence it was that when Vir- ginia, Connecticut and the original colonies ceded to the General Government that vast and then. un- known wilderness which lay west of the Allegha- nies, in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, they took care that its future inhabitants should be an educated people. The Constitution was not formed' when the celebrated ordinance of 1787 was passed That ordinance provided that, " Religion, mor- ality, and knowledge being necessary to good; ' ^ >- f" .^ 144 HISTORY OF OHIO. government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever en- couraged;" and by the ordinance of 1785 for the survey of public lands in the Northwestern Terri- tory, Section IG in each township, that is, one thirty-sixth part, was reserved for the maintenance of public schools in said townships. As the State of Ohio contained a little more than twenty-five millions of acres, this, together with two special grants of three townships to universities, amounted to the dedication of 74U,000 acres of land to (he maintenance of schools and colleges. It was a splendid endowment, but it was many years before it became available. It -was sixteen years after the passage of this ordinance (in 1803), when Ohio entered the Union, and legislation- upon this grant became possible. The Constitution of the State pursued the language of the ordinance, and de- clared that "schools and the means of education shall forever beoncouraged by legislative provision." The Governors of Ohio, in successive messages, urged attention to this subject upon the people; but the thinness of settlement, making it impossi- ble, except in few districts, to collect youth in suf- ficient numbers, and impossible to sell or lease lands to advantage, caused the delay of efficient school system for many years. In 182.5, however, a general law establishing a school system, and levy- ing a tax for its support, was passed. This was again eularged and increased by new legislation in 1836 and 1846. Prom that time to this, Ohio has had a broad, liberal and efficient sys- tem of public instruction. The taxation for schools, and the number enrolled in them at difl'crent pe- riods, will best show what has been done. In 1855 the total taxation for school purposes was $2,6.72,827. The proportion of youth of school- able age enrolled was 67 per cent. In 1874 the amount raised by taxation was §7,425,135. The number enrolled of schoolable age was 70 per cent, or 707,943. As the schoolable age extends to twenty-one years, and as there are very few youth in school after fifteen years of age, it follows that the 70 per cent of schoolable youths enrolled in the pub- lic schools must comprehend nearly the whole number between four and fifteen years. It is im- portant to observe this fact, because it has been inferred that, as the whole number of youth be- tween five and twenty-one have not been enrolled, therefore they are not educated. This is a mistake ; nearly all over fifteen years of age have been in the public schools, and all the native youth of the State, and all foreign born, young- enough, have had the benefit of the public schools. But in consequence of the largo number who have come from other States and from foreign countries, there are still a few who arc classed by the census statistics among the "illiterate;" the proportion of this class, however, is less in propor- tion than in twenty-eight other States, and less in proportion than in Connecticut and Massachusetts, two of the oldest States most noted for popular education. In fact, every youth in Ohio, under twenty-one years of age, may have the benefit of a public education ; and, since the system of gi'aded and high schools has been adopted, may obtain a common knowledge from the alphabet to the classics. The enumerated branches of study in the pub- lic schools of Ohio arc thirty-four, including mathematics and astronomy, French, German and the classics. Thus the State which was in the heart of the wilderness in 1776, and was not a State until the nineteenth century had begun, now presents to the world, not merely an unrivaled de- velopment of material prosperity, but an unsur- passed system of popular education. In what is called the higher education, in the colleges and universities, embracing the classics and sciences taught in regular classes, it is the pop- ular idea, and one which few dare to question, that we must look to the Eastern States for superiority and excellence ; but that also is becoming an as- sumption without proof; a proposition difficult to sustain. The facts in regard to the education of universities and colleges, their faculties, students and course of instruction, arc all set forth in the complete statistics of the Bureau of Education for 1874. They show that the State of Ohio had the largest number of such in.'-titutions; the largest number of instructors in their faculties, except one State, New York; and the largest number of stu- dents in regular college classes, in proportion to their population, except the two States of Connect- icut and JMassachusetts. Perhaps, if we look at the statistics of classical students in the colleges, disregarding preparatory and irregular courses, we shall get a more accurate idea of the progress of the higher education in those States which claim the best. In Ohio, 36 colleges, 258 teachers, 2,139 students, proportion, 1 in 124; in Penn- sylvania, 27 colleges, 239 teachers, 2,359 students, proportion, 1 in 150; in New York, 26 colleges, 343 teachers, 2,764 students, proportion, 1 in 176; in thcsix NewEngland States, 17 colleges, 252 teach- ers, 3,341 students, proportion, 1 in 105; in Illi- "V ^^ 1^ HISTOET OF OHIO. 145 nois, 24 colleges, 219 teachers, 1,701 students, proportion, 1 in 140. This shows there are more collegiate institutions in Ohio than in all New England ; a greater num- ber of college teachers, and only a little smaller ratio of students to the population ; a greater number of such students than either in New York or Pennsyl- vania, and, as a broad, general fact, Ohio has made more progress in education than either of the old States which formed the American Union. Such a fact is a higher testimony to the strength and the beneficent influence of the American (lovernment than any which the statistician or the historian can advance. Let us now turn to the moral aspects of the people of Ohio. No human society is found with- out its poor and dependent classes, whether made so by the defects of nature, by acts of Providence, or by the accidents of fortune. Since no society is exempt from these classes, it must be judged noi; so much by the fact of their existence, as by the manner in which it treats them. In the civil- ized nations of antiquity, such as Greece and Rome, hospitals, infirmaries, orphan homes, and asylums for the infirm, were unknown. These are the creations of Christianity, and that must be esteemed praoticallv the most Christian State which most practices this Christian beneficence. In Ohio, as in all the States of this country, and of all Christian countries, there is a large number of the infirm and dependent classes; but, although Ohio is the third State in population, she is only the fourteenth in the proportion of dependent classes. The more important point, however, was, how does she treat them ? Is there wanting any of all the varied institutions of benevolence? How does she compare with other States and countries in this respect? It is believed that no State or coun- try can present a larger proportion of all these institutions which the benevolence of the wise and good have suggested for the alleviation of suifer-- ing and misfortune, than the State of Ohio. With 3,500 of the insane within her borders, she has five gTcat lunatic asylums, capable of accommodat- ing them all. She has asylums for the deaf and dumb, the idiotic, and the blind. She has the best hospitals in the country. She has schools of reform and houses of refuge. She has " homes " for the boys and girls, to the number of 800, who are children of soldiers. She has penitentiaries and jails, orphan asylums and infirmaries. In every county there is an infirmary, and in every public institution, exce23t the penitentiary, there is a school. So that the State has used every human means to relieve the sufi'ering, to instruct tlic igno- rant, and to reform the criminal. There are in the State 80,000 who come under all the various forms of the infirm, the poor, the sick and the criminal, who, in a greater or less degTec, make the dependent class. For these the State has made every provision which humanity or justice or intelligence can require. A young State, de- veloped in the wilderness, she challenges, without any invidious comparison, both Europe and Amer- ica, to show her superior in the development of humanity manifested in the benefaction of public institutions. Intimately connected Vv-ith public morals and with charitable institutions, is the religion of a people. The people of the United States are a Christian people. The people of Ohio have man- ifested their zeal by the erection of churches, of Sunday schools, and of religious institutions. So far as these are outwardly manifested, they are made known by the social statistics of the census. The number of church organizations in the leading States were: In the State of Ohio, 0,488; in the State of New York, 5,627 : in the State of Pennsylvania, 5,984 ; in the State of Illinois, 4,298. It thus appears that Ohio had a larger number of churches than any State of the Union. The number of sittings, however, was not quite as large as those in New York and Pennsylvania. The denominations are of all the sects known in this country, about thirty in number, the majority of the whole being Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists. Long before the American Independ- ence, the JMoravians had settled on the Mahoning and Tuscarawas Rivers, but only to be destroyed ; and when the peace with Great Britain was made, not a vestige of Christianity remained on the soil of Ohio ; yet we see that within ninety years from that time the State of Ohio was, in the num- ber of its churches, the first of this great Union. In the beginning of this address, I said that Ohio was the oldest and first of these great States, carved out of the Northwestern Territory, and that it was in some things the greatest State of the American Union. I have now traced the physi- cal, commercial, intellectual and moral features of the State during the seventy-five years of its constitutional history. The i-esult is to establish fully the propositions with which I began. These facts have brought out : 1. That Ohio is, in reference to the square miles of its surface, the first State in agriculture r>c ^1 LA 146 HISTORY OF OHIO. of the Ann'iR'an Union ; this, too, notwithstand- ing it has 800,000 in cities and towns, and a large development of capital and products in manu- factures. 2. That Ohio has raised more grain per square mile than either France, Austiia, or Great Britain. They raised 1,450 bushels per square mile, and 10 bushels to each person. Ohio raised 3,750 bushels per square mile, and 50 bushels to each one of the population ; or, in other words, five times the proportion of grain raised in Europe. 3. Ohio was the first State of the Union in the production of flomestic animals, being far in advance of either New York, Pennsylvania or Illi- nois. The proportion of domestic animals to each person in Ohio was three and one-third, and in New York and Pennsylvania less than half that. The largest proportion of domestic animals pro- duced in Europe was in Great Britain and Russia, neither of which come near that of Ohio. 4. The coal-field of Ohio is vastly greater than that of Great Britain, and we need make no com- parison with other States in regard to coal or iron; for the 10,000 square miles of coal, and 4,000 square miles of iron in Ohio, are enough to supply the whole American continent for ages to come. 5. Neither need we compare the results of commerce and navigation, since, from the ports of Cleveland and Cincinnati, the vessels of Ohio touch on 42,000 miles of coast, and her 5,000 miles of railroad carry her products to every part of the American continent. G. Notwithstanding the immense proportion and products of agriculture in Ohio, yet she has more than kept pace with New York and Now England in the progress of manufactures during the last twenty years. Her coal and iron are pro- ducing their legitimate results in making her a great manufacturing State. 7. Ohio is the first State in the Union as to the proportion of youth attending school; and the States west of the AUeghanies and north of the Ohio have more youth in school, proportion ably, than New England and New York. The facts on this subject are so extraordinary that I may be excused for giving them a little in detail. The proportion of youth in Ohio attending school to the population, is 1 in 4.2; in Illinois, 1 in 4.3; in Pennsylvania, 1 in 4.8; in New York, 1 in 5.2 ; in Connecticut and Massachusetts, 1 in 8.7. These proportions show that it is in the West, and not in the East, that education is now advanc- ing; and it i.3 hero that we see the stimulus given by the ordinance of 1787, is working out its great and beneficent results. The land grant for educa- tion was a great one, but, at last, its chief effort was in stimulating popular education ; for the State of Ohio has taxed itself tens of millions of dollars beyond the utmost value of the land grant, to found and maintain a system of public education which the world has not surpassed. We have seen that above and beyond all this material and intellectual development, Ohio has provided a vast benefaction of asylums, hospitals, and infirmaries, and special schools for the support and instruction of the dependent classes. There is not within all her borders a single one of the deaf, dumb, and blind, of the poor, sick, and insane, not an orphan or a vagrant, who is not provided for by the broad and generous liberality of the State and her people. A charity which the classic ages knew nothing of, a beneficence which the splendid hierarchies and aristocracies of Europe cannot equal, has been exhibited in this young State, whose name was unknown one hundred years ago, whose people, from Europe to the Atlantic, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio, were, like Adam and Eve, cast out — " the loorld before them where to choose." Lastly, we see that, although the third in pop- ulation, and the seventeenth in admission to the Union, Ohio had, in 1870, 6,400 churches, the largest number in any one State, and numbering among them every form of Christian worship. The people, whose fields were rich with grain, whose mines were boundless in wealth, and whose commerce extended through thousands of miles of lakes and rivers, came here, as they came to New England's rock-bound coast — " With freedom to worship God." The church and the schoolhouse rose beside the green fields, and the morning bells rang forth to cheerful children going to school, and to a Chris- tian people going to the church of God. Let us now look at the possibilities of Ohio in the future development of the American Repub- lican Republic. The two most populous parts of Europe, because the most food-producing, ai-e the Netherlands and Italy, or, more precisely, Belgium and ancient Lombardy ; to the present time, their population is, in round numbers, three hundred to the square mile. The density of population in England proper is about the same. We may assume, therefore, that three hundred to the square V ■.iu HISTOEY or OHIO. 147 milo is, in round numbers, the limit of comfortable subsistence under modern civilization. It is true that modern improvements in agricultural machin- ery and fertilization have greatly increased the capacity of production, on a given amount of land, vfith a given amount of labor. It is true, also, that the old countries of Europe do not possess an equal amount of arable land with Ohio in proportion to the same surface. It would seem, therefore, that the density of population in Ohio might exceed that of any part of Europe. On the other hand, it may be said with truth that the American people will not become so dense as in Europe while they have new lands in the West to occupy. This is true ; but lands such as those in the valley of the Ohio are now becoming scarce in the West, and we think that, with her great capacity for the production of grain on one hand, and of illimitp.ble quantities of coal and iron to manufacture with on the other, that Ohio will, at no remote period, reach nearly the density of Belgium, which will give her 10,000,000 of people. This seems extravagant, but the tide of migration, which flowed so fast to the West, is beginning to ebb, while the manufactures of the interior offer greater inducements. With population comes wealth, the material for education, the development of the arts, ad\'anoe in all the material elements of civilization, and the still grander advancements in the strength and elevation of the human mind, conquering to itself new realms of material and intellectual power, acquiring in the future vrhat we have seen in the past, a wealth of resources unknown and undreamed of when, a hundred years ago, the fathers of the republic declared their independence. I know how easy it is to treat this statement with easy incredulity, but statistics is a certain science ; the elements of civilization are now measured, and we know the progress of the human race as we know that of a cultivated plant. Wc know the resources of the country, its food-producing capacity, its art processes, its power of education, and the unde- fined and illimitable power of the human mind for new inventions and unimagined progress. With this knowledge, it is not difficult nor unsafe to say that the future will produce more, and in a far greater ratio, than the past. The pictured scenes of the prophets have already been more than ful- filled, and the visions of beauty and glory, which their imagination failed fully to describe, will be more than realized in the bloom of that garden which republican America will present to the eyes of astonished mankind. Long before another century shall have passed by, the single State of Ohio will present fourfold the population with which the thirteen States began their independence, more wealth than the entire Union now has ; greater universities than any now in the country, and a development of arts and manufacture which the world now knows nothing of. You have seen more than that since the Constitution was adopted, and what right have you to say the future shall not equal the past ? I have aimed, in this address, to give an exact picture of what Ohio is, not more for the sake of Ohio than as a representation of the products which the American Republic has given to the world. A State which began long after the Declaration of Independence, in the then unknown wilderness of North America, presents to-day the fairest example of what a republican govern- ment with Christian civilization can do. Look upon this picture and upon those of Assyria, of Greece or Rome, or of Europe in her best estate, and say where is the civilization of the earth which can equal this. If a Roman citizen could say with pride, " Civis Romanus sum," with far greater pride can you say this day, "I am an American citizen." ® r- i ^ ^6 lA 148 HISTORY OF OHIO. CHAPTER XIV. EDUCATION* — EARLY SCHOOL LAWS — NOTES — INSTITUTES AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS- SCHOOL SYSTEM — SCHOOL FUNDS- COLLEGES A.ND UNIVERSITIES. WHEN the survey of the Northwest Terri- tory was ordered by Congress, March 20, 1785, it was decreed that every sixteenth section of land should be reserved for the "maintenance of public schools within each township." The ordinance of 1787 — thanks to the New England Associates — proclaimed that, " religion, morality and knowledge being essential to good government, schools and the means of education should forever be encouraged." The State Constitution of 1802 declared that " schools and the means of instruc- tion should be encouraged by legislative provision, not inconsistent with the rights of conscience." In 1825, through the persevering efforts of Nathan Guilford, Senator from Hamilton County, Ephraim Cutler, Representative from Washington County, and other friends of education, a bill was passed, " laying the foundation for a general system of common schools." This bill provided a tax of one- half mill, to be levied by the County Commis- sioners for school purposes ; provided for school examiners, and made Township Clerks and County Auditors school oiEcers. In 1829, this county tax was raised to three-fourths of a mill ; in 183-i to one mill, and, in 1836, to one and a half mills. In March, 1837, Samuel Lewis, of Hamilton County,was appointed State Superintendent of Com- mon Schools. He was a very energetic worker, trav- eling on horseback all over the State, delivering ad- dresses and encouraging school officers and teachers. Through his efforts much good was done, and * From tlie School Commissioners' Eeporls, priocipally those of Thomas W. [I.irvi-y, A. M. Note I. — rhe fii-stsciiool tauRht in Ohio, or in the Northwestern Territory, was in ITiM. The first tejiclicr wnq JMaj Au^tin Tiiyipfr, pldestson of Gen, Benjiniin Tapper, bi'th RevonUio'iary oPR'ers. Tlie room occupied was thn same iis thit in which the first Court was lield, and was Hituated in tlie nortliwpst block-tnniseol thf^rarrison, called the stockade, at ftlarietta. Dnrinf; the Indian -war school was also tauj2:ht at Fort Harrn;ir. Point Marietta, and at fither set- tlements. A meeting was held in Mai iettt, Ajiril 29, 171)7, to con- sider the erection of a school laiildinp snitable tor tlie instruction ot the yonth, and for rondiictinff reh'gious services. Resolutions were adopted which led to thn erecnon of a bnildinc; called the Mnskingiini Academy. The building was of frame, forty feet long and twenty-four feet wide, and is yeHl^78)staniling, Ihubnilding wastwidve f--et high, with an arched ceiling It stoodupnn astone fonnilation, three steps from the ground. There were two chimneys and a lobb,y projection. There was a cellar under the whole build- ing. It stood upon a beanli'ul lot, fr mting the Mn.^kingum River, and about sixty led back fioni the street. Some largo trees were many important features engrafted on the school system. He resigned in 1839, when the office was abolished, and its duties imposed on the Secretary of State. The most important adjunct in early education in the State was the college of teachers organized in Cincinnati in 1831 . Albert Pickett, Dr. Joseph Eay, William H. McGuffey — so largely known by his Readers — and Milo G. Williams, were at its head. Leading men in all parts of the West at- tended its meetings. Their publisiied deliberations did much for ihe advancement of education among the people. Through the efforts of the college, the first convention held in Ohio for educational purposes was called at Columbus, January 13, 1836. Two years after, in December, the first convention in which the different sections of the State were represented, was held. At both these conventions, all the needs of the schools, both com- mon and higher, were ably and fully discussed, and appeals made to the people for a more cordial support of the law. No successful attempts were made to organize a permanent educational society until December, 1847, when the Ohio State Teach- ers' Association was formed at Akron, Summit County, with Samuel Galloway as President; T. W. Harvey. Recording Secretary; BI. D. Leggett, Corresponding Secretary; William Bowen, Treas- urer, andM. F. Cowdrey, Chairman of the Executive Committee. This Association entered upon its work with commendable earnestness, and has since upon the lot and on the street in front. Across the street was an open commoo, and beyond that the river. Immediately o[iposite the door, on entering, was a broad ai«le, and, at the end o!" the aisle, against the wall, was a desk or pulpit. On the right and left of the pnlpit, against thi- wall, and fronti'ig the pnlpit, was a row of slips. On each sideof the door, f icing the pnlpit, were tw-i slips, and, at each end of the riiom, one slip, Tiiese slipa werehtationary, and were fitted with deskn that could be let down, and there were boxes in the desks for holding books and papers In the center of the room was an open space, which could be filled with movable seats. The fii3t scliool was opened here in 18U0." — Letter of A. T. Ni/e. Note 2 — Another evidence of the character of th" New England Associates is th^ founding of a public library as early as 1796, or before Another was al^o established at Bel[irti about the same time. Abundant evidence proves Ihe existenre of these libraiies, all tend- ing to the f ict that the early settlers, though conquering a wilder- ni Bs and a savage foe, would not allow their mentnl faculties to hick for food. The character of the books shows that *'Bjlid'* reading predominated. >v ^1 HISTORY OF OHIO. 149 never abated its zeal. Semi-annual meetings were at first held, but, since 185S, only annual meetings occur. They are always largely attended, and al- ways by the best and most energetic teachers. The Assoeiation has given tone to the educational interests of the State, and has done a vast amount of good in popularizing education. In the spring of 1851, Lorin Andrews, then Superintendent of the Massiilon school, resigned his place, and be- came a common-school missionary. In July, the Association, at Cleveland, made him its agent, and instituted measures to sustain him. He remained z3alously at work in this relation until 1853, when he resigned to accept the presidency of Kenyon College, at Gambler. Dr. A. Lord was then chosen general agent and resident editor of the Journal of Education, which positions he filled two years, with eminent ability. The year that I>r. Lord resigned, the ex officio relation of the Secretary of State to the common schools was abolished, and the office of school com- missioner again created. H. H. Barney was elected to the place in October, 1853. The office has since been held by Rev. Anson Smyth, elected in 1856, and re-elected in 1851) ; E. E. White, appointed by the Governor, November 11, 1863, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of C. W. H. Cathcart, who was elected in 1862; John A. Norris, in 1865; W. D. Henkle, in 18G8; Thomas W. Harvey, in 1871; C. S. Smart, in 1875, and the present incumbent, J. J. Burns, elected in 1878, his term expiring in 1881. The first teachers' institute in Northern Ohio was held at Sandusky, in September, 1845, con- ducted by Salem Town, of New York, A. D. Lord and M. F. Cowdrey. The second was held at Char- don, (leauga Co., in November of the same year. The first institute in the southern part of the State was held at Cincinnati, in February, 1837; the first in the central part at Newark, in March, 1843. Since then these meetings of teachers have occurred annually, and have been the means of great good in elevating the teacher and the public in educational interests. In 1848, on petition of forty teachers, county commissioners were author- ized to pay lecturers from surplus revenue, and the next year, to appropriate $100 for institute pur- poses, upon pledge of teachers to raise half that amount. By the statutes of 1864, applicants for teachers were required to pay 50 cents each as an examination fee. One-third of the amount thus raised was allowed the use of examiners as trav- eling expenses, the remainder to be applied to in- stitute iiistniclion. For the year 1871, sixty-eight teachers' institutes were held in the State, at which 308 instructors and lecturers were employed, and 7,158 teachers in attendance. The expense incurred was $16,361.99, of which $10,127.13 was taken from the institute fund; $2,730.34, was contrib- uted by members; $680, by county commis- sioners, and the balance ,371.50, was ob- tained from other sources. The last report of the State Commissioners — 1878 — shov/s that eighty- five county institutes were held in the State, con- tinuing in session 748 days; 416 instructors were emplo3fed; 11,460 teachers attended; $22,531.47 were received from all sources, and that the ex- penses were $10,587.51, or $1.71 per member. There was a balance on hand of $9,460.74 to com- mence the next year, just now closed, whose work has been as progressive and thorough as any former year. The State Association now comprises three sections; the general association, the superintend- ents' section and the ungraded school section. All have done a good work, and all report progress. The old State Constitution, adopted by a con- vention in 1802, was supplemented in 1851 by the present one, under which the General Assem- bly, elected under it, met in 1852. Harvey Rice, a Senator from Cuyahoga County, Chairman of Senate Committee on " Common Schools and School Lands," reported a bill the 29th of March, to provide "for the re-organization, supervision and maintenance of common schools." This bill, amended in a few particnlars, became a law March 14, 1853. The prominent features of the new law were : The substitution of a State school tax for the county tax ; creation of the office of the State School Commissioner; the creation of a Township Board of Education, consisting of repre- sentatives from the subdistricts ; the abolition of rate-bills, making education free to all the youth of the State; the raising of a fund, by a tax of one- tenth of a mill yearlv, " for the purpose of fur- nishing school libraries and apparatus to all the common schools." This "library tax" was abol- ished in 1860, otherwise the law has remained practically unchanged. School journals, like the popular press, have been a potent agency in the educational history of the State. As early as 1838, the Ohio School Director was issued by Satnuel Lewis, by legisla- tive authority, though after six months' continu- ance, it ceassd for want of support. The same year (he Fefitalozzian, by E. L. Sawtell and 11. K. Smith, of Akron, and the Common School i^ 150 HISTORY OF OHIO. Advocate, of Cincinnati, were issued. In iS4G, tlio School Journal began to be published by A. D. Lord, of Kirtland. The same year saw the Free School Clurion, by W. Bowen, of Massillon, and the School Friend, by W. B. Smith & Co., of Cincinnati. The next year, W. H. Moore & Co., of Cincinnati, started the Weatern School Journal. In 1851, the Oluo Teacher, by Thomas Rainey, appeared; the News and Fdu- cator, in 1863, and the Educatioual TimcK, in 1866. In 1850, Dr. Lord's Journal of Educa- tion was united with the School Friend, and became the recognized organ of the teachers in Ohio. The Doctor remained its principal editor until 1856, when he was succeeded by Anson Smyth, who edited the journal one year. In 1857. it was edited by John D. Caldwell ; in 1858 and and 1859,by W. T. Coggeshall; in 1860, by Anson Smyth again, when it passed into the hands of E. E. White, who yet controls it. It has an immense circulation among Ohio teachers, and, though competed by other journals, since started, it maintains its place. The school system of the State may be briefly explained as follows: Cities and incorporated vil- lages are independent of township and county con- trol, in the management of schools, having boards of education and examiners of their own. Some of them are organized for school purposes, under special acts. Each township has a board of edu- cation, composed of one member from each sub- district. The township clerk in clerk of this board, but has no vote. Each subdistrict has a local board of trustees, which manages its school affairs, subject to the advice and control of the township board. These officers are elected on the first Monday in April, and hold their oflices three years. An enumeration of all the youth between the ages of five and twenty-one is made yearly. All public schools are required to be in session at least twenty-four weeks each year. The township clerk reports annually such facts concerning school affairs as the law requires, to the county auditor, who in turn reports to the State Commissioner, who collects these reports in a general report to the Legislature each year. A board of examiners is appointed in each county by the Probate Judge. This board has power to grant cenificates for a term not exceed- ing two years, and good only in the county in which they are executed ; they may be revoked on sufficient cause. In 1864, a State Board of Examiners was created, with power to issue life cer- tificates, valid in all parts of the State. Since then, up to January 1, 1879, there have been l88 of these issued. They are considered an excellent test of scholarship and ability, and are very credit- able to the holder. The school funds, in 1865, amounted to $3,271,- 275.66. They were the proceeds of appropriations of land by Congress for school purposes, upon which the State pays an annual interest of 6 per cent. The funds are known as the Virginia Mili- tary School Fund, the proceeds of eighteen quar- ter-townships and three sections of land, selected by lot from lands lying in the United States Military Reserve, appropriated for the use of schools in the Virginia Military Reservation; the United States Military School Eund, the proceeds of one thirty-sixth part of the land in the United States Military District, appropriated "for the use of schools within the same;" the Western Reserve School Fund, the proceeds from fourteen quarter- townships, situated in the United States Military District, and 37,758 acres, most of which was lo- cated in Defiance, Wilhams, Paulding, Van Wert and Putnam Counties, appropriated for the use of the schools in the Western Reserve; Section 16, the proceeds from the sixteenth section of each township in that part of the State in which the Indian title was not extinguished in 1803; the Moravian School Fund, the proceeds from one thirty-sixth part of each of three tracts of 4,000 acres situated in Tuscarawas County, orig- inally granted by Congress to the Society of United Brethren, and reconveyed by this Society to the United States in 1824. The income of these funds is not distributed by any uniform rule, owing to defects in the granting of the funds. The territo- rial divisions designated receive the income in proportion to the whole number of youth therein, while in the remainder of the State, the rent of Section 16, or the interest on the proceeds arising from its sale, is paid to the inhabitants of the originally surveyed townships. In these terri- torial divisions, an increase or decrease of popula- tion must necessarily increase or diminish the amount each youth is entitled to receive; and the fortunate location or judicious sale of the sixteenth section may entitle one township to receive a large sum, while an adjacent township receives a mere pittance. This inequality of benefit may be good for localities, but it is certainly a detriment to the State at large. There seems to be no legal remedy for it. In addition to the income from the before- mentioned funds, a variable revenue is received i^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 151 from certain fines and licenses paid to either county or township treasurers for the use of schools; from the sale of swamp lands ($25,720.07 allotted to the State in 1850), and from personal property escheated to the State. Aside from the funds, a State school tax is fixed by statute. Local taxes vary with the needs of localities, are limited by law, and are contingent on the liberality and public spirit of different com- munities. The State contains more tlian twenty colleges and universities, more than the same number of female seminaries, and about thirty normal schools and academies. The amount of property invested in these is more than $6,000,000. The Ohio University is the oldest college in the State. In addition to the regular colleges, the State controls the Ohio State University, formerly the Agricultural and Mechanical College, established from the proceeds of the land scrip voted by Con- gress to Ohio for such purposes. The amount realized from the sale was nearly $500,000. This is to constitute a permanent fund, the interest only to be used. In addition, the sum of $300,000 was voted by the citizens of Franklin County, in consideration of the location of the college in that county. Of this sum $111,000 was paid for three hundred and fifteen acres of land near the city of Columbus, and $112,000 for a college building, the balance being expended as circumstances re- quired, for additional buildings, laboratory, appa- ratus, etc. Thorough instruction is given in all branches relating to agriculture and the mechanical arts. Already excellent results are attained. By the provisions of the act of March 14, 1853, township boards are made bodies politic and cor- porate in law, and are invested with the title, care and custody of all school property belonging to the school district or township. They have control of the central or high schools of their townships ; prescribe rules for the district schools ; may appoint one of their number manager of the schools of the township, and allow him reasonable pay for his services ; determine the text-books to be used ; fix the boundaries of districts and locate schoolhouse sites ; make estimates of the amount of money re- quired ; apportion the money among the districts, and are required to make an annual report to the County Auditor, who incorporates the same in his report to the State Commissioner, by whom it reaches the Legislature. Local directors control the subdistricts. They enumerate the children of school age, employ and dismiss teachers, make contracts for building and furnishing schoolhouses, and make all necessary provision for the convenience of the district schools. Practically, the entire management rests with them. CHAPTER XV. AGRICULTUEE— AREA OF THE STATE— EARLY AGRICULTURE IN THE WEST— MARKETS— LIVE STOCK — NURSERIES, FRUITS, ETC. —CEREALS — ROOT AND CUCURBITACEOUS CROPS— AGRICULTURAL IJIPLEMENTS— AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES— POMOLOGICAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. " Oft did the harvest to their sickles yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ; How jocund did they drive their teams afield ! How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke." THE majority of the readers of these pages are farmers, hence a resume of agriculture in the State, would not only be appropriate, but valuable as a matter of history. It is the true basis of national prosperity, and, therefore, justly occupies a foremost place. In the year 1800, the Territory of Ohio con- tained a population of 45,305 inhabitants, or a little more than one person to the square mile. At this date, the admission of the Territory into the Union as a State began to be agitated. When the census was made to ascertain the legality of the act, in conformity to the "Compact of 1787," no endeavor was made to asceitain additional statis- tics, as now ; hence, the cultivated land was not returned, and no account remains to tell how much existed. In 1805, three years after the ad- mission of the State into the Union, 7,252,856 acres had been purchased from the General Gov- ernment. Still no returns of the cultivated lands were made. In 1810, the population of Ohio was 230,760, and the land purchased from the Gov- ^ Nj :l. 153 HISTORY OF OHIO. ernment amounted to 9,933,150 acres, of wliieli amount, however, 3,569,314 acres, or more than one-third, was held by non-residents. Of the lands occupied by resident land-owners, there appear to have been 100,968 acres of first-rate, 1,929,600 of second, and 1,538,745 acres of third rate lands. At this period there were very few exports from the farm, loom or shop. The people still needed all they produced to sustain themselves, and were yet in that pioneer period where they were obliged to produce all they wanted, and yet were opening n L'W farms, and bringing the old ones to a productive state. Kentucky, and the country on the Monongahela, lying along the western slopes of the Alleghany Mountains, having been much longer settled, had begun, as early as 1795, to send considerable quan- tities of flour, whisky, bacon and tobacco to the lower towns on the Mississippi, at that time in the possession of the Spaniards. At the French set- tlements on the Illinois, and at Detroit, were being raised much more than could be used, and these were exporting also large quantities of these materials, as well as peltries and such commodities as their nomadic lives furnished. As the Missis- sippi was the natural outlet of the West, any at- tempt to impede its free navigation by the various powers at times controlling its outlet, would lead at once to violent outbreaks among the Western settlers, some of whom were aided by unscrupulous persons, who thought to form an independent Western country. Providence seems to have had a watchful eye over all these events, and to have •so guided them that the attempts with such objects in view, invariably ended in disgrace to their per- petrators. This outlet to the West was thought to be the only one that Ciiuld carry their produce to market, for none of the Westerners then dreamed of the immense system of railways now covering that part of the Union. As soon as ship-building commenced at Marietta, in the year 1800, the farmers along the borders of the Ohio and Musk- ingum llivers turned their attention to the culti- vation of hemp, in addition to I heir other crops. In a few years sufficient was raised, not only to furnish cordage to the ships in the West, but large quan- tities were worked up in the ^-arious rope-walks and sent to the Atlantic cities. Iron had been discovered, and forges on the Juniata were busy- converting that necessary and valued material into implements of industry. By the year 1805, two ships, seven brigs and three schooners had been built and rigged by the citizens of Marietta. Their construction gave a fresh impetus to agriculture, as by means of them the surplus products could be carried away to a foreign market, where, if it did not bring money, it could be exchanged for merchandise equally valuable. Captain David DevoU was one of the earliest of Ohio's shipwrights. He settled on the ferdle Muskingum bottom, about five miles above Marietta, soon afcer the Indian war. Here he built a "floating mill," for making flour, and, in 1801, a ship of two hundred and fifty tons, called the Muskingum, and the brig Eliza Greene, of one hundred and fifty tons. In 1804, he built a schooner on his own account, and in the spring of the next year, it was finished and loaded for a voyage down the Jlississippi. It was small, only of seventy tons burden, of a light draft, and intended to run on the lakes east of New Orleans. In shape and model, it fully sustained its name. Nonpa- reil. Its complement of sails, small at first, was completed when it arrived in New Orleans. It had a large cabin to accommodate passengers, was well and finely painted, and sat gracefully on the water. Its load was of assorted articles, and shows very well the nature of exports of the day. It con- sisted of two hundred barrels of flour, fifty barrels of kiln-dried corn meal, four thousand pounds of cheese, six thousand of bacon, one hundred sets of rum puncheon shocks, and a few grindstones. The flour and meal were made at Captain Devoll's floating mill, and the cheese made in Belpre, at that date one of Ohio's most flourishing agricultural dis- tricts. The Captain and others carried on boating as well as the circumstances of the days permitted, fear- ing only the hostility of the Indians, and the duty the Spaniards were liable to levy on boats going down to New Orleans, even if they did not take it into their erratic heads to stop the entire navi- gation of the great river by vessels other than their own. By such means, merchandise was car- ried on almost entirely until the construction of canals, and even then, until modern times, the flat-boat was the main-stay of the shipper inhabit- ing the country adjoining the upper Ohio and Mississippi llivers. Commonly, very little stock was kept beyond what was necessary for the use of the family and to perform the labor on the farm. The Scioto Valley was perhaps the only exception in Ohio to thisgeneral condition. Horses were brought by the emigTants from the East and were characteristic of that region. In the French settlements in Illi- nois and about Detroit, French ponies, marvels of ■4v HISTORY OF OHIO. 155 endurance, were chiefly used. They were impractic- able in hauling the immense emigrant wagons over the mountains, and hence were comparatively unknown in Ohio. Until 1828, draft horses were chiefly used here, the best strains being brought by the "Tunkers," "Mennonites," and " Ormish," — three religious sects, whose members were invariably agriculturists. In Stark, Wayne, Holmes, and Richland Counties, as a general thing, they congregated in communities, where the neat- ness of their farms, the excellent condition of their stock, and the primitive simplicity of their manners, made them conspicuous. In 1828, the French began to settle in Stark County, where they introduced the stock of horses known as " Selim," "Florizel," "Post Boy" and "Timolen." These, crossed upon the descents of the Norman and Conestoga, produced an excellent stock of farm horses, now largely used. In the Western Reserve, blooded horses were in- troduced as early as 1825. John I. Van Meter brought fine horses into the Scioto Valley in 1815, or thereabouts. Soon after, fine horses were brought to Steubenville from Virginia and Penn- sylvania. In Northern Ohio the stock was more miscellaneous, until the introduction of improved breeds from 1815 to 1835. By the latter date the strains of horses had greatly improved. The same could be said of other pai'ts of the State. Until after 1825, only farm and road horses were required. That year a race-course — the first in the State — was established in Cincinnati, shortly followed by others at Chillicothe, Dayton and Ham- ilton. From that date the race-horse steadily im- proved. Until 1838, however, all race-courses were rather irregular, and, of those named, it is difficult to determine which one has priority of date over the others. To Cincinnati, the prece- dence is, however, generally given. In 1838, the Buckeye Course was established in Cincinnati, and before a year had elapsed, it is stated, there were fifteen regular race-courses in Ohio. The eifect of these courses was to greatly stimulate the stock of racers, and rather detract from draft and road horses. The organization of companies to import blooded horses has again revived the interest in this class, and now, at annual stock sales, these strains of horses are eagerly sought after by those having occasion to use them. Cattle were brought over the mountains, and, for several years, were kept entirely for domestic uses. By 1805, the country had so far settled that the surplus stock was fattened on corn and fodder, and a drove was driven to Baltimore. The drove was owned by George Renick, of Chillicothe, and the feat was looked upon as one of great im- portance. The drove arrived in Baltimore in ex- cellent condition. The impetus given by this - movement of Mr. Renick stimulated greatly the feeding of cattle, and led to the improvement of the breed, heretofore only of an ordinary kind. Until the advent of railroads and the shipment of cattle thereon, the number of cattle driven to eastern markets from Ohio alone, was estimated at over fifteen thousand annually, whose value was placed at $600,000. Besides this, large numbers were driven from Indiana and Illinois, whose boundless prairies gave free scope to the herding of cattle. Improved breeds, "Short Horns," "Long Horns" and others, were introduced iato Ohio as early as 1810 and 1815. Since then the stock has been gradually improved and acclimated, until now Ohio produces as fine cattle as any State in the Union. In some localities, especially in the Western Reserve, cheesemaking and dairy interests are the chief occupations of whole neighborhoods, where may be found men who have grown wealthy in this business. Sheep were kept by almost every family, in pio- neer times, in order to be supplied with wool for clothing. The wool was carded by hand, spun in the cabin, and frequently dyed and woven as well as shaped into garments there, too. All emigrants brought the best household and farming imple- ments their limited means would allow, so also did they bring the best strains of horses, cattle and sheep they could obtain. About the year 1809, ]\Ir. Thomas Rotoh, u, Quaker, emigrated to Stark County, and brought with him a small flock of Merino sheep. They were good, and a part of them were from the original flock brought over from Spain, in 1801, by Col. Humphrey, United States ^linister to that country. He had brought 20(1 of these sheep, and hoped, in time, to see every part of the United States stocked with Me- rinos. In this he partially succeeded only, owing to the prejudice against them. In 1816, Messrs. Wells & Dickenson, who were, for the day, exten- si^'e woolen manufacturers in Steubenville, drove their fine flocks out on the Stark County Plains for the summer, and brought them back for the winter. This course was pursued for several years, until farms were prepared, when they were per- manently kept in Stark County. This flock was originally derived from the Humphrey importation. The failure of Wells & Dickenson, in 1824, placed ^1 .^ ¥~ 156 HISTOKY OF OHIO. a good portion of this flock in the hands of Adam Hildebrand, and became the basis of his celebrated flock. Mr. T. S. Humrickhouse, of Coshocton, in a communication regarding sheep, writes as fol- lows: " The first merinos brought to Ohio were doubt- less by Seth Adams, of Zanesville. They were Humphrey's Merinos — undoubtedly the best ever imported into the United States, by whatever name called. He kept them part of the time in Washington, and afterward in M uslcingum County. He had a sort of partnership agency from Gen. Humphrey for keeping and selling them. They were scattered, and, had they been taken care of and appreciated, would have laid a better found- ation of flocks in Ohio than any sheep brought into it from that time till 1852. The precise date at which Adams brought them cannot now be as- certained; but it was prior to 1813, perhaps as early as 1804." "The first Southdowns," continues Mr. Hum- rickhouse," " New Leicester, Lincolnshire and Cots- wold sheep I ever saw, were brought into Coshocton County from England by Isaac Maynard, nephew of the famous Sir John, in 1834. There were about ten Southdowns and a trio of each of the other kinds. He was offered $500 for his Lin- colnshire ram, in Buffalo, as he passed through, but refused. He was selfish, and unwilling to put them into other hands when he went on a farm, all in the woods, and, in about three years, most of them had perished." The raising and improvement of sheep has kept steady tread with the growth of the State, and now Ohio wool is known the world over. In quan- tity it is equal to any State in America, while its quality is unecjualed. The first stock of hogs brought to Ohio were rather poor, scrawny creatures, and, in a short time, when left to themselves to pick a livelihood from the beech mast and other nuts in the woods, degenerated into a wild condition, almost akin to their originators. As the country settled, however, they were gathered from their lairs, and, by feed- ing them corn, the farmers soon brought them out of their semi-barbarous state. Improved breeds were introduced. The laws for their protection and guarding were made, and now the hog of to- day shows what improvement and civilization can do for any wild animal. The chief city of the State has become famous as a slaughtering place; her bacon and sides being known in all the civil- ized world. Other domestic animals, mules, asses, etc., have been brought to the State as occasion required. Wherever their use has been demanded, they have been obtained, until the State has her complement of all animals her citizens can use in their daily labors. Most of the early emigrants brought with them young fruit trees or grafts of some favorite variety from the " old homestead." Hence, on the West- ern Reserve are to be foimd chiefly — especially in old orchards — New England varieties, while, in the localities immediately south of the Reserve, Penn- sylvania and Maryland varieties predominate ; but at Marietta, New England fruits are again found, as well as throughout Southeastern Ohio. One of the oldest of these orchards was on a Mr. Dana's farm, near Cincinnati, on the Ohio River bank. It consisted of five acres, in which apple seeds and seedlings were planted as early as 1790. Part of the old orchard is yet to be seen, though the trees are almost past their usefulness. Peaches, pears, cherries and apples were planted by all the pioneers in their gardens. As soon as the seed produced seedlings, these were transplanted to some hillside, and the orchard, in a few years, was a productive unit in the life of the settler. The first fruit brought, was, like everything else of the pioneers, rather inferior, and admitted of much cultivation. Soon steps were taken by the more enterprising settlers to obtain better varieties. Israel Putnam, as early as 1796, returned to the East, partly to get scions of the choicest apples, and, partly, on other business. He obtained quite a quantity of choice apples, of some forty or fifty varieties, and set them out. A portion of them were distrib- uted to the settlers who had trees, to ingraft. From these old grafts ^re yet to be traced some of the best orchards in Ohio, Israel Putnam was one of the most prominent men in early Ohio days. He was always active in promoting the interests of the settlers. Among his earliest efforts, that of improving the fruit may well be mentioned. He and his brother, Aaron W. Putnam, living at Bel- pre, opposite Blennerhasset's Island, began the nursery biisiness soon after their arrival in the West. The apples brought by them from their Connecticut home were used to commence the busi- ness. These, and the apples obtained from trees planted in their gardens, gave them a beginning. They were the only two men in Ohio engaged in the business till 1817. In early times, in the central part of Ohio, there existed a curious character known as "Johnny \ « lii^ HISTOEY OF OHIO. 157 Appleseed." His real name was John Chapman. He received liis name from his habit of planting, along all the streams in that part of the State, apple-seeds from which sprang many of the old orchards. He did this as a religious duty, think- ing it to be his especial mission. He had, it is said, been disappointed in his youth in a love affair, and came West about 1800, and ever afler followed his singular life. He was extensively known, was quite harmless, very patient, and did, without doubt, much good. He died in 1847, at the house of a Mr. Worth, near Fort Wayne, Indiana, who had long known him, and often befriended him. He was a ministor in the Swed- enborgian Church, and, in his own way, a zealous worker. The settlers of the Western Reserve, coming from New England, chiefly from Connecticut, brought all varieties of fruit known in their old homes. These, whether seeds or grafts, were planted in gardens, and as soon as an orchard could be cleared on some favorable hillside, the young trees were transplanted there, and in time an orchard was the result. Much confusion regarding the kinds of fruits thus produced arose, partly from the fact that the trees grown from seeds did not always prove to be of the same qual- ity as the seeds. Climate, soO and surroundings often change the character of such fruits. Many new varieties, unknown to the growers, were the result. The fruit thus produced was often of an inferior growth, and when grafts were brought from the old New England home and grafted into the Ohio trees, an improvement as well as the old home fruit was the result. After the orchards in the Reserve began to bear,' the fruit was very often taken to the Ohio River for shipment, and thence found its way to the South- ern and Eastern seaboard cities. Among the individuals prominent in introducing fruits into the State, were Mr. Dille, of Euclid, Judge Fuller, Judge Whittlesey, and Jlr. Lindley. George Hoadly was also very prominent and ener- getic in the matter, and was, perhaps, the first to introduce the pear to any extent. He was one of the most persistent and enthusiastic amateurs in horticulture and pomology in the AVest. About the year 1810, Dr. Jared Kirtland, father of Prof J. P. Kirtland, so favorably known among horticulturists and pomologists, came from Connecticut and settled in Poland, Mahoning County, with his family. This family has done more than any other in the State, perhaps, to advance fruit culture. About the year 1824, Prof J. P. Kirtland, in connection with his brother, established a nursery at Poland, then in Trumbull County, and brought on from New England above a hundred of their best varieties of apples, cherries, peaches, pears, and smaller fi'uits, and a year or two after brought from New Jersey a hundred of the best varieties of that State ; others were ob- tained in New York, so that they possessed the larg- est and most varied stock in the Western country. These two men gave a great impetus to fruit cult- ure in the West, and did more than any others of that day to introduce improved Ivinds of all fruits in that part of the United States. Another prominent man in this branch of uidus- try was Mr. Andrew H. Ernst, of Cincinnati. Although not so eai'ly a settler as the Kirtlands, he was, like them, an ardent student and propa- gator of fine fi'uits. He introduced more than six hundred varieties of apples and seven hun- dred of pears, both native and foreign. His object was to test by actual experience the most valuable sorts for the diversified soil and climate of the Western country. The name of Nicholas Longworth, also of Cin- cinnati, is one of the most extensively known of any in the science of horticulture and pomology. For more than fifty years he made these his especial delight. Having a large tract of land in the lower part of Cincinnati, he established nurseries, and planted and disseminated every variety of fruits that could be found in the United States — East or West — making occasional importations from European countries of such varieties as were thought to be adapted to the Western climate. His success has been variable, governed by the season, and in a measure by his numerous experi- ments. His vineyards, cultivated by tenants, gen- erally Germans, on the European plan, during the latter years of his experience paid him a hand- some revenue. He introduced the famous Catawba grape, the standard grape of the AVest. It is stated that Blr. Longworth bears the same relation to vineyard culture that Fulton did to steam navi- gation. Others made earlier effort, but he was the first to establish it on a permanent basis. He has also been eminently successful in the cultivation of the strawberry, and was the first to firmly establish it on 'Western soil. He also brought the Ohio Ever- bearing Raspberry into notice in the State, and widely disseminated it throughout the country. Other smaller fruits ivere brought out to the West like those mentioned. In some cases fruits r^ D^ 158 HISTORY OF OHIO. indigenous to the soil were cultivated and improved, and as improved fruits, are known favorably where- ever used. In chronology and importance, of all the cereals, corn stands foremost. During the early pioneer period, it was the staple article of food for both man and beast. It could be made into a variety of forms of food, and as such was not only palata- ble but highly nutritious and strengthening. It is very difficult to determine whether corn originated in America or in the Old World. Blany prominent botanists assert it is a native of Turkey, and originally was known as " Turkey wheat." Still others claimed to have found mention of maize in Chinese writings antedating the Turkish discovery. Grains of maize were found in an Egyptian mum- my, which goes to prove to many the cereal was known in Africa since the earliest times. Maize was found in America when first visited by white men, but of its origin Indians could give no ac- count. It had always been known among them, and constituted their chief article of vegetable diet. It was cultivated exclusively by their squaws, the men considering it beneath their dignity to engage in any manual labor. It is altogether probable corn was known in the Old World long before the New was discovered. The Arabs or Crusaders probably introduced it into Europe. How it was introduced into America will, in all probability, remain un- known. It may have been an indigenous plant, like many others. Its introduction into Ohio dates with the settlement of the whites, especially its cultivation and use as an article of trade. True, the Indians had cultivated it in small quantities ; each lodge a little for itself, but no effort to make of it a national support began until the civilization of the white race became established. From that time on, the increase in crops has grown with the State, and, excepting the great corn States of the West, Ohio produces an amount equal to any State in the Union. The statistical tables printed in agricultural reports show the acres planted, and bushels grown. Figures speak an unanswerable logic. Wheat is probably the next in importance of the cereals in the State. Its origin, like corn, is lost in the mists of antiquity. Its berry was no doubt used as food by the ancients for ages anterior to any historical records. It is often called corn in old writings, and under that name is frequently mentioned in the Bible. "As far back in the vistas of ages as human records go, we find that wheat has been cultivated, and, with corn, aside from animal food, has formed one of the chief alimentary articles of all nations ; but as the wheat plant has nowhere been found wild, or in a state of nature, the inference has been drawn by men of unquestioned scientific ability, that the original plant from which wheat has been derived was either totally annihilated, or else cul- tivation has wrought so great a change, that the original is by no means obvious, or manifest to bot- anists." It is supposed by many, wheat originated in Persia. Others affirm it was known and cultivated in Egypt long ere it found its way into Persia. It was certainly grown on the Nile ages ago, and among the tombs are found grains of wheat in a perfectly sound condition, that unquestionably have been buried thousands of years. It may be, however, that wheat was grown in Persia first, and thence found its way into Egypt and Africa, or, vice versa. It grew first in Egypt and Africa and thence crossed into Persia, and from there found its way into India and all parts of Asia. It is also claimed that wheat is indigenous to the island of Sicily, and that from there it spread along the shores of the Mediterranean into Asia Minor and Egypt, and, as communities advanced, it was cultivated, not only to a greater extent, but with greater success. The goddess of agriculture, more especially of grains, who, by the Greeks, was called Demeter, and, by the Romans, Ceres — hence the name ce- reals — was said to have her home at Enna, a fertile region of that island, thus indicating the source from which the Greeks and Romans derived their Ceralia. Homer mentions wheat and spelt as l)read; also corn and barley, and describes his heroes as using them as fodder for their horses, as the people in the South of Europe do at present. Rye was introduced into Greece from Thrace, or by way of Thrace, in the time of Galen. In Caesar's time the Romans grew a species of wheat enveloped in a husk, like barley, and by them called "Far." During the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, wheat, in an excellent state of preserva- tion, was frequently found. Dr. Anson Hart, Superintendent, at one time, of Indian Affairs in Oregon, states that he found numerous patches of wheat and flax growing wild in the Yackemas country, in Upper Oregon. There is but little doubt that both cereals were intro- duced into Oregon at an early period by the Hud- son Bay, or other fur companies. Wheat was also :>t. HISTOEY or OHIO. 159 found by Dr. Boyle, of Columbus, Ohio, growing in a similar state in the Carson Valley. It was, doubtless, brought there by the early Spaniards. In 1530, one of Cortez's slaves found several grains of wheat accidentally mixed with the rice. The careful negro planted the handful of grains, and succeeding years saw a wheat crop in Mexico, which found its way northward, probably into California. Turn where we may, wherever the foot of civil- ization has trod, there will we find this wheat plant, which, like a monument, has perpetuated the memory of the event; but nowhere do we find the plant wild. It is the result of cultivation in bygone ages, and has been produced by "progress- ivq development." It is beyond the limit and province of these pages to discuss the composition of this important cereal; only its historic properties can be noticed. With the advent of the white men in America, wheat, like corn, came to be one of the staple prod- ucts of life. It followed the pioneer over the mountains westward, where, in the rich Missis- sippi and Illinois bottoms, it has been cultivated by the French since 1690. When the hardy New Englanders came to the alluvial lands adjoining the Ohio, Muskingum or Miami Rivers, they brought with them this "staif of life," and forth- with began its cultivation. Who sowed the first wheat in Ohio, is a question Mr. A. S. Guthrie answers, in a letter published in the Agricultural Report of 1857, as follows: " My father, Thomas Guthrie, emigrated to the Northwest Territory in the year 1788, and arrived at the mouth of the Bluslvingum in July, about three months after Gen. Putnam had arrived with the first pioneers of Ohio. My father brought a buishel of wheat with him from one of the frontier counties of Pennsylvania, which' he sowed on a lot of land in Marietta, which he cleared for that purpose, on the second bottom or plain, in the neighborhood of where the Court House now stands." Mr. Guthrie's opinion is corroborated by Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth, in his " Pioneer Settlers of Ohio," and is, no doubt, correct. From that date on down through the years of Ohio's growth, the crops of wheat have kept pace with the advance and growth of civilization. The soil is admirably adapted to the growth of this ce- real, a large number of varieties being grown, and an excellent quality produced. It is firm in body, and, in many oases, is a successful rival of wheat produced in the great wheat-producing regions of the United States — Minnesota, and the farther Northwest. Oats, rye, barley, and other grains were also brought to Ohio from the Atlantic Coast, though some of them had been cultivated by the French in Illinois and about Detroit. They were at first used only as food for home consumption, and, until the successful attempts at river and canal naviga- tion were brought about, but little was ever sent to market. Of all the root crops known to man, the potato is probably the most valuable. Next to wheat, it is claimed by many as the staff of life. In some localities, this assumption is undoubtedly true. What would Ireland have done in her fam- ines but for this simple vegetable? The potato is a native of the mountainous districts of tropical and subtropical America, probably from Chili to Mexico ; but there is considerable difficulty in deciding where it is really indigenous, and where it has spread after being introduced by man. Humboldt, the learned savant, doubted if it had ever been found wild, but scholars no less fiimous, and of late date, have expressed an opposite opinion. In the wild plant, as in all others, the tubers are smaller than in the cultivated. The potato had been cultivated in America, and its tubers used for food, long before the advent of the Europeans. It seems to have been first brought to Europe by the Spaniards, from the neighbor- hood of Quito, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and spread through Spain, the Netherlands, Burgundy and Italy, cultivated in gardens as an ornament only and not for an article of food. It long received through European countries the same name with the batatas — sweet potato, which is the plant meant by all English writers down to the seventeenth century. It appears that the potato was brought from Virginia to Ireland by Hawkins, a slave-trader, in 1565, and to England by Sir Francis Drake, twenty years later. It did not at first attract much notice, and not until it was a third time imported from America, in 162.3, by Sir Walter Raleigh, did the Europeans make a practical use of it. Even then it was a long time before it was exten- sively cultivated. It is noticed in agricuHural journals as food for cattle only as late as 1719. Poor people began using it, however, and finding it highly nutritious, the Royal Geographical Society, in 16G3, adopted measures for its propagation. About this time it began to be used in Ireland as V ■^ 160 HISTORY OF OHIO. food, and from the beginning of tlie eighteenth cent- ury, its use has never deeHned. It is now known in every quarter of the world, and has, by cultiva- tion, been greatly improved. TJie inhabitants of America learned its use from, the Indians, who cultivated it and other root crops — rutabagas, radishes, etc., and taught the whites their value. When the pioneers of Ohio came to its fertile valleys, they brought improved species with them, which by cultiva- tion and soil, are now greatly increased, and are among the standard crops of the State. The cucurbitaceous plants, squashes, etc., were, like the potato and similar root crops, indigenous to America — others, like the melons, to Asia — and were among the staple foods of the original inhabitants. The early French missionaries of the West speak of botla root crops and cucurbi- taceous plants as in use among the aboriginal inhab- itants. "They are very sweet and wholesome," wrote IMarquette. Others speak in the same terms, though some of the plants in this order had found their way to these valleys through the Spaniards and others through early Atlantic Coast and Blex- ican inhabitants. Their use by the settlers of the West, especially Ohio, is traced to New England, as the first settlers came from that portion of the Union. They grow well in all parts of the State, and by cultivation have been greatly improved in quality and variety. All cucurbitaceous plants require a rich, porous soil, and by proper atten- tion to their cultivation, excellent results can be attained. Probably the earliest and most important imple- ment of husbandry known is the plow. Grain, plants and roots will not grow well unless the soil in which they are planted be properly stirred, hence the first requirement was an instrument that would fulfill such conditions. The first implements were rude indeed ; gener- ally, stout wooden sticks, drawn through the earth by thongs attached to rude ox-yokes, or fastened to the animal's horns. Such plows were in use among the ancient Egyptians, and may yet be found among uncivilized nations. The Old Testa- ment furnishes numerous instances of the use of the plow, while, on the ruins of ancient cities and among the pyramids of Egypt, and on the buriiftl walls of Babylon, and other extinct cities, are rude drawings of this useful implement. As the use of iron became apparent and general, it was util- ized for plow-points, where the wood alone would not penetrate the earth. They got their plow- shares sharpened in Old Testament days, also coulters, which shows, beyond a doubt, that iron- pointed plows were then in use. From times mentioned in the Bible, on heathen tombs, and ancient catacombs, the improvement of the plow, like other farming tools, went on, as the race of man grew in intelligence. Extensive manors in the old country required increased means of turning the ground, and, to meet these demands, ingenious mechanics, from time to time, invented improved plows. Strange to say, however, no improvement was ever made by the farmer himself. This is ac- counted for in his habits of life, and, too often, the disposition to "take things as they are." When America was settled, the plow had become an im- plement capable of turning two or three acres per day. Still, and for many years, and even until lately, the mold-board was entirely wooden, the point only iron. Later developments changed the wood for steel, which now alone is used. Still later, especially in prairie States, riding plows are used. Like all other improvements, they were obliged to combat an obtuse public mind among the ruralists, who surely combat almost every move made to better their condition. In many places in America, wooden plows, straight ax handles, and a stone in one end of the bag, to bal- ance the grist in the other, are the rule, and for no other reason in the world are they maintained than the laconic answer: " My father did so, and why should not I? Am I better than he? " After the plow comes the harrow, but little changed, save in lightness and beauty. Formerly, a log of wood, or a brush harrow, supplied its place, but in the State of Ohio, the toothed instru- ment has nearly always been used. The hoe is lighter made than formerly, and is now made of steel. At first, the common iron hoe, sharpened by the blacksmith, was in constant use. Now, it is rarely seen outside of the South- ern States, where it has long been the chief imple- ment in agriculture. The various small plows for the cultivation of corn and such other crops as necessitated their use are all the result of modern civilization. Now, their number is large, and, in many places, there are two or more attached to one carriage, whose operator rides. These kind's are much used in the Western States, whose rootless and stoneless soil is admirably adapted to such machinery. When the grain became ripe, implements to cut it were in demand. In ancient times, the sickle ^. li^ HISTOKY or OHIO. ICl was the only instrument used. It was a short, curved iron, whose inner edge was sharpened and serrated. In its most ancient form, it is doubtful if the edge was but little, if any, serrated. It is mentioned in all ancient works, and in the Bible is frequently referred to. " Thrust in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe," wrote the sacred New Testament, while the Old chronicles as early as the time of Moses : "As thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn." In more modern times, the handle of the sickle was lengthened, then the blade, which in time led to the scythe. Both are yet in use in many parts of the world. The use of the scyth-e led some thinking person to add a " finger " or two, and to change the shape of the handle. The old cradle was the result. At first it met considerable oppo- sition from the laborers, who brought forward the old-time argument of ignorance, that it would cheapen labor. Whether the cradle is a native of America or Europe is not accurately decided; probably of the mother country. It came into common use about 1818, and in a few years had found its way into the wheat-producing regions of the West. Where small crops are raised, the cradle is yet much used. A man can cut from two to four acres per day, hence, it is much cheaper than a reaper, where the crop is small. The mower and reaper are comparatively mod- ern inventions. A rude reaping machine is men- tioned by Pliny in the first century. It was pushed by an ox through the standing grain. On its front was a sharp edge, which cut the grain. It was, however, impracticable, as it cut only a por- tion of the grain, and the peasantry preferred the sickle. Other and later attempts to make reapers do not seem to have been successful, and not till the present century was a machine made that would do the work required. In 1826, BIr. Bell, of Scotland, constructed a machine which is yet used in many parts of that country. In America, Mr. Hussey and Mr. McCormick took out patents for reaping machines of superior character in 1833 and 1834. At first the cutters of these machines were various contrivances, but both manufacturers soon adopted a serrated knife, triangular shaped, at- tached to a bar, and driven through " finger guards " attached to it, by a forward and backward motion. These are the common ones now in use, save that all do not use serrated knives. Sincf, these pioneer machines were introduced into the harvest fields they have been greatly improved and changed. Of late years they have been constructed so as to bind the sheaves, and now a good stout boy, and a team with a " harvester," will do as much as many men could do a few years ago, and with much greater ease. As was expected by the inventors of reapers, they met with a determined resistance from those who in former times made their living by harvest- ing. It was again absurdly argued that they would cheapen labor, and hence were an injury to the laboring man. Indeed, when the first machines were brought into Ohio, many of them were torn to pieces by the ignorant hands. Others left fields in a body when the proprietor brought a reaper to his farm. Like all such fixUaoies, these, in time, passed away, leaving only their stain. Following the reaper came the thresher. As the country filled with inhabitants, and men in- creased their possessions, more rapid means than the old flail or roller method were demanded. At first the grain was trodden out by horses driven over the bundles, which were laid in a circular inolosure. The old flail, the tramping-out by horses, and the cleaning by the sheet, or throwing the grain up against a current of air, were too slow, and machines were the result of the demand. In Ohio the manufacture of threshers began in 1846, in the southwestern part. Isaac Tobias, who came to Hamilton from Bliamisburg that year, com- menced building the threshers then in use. They were without the cleaning attachment, and simply hulled the grain. Two years later, he began manufacturing the combined thresher and cleaner, which were then coming into use. He continued in business till 1851. Four years after, the in- creased demand for such machines, consequent upon the increased agricultural products, induced the firm of Owens, Lane & Dyer to fit their estab- lishment for the manufacture of threshers. They afterward added the manufacture of steam engines to be used in the place of horse power. Since then the manufacture of these machines, as well as that of all other agricultural machinery, has greatly multiplied and improved, until now it seems as though but little room for improvement remains. One of the largest firms engaged in the manufact- ure of threshers and their component machinery is located at Mansfield — the Aultman & Taylor Co. Others are at Massillon, and at other cities in the West. Modern times and modern enterprise have devel- oped a marvelous variety of agricultural implements -f: -V i^ 162 HISTORY OF OHIO. — too many to bo mentioned in a volume like tlii.M. Under special subjects they will occasionally be found. The farmer's life, so cheerless in pioneer times, and so full of weary labor, is daily becom- ing less laborious, until, if they as a class profit by the advances, they can find a life of ease in farm pursuits, not attainable in any other profession. Now machines do almost all the work. They- sow, cultivate, cut, bind, thresh, winnow and carry the grain. They, cut, rake, load, mow and dry the hay. They husk, shell and clean the corn. They cut and split the wood. They do al- most all ; until it seems as though the day may come when the farmer can sit in his house and simply guide the afi'airs of his farm. Any occupation prospers in proportion to the interest taken in it by its members. This interest is always heightened by an exchange of views, hence societies and periodicals exercise an influence at first hardy realized. This feeling among prominent agriculturists led to the formation of agricultural societies, at first by counties, then districts, then by States, and lastly by associations of States. The day may come when a national agricul- tural fair may be one of the annual attractions of America. Without noticing the early attempts to found such societies in Europe or America, the narrative will begin with those of Ohio. The first agricul- tural society organized in the Buckeye State was the Hamilton County Agricultural Society. Its exact date of organization is not now preserved, but to a certainty it is known that the Society held public exhibitions as a County Society prior to 1823. Previous to that date there were, doubt- less, small, private exhibitions held in older local- ities, probably at Marietta, but no regular organi- zation seems to have been maintained. The Hamilton County Society held its fairs annually, with marked success. Its successor, the present Society, is now one of the largest county societies in the Union. During the legislative session of 1832-33, the subject of agriculture seems to Irave agitated the minds of the people through their representatives, for the records of that session show the first laws passed for their benefit. The acts of that body seem to have been productive of some good, for, though no records of the number of societies or- ganized at that date exist, yet the record shows that " many societies have bi.'cn organized in con- formity to this act," etc. No doubt many societies held fairs from this time, for a gi-eater or less number of years. Agricultural journals* were, at this period, rare in the State, and the subject of agricultural improvement did not receive that at- tention from the press it does at this time ; and, for want of public spirit and attention to sustain these fairs, they were gradually discontinued until the new act respecting their organization was passed in 1846. However, records of several county societies of the years between 1832 and 1846 yet exist, showing that in some parts of the State, the interest in these fairs was by no means diminished. The Delaware County Society re- ports for the year 1833 — it was organized in June of that year — good progress for a beginning, and that much interest was manifested by the citizens of the county. Ross County held its first exhibition in the autumn of that year, and the report of the mana- gers is quite cheerful. Nearly all of the exhibited articles were sold at auction, at greatly advanced prices from the current ones of the day. The en- try seems to have been free, in an open inclosure, and but little revenue was derived. Little was ex- pected, hence no one was disappointed. Washington County reports an excellent cattle show for that year, and a number of premiums awarded to the successful exhibitors. This same year the Ohio Importation Company was organ- ized at the Ross County fair. The Company began the next season the importation of fine cattle from England, and, in a few years, did incalculable good in this respect, as well as make considerable money in the enterprise. These societies were re-organized when the law of 1846 went into effect, and, with those that had gone down and the new ones started, gave an im- petus to agriculture that to this day is felt. Now every county has a society, while district, State and inter-State societies are annually held; all promotive in their tendency, and all a benefit to every one. The Ohio State Board of Agriculture was organ- ized by an act of the Legislature, passed February 27, 1846. Since then various amendments to the organic law have been passed from time to time as *Tho IVcsleni Tillerwas published in Cincinnati, in 1826. Itwns "miscellaneous," but contained many excellent articles on agri- culture. Tbe Fnrmtrs' Record was published in Cincinnati, in 1831, and continued for several years. The Ohio Farmer was published at Batavia, Clermont County in isari, by Hon. Saninel Medary. These were the early agricultural Journals, some of which yet survive, though in new names, and under new management. Others have, also, since been added, some of which have an exceedingly large circulation, and are an influence for much good in the State. :^ -^ HISTORY OF OHIO. 163 the necessities of tlie Board and of agriculture in tlie State demanded. The same day that the act was passed creating the State Board, an act was also passed providing for the erection of county and district societies, uniler which law, with subsequent amendments, the present county and district agri- cultural societies are managed. During the years from 1846 down to the present time, great improve- ments have been made in the manner of conduct- ing these societies, resulting in exhibitions unsur- passed in any other State. Pomology and horticulture are branches of in- dustry so closely allied with agriculture that a brief resume of their operations in Ohio will be eminently adapted to these pages. The early planting and care of fruit in Ohio has already been noticed. Among the earliest pioneers were men of fine tastes, who not only desired to benefit them- selves and their country, but who were possessed with a laudable ambition to produce the best fruits and vegetables the State could raise. For this end they studied carefully the topography of the coun- try, its soil, climate, and various influences upon such culture, and by careful experiments with fruit and vegetables, produced the excellent varieties now in use. jMention has been made of Mr. Longworth and Mr. Ernst, of Cincinnati ; and Israel and Aaron W. Putnam, on the Muskingum River ; BIr. Dille, Judges Fuller and Whittlesey, Dr. Jared Kirtland and his sons, and others — all practical enthusiasts in these departments. At first, individual efforts alone, owing to the condition of the country, could be made. As the State filled with settlers, and means of communication became better, a desire for an in- terchange of views became apparent, resulting in the establishment of periodicals devoted to these subjects, and societies where different ones could meet and discuss these things. A Horticultural and Pomological Society was organized in Ohio in 1866. Before the organiza- tion of State societies, however, several distinct or independent societies existed ; in fact, out of these grew the State Society, which in turn produced good by stimulating the creation of county societies. AH these societies, aids to agriculture, have pro- gressed as the State developed, and have done much in advancing fine fruit, and a taste for aesthetic cul- ture. In all parts of the West, their influence is seen in better and improved fruit ; its culture and its demand. To-day, Ohio stands in the van of the V/estern States in agriculture and all its kindred associa- tions. It only needs the active energy of her citizens to keep her in this place, advancing as time advances, until the goal of her ambition is reached. CHAPTER XVI. CLIMATOLOGY— OUTLINE— VARIATION IN OHIO— ESTIMATE IN DEGREES— RAINFALL - —VARIABILITY. -AMOUNT THE climate of Ohio varies about four degrees. Though originally liable to malaria in many districts when first settled, in consequence of a dense vegetation induced by summer heats and rains, it has became very healthful, owing to clear- ing away this vegetation, and proper drainage. The State is as favorable in its sanitary char- acteristics as any other in its locality. Ohio is re- markable for its high productive capacity, almost every thing grown in the temperate climates being within its range. Its extremes of heat and cold are less than almost any other State in or near the same latitude, hence Ohio suffers less from the ex- treme dry or wet seasons which affect all adjoining States. These modifications arc mainly due to the influence of the Lake Erie waters. These not only modify the heat of summer and the cold of winter, but apparently reduce the profusion of rainfall in summer, and favor moisture in dry pe- riods, No finer climate exists, all conditions consid- ered, for delicate vegetable growths, than that por- tion of Ohio bordering on Lake Erie. This is abundantly attested by the recent extensive devel- opment there of grape culture. jMr. Lorin Blodget, author of "American Clima- tology," in the agricultural report of 1853, says; "A district bordering on the Southern and West- ern portions of Lake Erie is more favorable in this respect (grape cultivation) than any other on the Atlantic side of the Rooky Mountains, and it will ultimately prove capable of a very liberal extension of vine culture." V 164 HISTORY or OHIO. Experience lias proven Mr. Blodget correct in his theory. Now extensive fields of grapes are everywhere found on the Lake Erie Slope, while other small fruits find a sure footing on its soil. " Considering the climate of Ohio by isother- mal lines and rain shadings, it must be borne in mind," says Mr. Blodget, in his description of Ohio's climate, from which these facts are drawn, " that local influences often require to be considered. At the South, from Cincinnati to Steubenville, the deep river valleys are two degrees warmer than the hilly districts of the same vicinity. The lines are drawn intermediate between the two extremes. Thus, Cincinnati, on the plain, is 2° warmer than at the Observatory, and 4° warmer for each year than Ilillsboro, Highland County — the one being 500, the other 1,000, feet above sea-level. The immediate valley of the Ohio, jfi'om Cincinnati to Gallipolis, is about 75° for the summer, and 54° for the year; while the adjacent hilly districts, 300 to 500 feet higher, are not above 73° and 52° respectively. For the summer, generally, the river valleys are 73° to 75° ; the level and central portions 72° to 73°, and the lake border 70° to 72°- A peculiar mildness of climate belongs to the vicinity of Kelley's Island, Sandusky and Toledo. Here, both winter and summer, the cli- mate is 2° warmer than on the highland ridge ex- tending from Norwalk and Oberlin to Hudson and the northeastern border. This ridge varies from 500 to 750 feet above the lake, or "850 to 1,200 feet above sea level. This high belt has a summer temperature of 70°, 27° for the winter, and 49° for the year ; while at Sandusky and KoUey's Island the .summer is 72°, the winter 29°, and the year 50°. In tlie central and eastern parts of the State, the winters are comparatively cold, the average falling to 32° over the more level districts, and to 29° on the highlands. The Ohio River valley is about 35°, but the highlands near it fall to 31° and 32° for the winter." As early as 182-1, sever.':il persons in the State began taking the temperature in their respective localities, for the spring, summer, autumn and win- ter, averaging them for the entire year. From time to time, these were gathered and published, inducing others to take a step in the same direction. Not long since, a general table, from about forty local- ities, was gathered and compiled, covering a period of more than a quarter of a century. This table, when averaged, showed an average temperature of 52.4°, an evenness of temperature not equaled in many bordering States. Very imperfect observations have been made of the amount of rainfall in the State. Until lately, only an individual here and there through- out the State took enough interest in this matter to faithfully observe and record the averages of several years in succession. In consequence of this fact, the illustration of that feature of Ohio's climate is less satisfactory than that of the temperature. "The actual rainfall of different months and years varies greatly," says Mr. Blod- get. "There may be more in a month, and, again, the quantity may rise to 12 or 15 inches in a single month. For a year, the variation may be from a minimum of 22 or 25 inches, to a maxi- mum of 50 or even GO inches in the southern part of the State, and 45 to 48 inches along the lake border. The average is a fixed quantity, and, although requiring a period of twenty or twenty- five years to fix it absolutely, it is entirely certain and unchangeable when known. On charts, these average quantities are represented by depths of shading. At Cincinnati, the last fifteen years of observation somewhat reduce the average of 48 inches, of former years, to 46 or 47 inches." Spring and summer generally give the most rain, there being, in general, 10 to 12 inches in the spring, 10 to 14 inches in the summer, and 8 to 10 inches in the autumn. The winter is the most variable of all the seasons, the southern part of the State having 10 inches, and the northern part 7 inches or les.s — an average of 8 or 9 inches. The chart,? of rainfall, compiled for the State, show a fiiU of 30 inches on the lake, and 46 inches at the Ohio River. Between these two points, the fall is marked, beginning at the north, 32, 34, 36 and 38 inches, all near the lake. Farther down, in the latitude of Tuscarawas, jMonroe and JMereer Counties, the fall is 40 inches, while the south- western part is 42 and 44 inches. The clearing away of forests, the drainage of the land, and other causes, have lessened the- rain- fall, making considerable difference since the days of the aborigines, V^ rv ^. ■^. I HISTORY OF OHIO. 1G5 PUBLIC LANDS OF OHIO- CHAPTER XVII.* -THE MYSTERIES OF THE EARLY SURVEY'S- ITS ORIGIN AND ORGANIZATION. -THE NEW CONNECTICUT - TO the inexperienced student of the history of Ohio, nothing is more perplexing and un- satisfactory, than the account of its pubhc lands. Held theoretically by the conflicting claims of col- onies, each jealous of the other's prestige, and prac- tically controlled by the determined assertion of his claim by the Indian, its territory camo under the acknowledged control of the General Government in a fragmentary way, and in the early surveys it lacks that regular arrangement which marks the larger part of the old Northwestern Territory. But, to the early colonist, Ohio was the land of promise. The reports of the early explorers who had been sent to spy out the land were such as to stimulate the rapacity of greedy adventurers to the highest pitch, and Ohio became at once the center of at- traction, not only to that class, but also to the pio- neer settlements of the East. The spirit of land speculation was fostered by the system of royal charters and favoritism, and colonial officials were rapidly acquiring titles to large tracts of the fertile lands of the Northwest. Lord Dunmore, who rep- resented the crown in Virginia, had made arrange- ments to secure a large portion of this territory, which were only frustrated by the precipitation of the Revolutionary struggle. In all these operations the rights or interests of the Indians were ignored, flight was the measure of the white man's right, and, in the face of formal treaties very favorable to the whites, the lands reserved to the natives were shamelessly bought and sold. Titles thus secured were obviously of no value if the integrity of sol- emn treaties were to be respected, but, so generally had the public mind been corrupted by the greed for gain, that this consideration offered no hindrance whatever to this sort of traffic in land titles. In 1776, however, the colonies having renounced their allegiance to the mother country, and having assumed a position as sovereign and independent States, a summary end was put to this speculation, and all persons were forbidden to locate in this ter- ritory, until its ownership and jurisdiction should *Compiled from Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, and a pamphlet by Judge W. W. Boynton, of the Supreme Court of Ohio. ^ (S be determined. Each State claimed the right of soil, the jurisdiction over the district of country embraced by the provisions of its charter, and the privilege of disposing of the land to subserve its own interests. The States, on the contrary, which had no such charter, insisted that that these lands ought to be appropriated for the benefit of all the States, as the title to them, if secured at all, would be by the expenditure of the blood and moneys of all alike. The treaty of peace with England was signed at Paris, September 3, 1783, and Congress at once became urgent in seconding this demand of the non charter -holding States. Under the char- ters held by the individual State, the General Gov- ernment was powerless to fulfill its agreement with the troops, to gi-ant land to each soldier of the war, and the general dissatisfaction occasioned by this state of things, formed a powerful influence which finally brought about a general cession of these unappropriated lands, held by the different States. In March, 1784, Virginia ceded her terri- tory situated northwest of the Piiver ( )hio, reserving the tract now known as the Virginia jMilitary Lands. In 1786, Connecticut ceded her territory, save the " Western Reserve ;" reserved cessions were made by Massachusetts in 1785, and by New York in 1780. When Ohio was admitted into the Federal Union in 1803, as an independent State, one of the terms of admission was, that the fee simple to all the lands within its limits, excepting those pre- viously granted or sold, should vest in the United States. A large portion of the State, however, had been granted or sold to various individuals, compa- nies and bodies politic before this, and subsequent dispositions of Ohio public lands have generally been in aid of some public State enterprise. The following are the names by which the principal bodies of land are designated, taking their titles from the different forms of transfer : 1. Congress Lands. 2. United States Military Lands. 3. Ohio Company's Purchase. 4. Donation Tract. — a TV" ^ 166 HISTORY OF OHIO. 5. Symmes' Purchase. 6. Refugee Tract. 7. French tlrant. 8. Dohrman's (.irant. 9. Jloravian Lamls. 10. Zaue's Gran\ 11. Maumee Rcail Lands. 12. Turnpike Land.s. lo. Ohio Canal Lands. I-l. School Lands. 15. College Lands. IG. Ministerial Lands. 17. Salt Sections. 18. Virginia Militniy Lands. 19. Western lleservc. 20. Fire Lands. These grants, however, may properly be di- vided into three general cla.sses — Congress Lands, the Virginia Reserve and the Connecticut Reserve ; the former including all lands of the State, not known as the Virginia Blilitary Land or the Western Reserve. Previous to any grants of this territory, the Indian title had to be acquired. Al- though the United States has succeeded to the rights acquired by the English from the Iroquois, there were numerous tribes that disputed the right of the dominant nation to cede this territory, and a treaty was accordingly made at Fort Stanwix, in 1784, and in the following year at Fort Mcin- tosh, by which the Indians granted all east of a line drawn from the mouth of the Cuyahoga River to the Ohio, and all south of what subse- cjucntly became known as the Greenville Treaty line, or Indian boundary line. By this treaty, this line extended from the Portage, between the Cuya- hoga and the Tuscarawas Branch of the Muskingum, " thence down that branch, to the crossing above Fort Laurens, then westerly to the Portage of the Big Jliami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which the fort stood, which was taken by the French in 1752; thence along said Portage to the Great Sliami, or Omee River," whence the lino was extended westward, by the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, to Fort Recovery, and thence southwest to the mouth of the Kentucky River. Congress Lands are so called because they are sold to purchasers by the immediate ofiioers of the General Government, conformably to such laws as are, or may be, from time to time, enacted by Congress. They are all regularly surveyed into town.ships of six miles sijuare each, under the au- thority and at the expense of the National Govern- ment. All these lands, except Marietta and a part of Steubenvillo districts, are numbered as follows : 6 5 4 3 9 1 12 7 18 8 9 10 15 11 17 16 14 13 19 20 21 22 23 24 30 29 28 27 26 25 31 32 33 34 35 36 The seven Ranges, Ohio Company's Purchase, and Symmes' Purchase are numbered as here ex- hibited : 36 30 24 18 12 6 3-3 29 23 17 11 5 34 28 22 16 10 4 33 27 21 15 9 3 32 26 20 14 8 2 31 25 19 13 7 1 The townships are again subdivided into sec- tions of one mile square, each containing 640 acres, by lines running parallel with the township and range lines. The sections are numbered in two different modes, as exhibited in the preceding fig- ures or diagrams. In addition to the foregoing division, the sec- tions are again subdivided into four equal parts, called the northeast quarter-section, southeast quarter section, etc. And again by a law of Con- gress, which went into effect July, 1820, these quarter-sections are also divided by a north-and- ® HISTORY OF OHIO. 167 south line into two equal parts, called the east half quarter-section No. — , and west half quarter-sec- tion No. — , which contain eighty acres each. The minimum price was reduced by the same law from S2 to 11.25 per acre, cash down. In establishing the township and sectional cor- ners, a post was first planted at the point of inter- section ; then on the tree nearest the post, and standing within the section intended to be desig- nated, was numbered with the marking iron the range, township, and number of the section, thus : R 21 E 20 T 4 T 4 S 30 4 1 S 31 The quarter corners are marked — — 1 — 4 south, merely. K 213 2R 20 T 3 T 3 SI S 6 Section No. 16 of every township is perpet- ually reserved for the use of schools, and leased or sold out, for the benefit of schools, under the State government. All the others may be taken up either in sections, fractions, halves, quarters, or half-quarters. For the purpose of selling out these lands, they were divided into eight several land districts, called after the names of the towns in which the land of- fices are kept, viz., Wooster, Steubenville, Zanes- ville. Marietta, Chillioothe, etc., etc. In May, 1785, Congress passed an ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing; of these lands. Under that ordinance, the first seven ranges, bounded on the north by a line drawn due west from the Pennsylvania State line, where it crosses the Ohio River, to the United States Military Lands, forty-two miles ; and, on the west, by the same line drawn thence south to the Ohio River, at the southeast corner of Marietta Township, and on the east and south by the Ohio River, were surveyed in 178C-87, and in the latter year, and sales were effected at New York, to the amount of $72,974. In 1796, further portions of these lands were disposed of at Pittsburgh, to the amount of 843,446, and at Philadelphia, amounting to $5,- 120. A portion of these lands were located under United States Military land warrants, and the rest was disposed of at the Steubenville Land Ofiice, which was opened July 1, 1801. United States Military Lands are so called from the circumstance of their having been appropriat- ed, by an act of Congress of the 1st of June, 1790, to satisfy certain claims of the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war. This tract of country, embracing these lands, is bounded as fol- lows : Beginning at the northwest corner of the original seven ranges of townships, thence south fifty miles, thence west to the Scioto River, thence up said river to the Greenville treaty lino, thence northeasterly with said line to old Fort Laurens, on the Tuscarawas River, thence due east to the place of beginning, including a tract of about 4,000 square miles, or 2,560,000 acres of land. It is, of course, bounded on the north by the Green- ville treaty line, east by the " seven ranges of town- ships," south by the Congress and Refugee lands, and west by the Scioto River. These lands are surveyed into townships of five miles square ; these townships were then again, originally, surveyed into quarter townships, of two and a half miles square, containing 4,000 acres each; and, subsequently, some of these quarter- townships were subdivided into forty lots, of 100 acres each, for the accommodation of those soldiers holding warrants for only 100 acres each. And again, after the time originally assigned for the location of these warrants had expired, certain quarter-townships, which had not then been loca- ted, we re divided into sections of one mile square each, and sold by the General Government, like the main body of Congress lands. The quarter-townships are numbered as exhib- ited in the accompanying figure, the top being considered north. The place of each township is ascer- tained by numbers and ranges, the same as Congress lands; the ranges being numbered from east to west, and the numbers from south to north. Ohio Company's Purchase is a body of land containing about 1,500,000 acres; including, how- ever, the donation tract, school lands, etc., lying along the Ohio River ; and including Meigs, nearly all of Athens, and a considerable part of Wash- ington and Gallia Counties. This tract was pur- chased by the General Government in the year 1787, by Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sar- geant, from the neighborhood of Salem, in Massa- chu.setts, agents for the " Ohio Company," so called, which had then been formed in Massachu- setts, for the purpose of a settlement in the Ohio country. Only 964,285 acres were ultimately paid for, and, of course, patented. This body of land was then apportioned out into 817 shares, of 1,173 acres each, and a town lot of one-third of an acre to each share. These shares were made 2 1 3 4 ^fc. 108 HISTORY or OHIO. lip to eaoli proprietor in tracts, one of 640 acres, one of 2(12, one of IGO, one of 100, one of 8, and another of 3 acres, besides the before-mentioned town lot. Besides every section 1 0, set apart, as elsewhere, for the support of schools, every Section 2'J is appropriated for the support of religious institutions. In addition to which were also granted two six-mile square townships for the use of a college. But, unfortunately for the Ohio Company, owing to their want of topographical knowledge of the country, the body of land selected by them, with some partial exceptions, is the most hilly and sterile of any tract of similar ex- tent in the State. Donation Tract is a body of 100,000 acres, set off in the northern limits of the Ohio Company's tract, and granted to them by Congress, provided they should obtain one actual settler upon each hundred acres thereof, within five years from the date of the grant ; and that so much of the 100,- 000 acres afore.^aid, as should not thus be taken up, shall revert to the General Government. This tract may, in some respects, be considered a part of the Ohio Company's purchase. It is situated in the northern limits of Washington County. It lies in an oblong shape, extending nearly seventeen miles from cast to west, and about seven and a hall' north to south. Symmes' I'urchaso is a tract of 311,082 acres of land in the southwestern qaavtrr of the State, between the Grr;x'-, and Littlr Jliami Rivers. It bor- ders on the Ohio River a distance of twenty-seven miles, and extends so far back from the latter between the two Miamis as to include the quantity of land just mentioned. It was patented to John Cloves Symmes, in 170-1-, fur (JT cents per acre. Every sixteenth section, or sijuare mile, in each town- ship, was rc,="vvod 'uy Congros.- for the use of schools, and Sectinns 2!> for the support of relig- idus institutions, besides fifteen acres around Fort Washington, in Cincinnati. This tract of land is now one of the must valuable in the State. Refiigee Tract, a body of 100,000 acres of land, gi-anted by Congress to certain individuals who left the British Provinces during the Revolutionary war and espoused the cause of freedom, is a nar- row strip of country, four and a half miles broad from north to south, and extending eastwardly from the Scioto River forty-eight miles. It has the United iStates twenty ranges of military or army lands north, twenty-two ranges of Congress lands south. In the western borders of this tract is situated the town of Columbus. French Grant is a tract of 24,000 acres of land, bordering upon the Ohio River, in the south- eastern quarter of Scioto County. A short time after the Ohio Company's purchase began to be settled, an association was formed under the name of the Scioto Land Company. A contract was made for the purchase of a part of the lands in- cluded in the Ohio Company's purcha.ses. Plats and descriptions of the land contracted for were made out, and Joel Barlow was sent as an agent to Europe to make sales of the lands for the bene- fit of the company; and sales were effected of a considerable part of the land to cc-mpanies and individuals in France. On February 19, 1791, two hundred and eighteen of these purchasers left Havre de Grace, in France, and arrived in Alex- andria, D. C., on the 3d of May following. On their arrival, they were told that the Scioto Com- pany owned no land. The agent insisted that they did, and promised to secure them good titles thereto, which he did, at Winchester, Brownsville and Charleston (now Wellsburg). When they arrived at Jliirietta, about fifty of them landed. The rest of the company proceeded to Gallipolis, which was laid out about that time, and were as- sured by the agent that the place lay within their purchase. Every effort to secure titles to the lands they had purchased having failed, an appli- cation was made to Congress, and in March, 1795, the above grant was made to these persons. Twelve hundred acres addiiional, were afterward granted, adjoining the above mentioned tract at its lower end, toward the mouth of the Little Scioto River. Dohrman's Grant is one six-mile-square town- ship of 23,040 acres, granted to Arnold Henry Dohrnian, formerly a wealthy Portuguese merchant in Lisbon, for and in consideration of his having, during the Revohuiunary war, given shelter and aid to the American cruisers and vessels of war. It is lo 'ated in the southeastern part of Tuscara- was County. Moravian Lands are three several tracts of 4,000 acres each, originally granted by the old Continental Congress in July, 1787, and confirmed by act of Congress of June 1, 1796, to the Mora- vian brethren at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, in trust and for the use of the Christianized Indians living thereon. They are laid out in nearly square farms, on the Muskingum River, in what is now Tuscaiawas County. They are called by the names of the Shoenbrun. Gnadenhutten and Salem tracts. Zane's Tracts are three several tracts of one mile ■if #* ^l^ HISTORY or OHIO. 160 squrre ertcli — one on the JIuskingum Rivcv, which includes the town of Zanosvillo- one at the cross of the Hocking llivcr, on which the town of Lancas- ter is laid out, and the third oa the left bank of the Scioto River, opposite Chillicothe. They were granted by Congress to one ]*jbenezcr Zane, in jNIay, 1786, on condition that he should open a road tlirough them, from Wheeling, Va., to Mays- villc, Ky. There are also three other, tracts, of one mile square each, granted to Isaac Zane, in the year 1802, in consideration of his having been taken prisoner by the Indians, when a boy, during the Revolutionary war, and living with them most of his life ; and having during that time performed many acts of kndness and beneficence toward the American people. These tracts are situated in Champaign Cuun'y, on King's Creek, from three to five miles northwest from Urbana. The Maumee Road's Lands are a body of lands averaging two miles wide, lying along one mile on each side of the road, from the Maumee River, at Per- rysburg, to the western limits of the Western Re- serve, a distance of about forty-six miles, and com- prising nearly 60,000 acres. They were originally granted by the Indian owners, at the treaty of Brownstown, in 1808, to enable the United States to make a road on the line just mentioned. The General Government never moved into the busi- ness until Ftbruary, 1823, when Congress passed an act making over the aforesaid lands to the State of Ohio, provided she should, within four years thereafter, make and keep in repair a good road throughout the aforesaid route of forty-six miles. This road the State government has already made, obtained possession, and sold most of the land. Turnpike Lands are forty-nine sections, amount- ing to 31, .360 acres, situated along the western side of the Columbus and Sandusky turnpike, in the eastern parts of Seneca, Crawford and Marion Counties. They were originally granted by an act of Ciinuress on March 3, 1827, and more specifi- cally by a supplementary act the year following. The considerations for which these lands were granted were that the mail stages and all troops and property of the United States, which should ever be moved and transported along this road should pass free from toll. The Ohio Canal Lands are granted by Congress to the State of Ohio, to aid in constructing her extensive canals. These lands comprise over one million of acres. School Lands — By compact botwefn the United States and the State of Ohio, when the latter was admitted into the Union, it was stipulated, for and in consideration that the State of Ohio should never tax the Congress lands until after they should have been sold five years, and in consideration that the public lands would thereby more readily sell, that the one-thirty-sixth part of all the territory in- cluded within the limits of the State should be set apart for the support of common schools there- in. And for the purpose of getting at lands which should, in point of quality of soil, be on an average with the whole land in the country, they decreed that it should be selected by lots, in small tracts each, to wit: That it should consist of Section No. 16, let that section be good or bad, in every township of Congress land, also in the Ohio Company's and in Syuimes' Pur- chases, all of which townships are composed of thirty-six sections each ; and for the United States military lands and Connecticut Reserve, a num- ber of quartei'-townships, two and a half miles square each (being the smallest public surveys therein, then made), should be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury in different townships throughout the United States military tract, equivalent in quantity to the one-thirty-sixth part of those two tracts respectively ; and, for the Virginia military tract, Congress enacted that a quantity of land equal to the one- thirty-sixth part of the estimated quantity of land contained therein, should be selected by lot, in what was then called the " New Pur- chase," in quarter - township tracts of three miles square each. Most of these selections were accordingly made, but in some instance^, by the carelessness of the officers conducting the sales, or from some other cause, a few Sections 16 have been sold, in which case Congress, when applied to, has generally granted other lands in lieu thereof, as, for instance, no Section 16 was re- served in Montgomery Township, in which Co- lumbus is situated, and Congress afterward granted therefor Section 21, in township corner- ing thereon to the southwest. College Townships are three six-milc-square townships, granted by Congress ; two of them to the Ohio Company, for the use of a college to be established within their purchase, and one for the use of the inhabitants of Symnies' Purchase. Ministerial Lands — In both the Ohio Company and the Synmies' Purchase every Section 29 (equal to every one-thirty-sixth part of every township) -a)|>y <2 k^ 170 HISTOEY OF OHIO. ^U 3 2 4 1 is reserved as a permanent fund fur the support of a settled minister. As tlic purchasers of these two tracts came f\-om parts of the Union where it was customary and deemed necessary to have a regu- lar settled clergyman in every town, they therefore stipulated in this original purchase that a perma- nent fund in lands should thus be set apart for this purchase. In no other part of the State, other than these two purchases, are any lands set apart for this object. The Connecticut Western Keserve and the Fire Lands are surveyed into townships of about five miles square each ; and these townships are then subdivided into four quarters ; and these quarter- townships are numbered as in the accompanying figure, the top being considered north. And for individujl conven- ience, these are again subdivided, by private surveys, into lots of from fifty to five hundred acres each, to suit individual purchasers. In its history, the Western Reserve is far more important than any other of the early arbitrary divisions of the State. It was peopled by a dom- inant class that brought to this wilderness social forms and habits of thought that had been fostered in the Puritan persecutions of England, and crys- tallized by nearly half a century of pioneer life in Connecticut, into a civilization that has not yet lost its distinctive characteristics. Dating their history back to the early part of the seventeenth century, the true descendant of the Puritan points with pride to the permanency of their traditions, to the progressive character of their institutions, and marks their influence in the commanding power of the schoolhou.se and church. The carJiest measure which may be said to have affected the history of the Resjrve, originated in 1609. In this year, James I, granted to a com- pany called the London Company, a charter, under which the entire claim of Virginia to the soil northwest of the Ohio was asserted. It was clothed with corporate powers, with most of its members living in London. The tract of country embraced within this charter was immense. It commenced its boundaries at Point Comfort, on the Atlantic, and ran south 200 miles, and thence west across the continent to the Pacific ; com- mencing again at Point Comfort, and running 200 miles north, and from this point northwest to the sea. This line ran through New York and Pennsylvania, crossing the eastern end of Lake Erie, and terminated in the Arctic Ocean. The vast empire lying betvrecn the south line, the east lino, the diagonal line to the northwest, and the Pacific Ocean, was claimed by virtue of this char- ter. It included over half of the North American Continent. Notwithstanding the charter of the London Company included all the territory now embraced within the boundaries of Ohio, James I, on the 3d of November, 1(]20, by royal letters patent, granted to the Duke of Lenox and others, to be known as the Council of Plymouth, all the territory lying between the fortieth and forty- eighth degrees of north latitude, and bounded on the east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pacific. This description embraced a large tract of the lands granted to the Virginia or London Company. In 1630, a portion of the same ter- ritory was granted to the Earl of Warwick, and afterward confirmed to him by Charles I. In 1631, the Council of Plymouth, acting by the Earl of Warwick, granted to Lord Brook and Vis- counts Say and Seal, what were supposed to be the same lands, although by a very imperfect de- scription. In 1662, Charles II granted a charter to nineteen patentees, with such associates as they should from time to time elect. This asso- ciation was made a body corporate and politic, by the name of the Governor and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut. This charter constituted the organic law of the State for up- ward of one hundred and fifty years. The bound- aries were Jlassachusetts on the north, the sea on the south, Narragansett River or Bay on the east, and the South Sea (Pacific Ocean) on the west. This description embraced a strip of land upward of six miles wide, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, including a part of New York and New Jersey, and all the territory now known as the Western Reserve. In 1681, for the consideration of £16,000 and a fealty of two beaver skins a year, Charles II granted to ^\'iliiam Penn a charter embracing within its limits the territory constituting the present State of Pennsylvania. This grant in- cluded a strip of territory running across the en- tire length of the State on the north, and upward of fifty miles wide, that was embraced within the Connecticut charcer. Massachusetts, under the Plymouth Charter, claimed all the land between the forty-first and forty-fifth degrees, of north lati- tude. In 1064, Charles II ceded to his brother, the Duke of York, afterward James II, by letters patent, all the country between the St. Croix and the Delaware. After the overthrow of the gov- 5!y^, HISTORY OF OHIO. 173 ^. ernment of " New Netherlands," then existing upon that territory, it was claimed that the grant of the Duke of York extended west into the Mis- sissippi 'V'alloy. Thus matters stood at the commencement of the Revolution. A'irginia claimed all the territory northwest of the Ohio. Conneetieut strenuously urged her titles to all lands lying between the par- allels 41° and 42° 2' of north latitude, from the xVfclantic to the Pacific. Pennsylvania, under the charter of 1G81, had taken possession of the disputed land lying in that State, and had granted much of it to actual settlers. New York and Massachusetts were equally emphatic in the asser- tion of ownership to land between those lines of lat- itude. The contention between claimants under the Connecticut and Pennsylvania charters, on the Susquehanna, frequently resulted in bloodshed. The controversy between those two States was finally submitted to a Court of Commissioners, ap- pointed by Congress, upon the petition of Penn=.yl- vania, under the ninth article of the confederation, which gave Congress power to establish a Court of Commissioners, to settle disputed boundaries be- tween States, in case of disagreement. The court decided in favor of Pennsylvania, and this decision terminated the controversy. The question of the title to lands lying west of Pennsylvania, was not involved in this adjudication, but remained a sub- ject for future contention. A party sprung up during the war that disputed the title of the States asserting it, to lands outside of State limits, and which insisted upon the right of the States by whose common treasure, dominion was to be secured, to participate in the benefits and results arising from the joint and common <;ffort for inde- pendence. This party was particularly strong in the smaller States. Those colonies that had not been the favored recipients of extensive land erants, were little inclined to acquiesce in claims, the justice of which they denied, and which could be secured to the claimants, only by the success of the Revolution. There is little doubt, that the conflict in the early charters, respecting boundaries, grew out of the ignorance of the times in which they were gi-anted, as to the breadth or inland extent of the American Continent. During the reign of James I, Sir Francis Drake reported, that, from the top of the mountains on the Isthmus of Pan- ama, ho had seen both oceans. This led to the supposition that the continent, from east to west, was of no considerable extent, and that the South Sea, by which the grants were limited on the west, did not lie very far from the Atlantic ; and as late as 1740, the Duke of Newcastle addressed his letters to the ■' Island of New England." Hence it was urged as an argument against the claims of those Stutes assorling title to 'Western lands, that the term, in the grants, of South Sea, being, by mutual mistake of the piirties to the charter, an erroneous one — the error resulting from misinfor- mation or want of oeriainty concerning the local- ity of that sea — the claiming State ought not to insist upon an ownership resting upon such a foot- ing, and having its origin in such a circumstance. Pupular feeling on the subject ran so high, at times, as to cause apprehension for the safety of the confed- eration. In 1780, Congress urged upon the States having claims to the Western country, the duty to make a surrender of a piart thereof to the United States. The debt incurred in the Revolutionary contest, the limited resources for its extinguishment, if the public domain was unavailable for the purpose, the existence of the unhappy controversy growing out of the asserted claims, and an earnest desire to ac- commodate and pacify confliciing interests among the States, led Congress, in 1 784, to an impressive appeal to the States interested, to remove all cause for further discontent, by a liberal cos.sion of their domains to the Ucneral Government, for the com- mon benefit of all the States. The happy termi- n ition of the war found the public mind in a con- dition to be easily impressed by appeals to its pat- riotism and liberality. New York had, in 1780, ceded to the United States, the lands that she claimed, lying west of a lino running south from the west bend of Lake Ontario ; and, in 1785, iMas- .sachusetts relinquished her c'aim to the same lands — each State reserving the same 19,li00 square miles of ground, and each asserting an independent title to it. This controversy between the two States was settled by an equal division between them, of the disputed ground. Virginia had given to her soldiers of the Revolution iry war, and of the war between France and England, a pledge of bounties payable in \Yestern lands ; and, reserving a suffieien' amount of land to enable her to meet the pledge thus given, on the 1st of March, 1784, she relinquished to the United States, her title to all other lands lying northwest of the Ohio. On the 14th day of September, 1786, the delegates in Congress, from the State of Connecticut, being au- thorized and directed so to do, relinquished to the United States, all the right, title, interest, jurisdic- - I Is ^k 174 HISTORY OF OHIO. tion and claim that she possessed to the lands ly- ing west of a line rnnnini;' north from the 41° north latitude, to 4'.^° 2', and being 120 miles west of the western line of Pennsj'lvania. The territory lying west of Pennsylvania, fur the distance of 120 miles, and between the above-named degrees of lat- itude, although not in terms reserved by the in- strument of conveyance, was in fact reserved — not having been conveyed — and by reason thereof, was called the Western Reserve of Connecticut. It embraces the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Portage, Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga, ^ledina, Lorain, Huron, Erie, all of Summit, save the townships of Franklin and Greene ; the two northern tiers of townships of Mahoning ; the townships of Sulli- van, Troy and lluggles, of Ashland ; and the islands lying north of Sandusky, including Kelley's and Put-in-Bay. During the Revolution, the British, aided by Benedict Arnold, made incursions in the heart of Connecticut, and destroyed a large amount of property in the towns of Greenwich, Norwalk, Faivlicid, Danbury, New and East Haven, New London, Richfield and Groton. There were up- ward of 2,000 persons and families that sustained severe losses by the depredations of the enemy. On the 10th of May, 1702, the Legislature of that State set apart and donated to the suffering inhabitants of tliese towns, 500,000 acres of the west part of the lands of the Reserve, to compen- sate them for tlie losses sustained. These lands were to be bounded on the north by the shore of Lake Erie, south by the base line of the Reserve, west by its western line, and east by a line par- allel ^Yith the western lino of Pennsylvania, and so far from the west line of the Preserve as to in- clude within the described limits the 500,000 acres. These are the lands now embraced within the counties of Huron and Erie, and the Townsliip of Ruggles, in Ashland County. The islands were not included. The lands so given were called '' Sufferers' Lands," and those to whom they were given were, in 1706, by the Legislature of Con necticut, incorporated by the name of the " Pro- prietors of the half-million acres of laud lying south of Lake Erie." After Ohio had become an independent State, this Ibreign corporation was not found to work well here, not being subject to her laws, and, to relievo ihe owners of all emb'r- rassment, on the 15th of April, 1803, the Legi.sla- ture of this State conl'erred corporate power on the owners and proprietors of the " [Talf-million acres of land lying south of Lake Erii," in the county of Trumbull, called " Sufferers' Land." An account of the losses of the inhabitants had been taken in pounds, shillings and pence, and a price placed upon the lands, and each of the suf- ferers received land proportioned to the extent of his loss. These lands subsequently took the name of " Fire Lands," from the circumstance that the greater part of the losses suffered resulted from fire. In 1795, the remaining portion of the Reserve was sold to Oliver Phelps and thirty-five others, who formed what became known as the " Connect- icut Land Company." Some uneasiness concern- ■ ing the validity of the title arose from the fact that, whatever interest Virginia, Massachusetts or New York may have had in the lands reserved, and claimed by Connecticut, had been transferred to the United States, and, if neither of the claim- ing States had title, the dominion and ownership passed to the United States by the treaty made with England at the close of the Revolution. This condition of things was not the only source of difficulty and trouble. The Reserve was so far from Connecticut as to make it impracticable for that State to extend her laws over the same, or ordain new ones for the government of the inhabit- ants; and, having parted with all interest in the soil, her right to provide laws for the people was not only doubted, but denied. Congress had provided by the ordinance of 1787 for the gov- ernment of the territory northwest of the Ohio ; but to admit jurisdiction in the United States to govern this part of that territory, would cast grave doubt upon the validity of the company's title. It was therefore insisted that the regulationt pre- scribed by that instrument for the government of the Noithwest Territory had no operation or effect within the limits of the Reserve. To quiet apprehension, and to remove all cause of anxiety on the subject. Congress, on April 28, 180(), authorized the President to execute and deliver, on the part of the United States, letters patent to the Governor of Connecticut, whereby the United States released, for the uses named, all ight and title to the soil of the Reserve, and confirmed it unto those who had purcha.sod it irom that State. Tlie execution and delivery, however, of the letters patent were upon the condition that Connecticut should forever renounce and release to the United States entire and complete civil jurisdiction over the territory released. This condition was accejited, and thereupon Connecticut transferred her jurisdiction to the United States, and the "^S i ^ United States released her claim and title to the soil While this controversy was going on, there was another contestant in the field, having the advan- tage of actual occupancy, and in no wise inclined to recognize a title adverse to his, nor yield, upon mere invitation, a possession so long enjoyed. This contestant was the Indian. By the treaty at Greenville in 1795, preceding treaties were con- firmed, and the diiFerent tribes released their claims to all territory east of the line of the Cuya- hoga River and south of the Indian boundary line. This left the larger part of the territory of the Western Reserve still in the hands of the savage. On July 4, 1805, a treaty was made at Fort Industry with the chiefs and warriors of the diflFerent nations settled in the northern and western sections of the State, by which the Indian title to all the lands of the Reserve, lying west of the Cuyahoga, was extinguished. By this treaty all the lands lying between the Cuyahoga and the Meridian, one hundred and twenty miles west of Pennsylvania, were ceded by the Indians for 120,000 in goods, and a perpetual annuity of $9,500, payable in goods at first cost. The latter clause has become a dead letter, because there is no one to claim it. Since this treaty, the title to the land of the Re- serve has been set at rest. The price for which this vast tract of land was sold to the Connecticut Land Company was 81,200,000, the subscriptions to the purchase fund ranging from 81,683, by Sylvanus Griswold, -to §168,185, by Oliver Phelps. Each dollar sub- scribed to this fund entitled the subscriber to one twelve hundred thousandth part in common and undivided of the land purchased. Having ac- c^uired the title, the Company, in the following spring, commenced to survey the territory lying east of the Cuyahoga, and during the years of 1796 and 1797, completed it. The first surveying party arrived at Conneaut, in New Connecticut, July 4, 1796, and proceeded at once to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of American Independ- ence. There were fifty persons in the party, under the lead of Gen. Moses Cleveland, of Can- terbury, Conn. There will be found in Whittle- sey's Early History of Cleveland an extract from the journal of Cleveland, describing the particu- lars of the celebration. Among other things noted by him was the following : " The day, memora- ble as the birthday of American IndeiJendence and freedom from British tyrrany, and commemo- rated by all good, freeborn sons of America, and memorable as the day on which the settlement of this now country was commenced, and (whichj in time may raise her head among the most enlight- ened and improved States " — a prophecy already more than fulfilled. For the purposes of the survey, a point where the 41st degree of north latitude intersected the western line of Penn,s3dvania, was found, and from this degree of latitude, as a base line, meridian lines, five miles apart, were run north to the lake. Lines of latitude were then run, five miles apart, thus dividing the territory into townships five miles square. It was not until after the treaty of 1805 that the lands lying west of the Cuyahoga were surveyed. The meridians and parallels were run out in 1806, by Abraham Tappan and his assistants. The base and western lines of the Re- serve were run by Seth Pease, for the Govern- ment. The range of townships were numbered progressively west, from the western boundary of Pennsylvania. The first tier of townships, run- ning north and south, lying along the border of Pennsylvania, is Range No. 1 ; the adjoining tier west is range No. 2, and so on throughout the twenty-four ranges. The township lying next north of the 41st parallel of latitude in each range, is Township No. 1 of that range. The township next north is No. 2, and so on progressively to the lake. It was supposed that there were 4,- 000,000 acres of land between Pennsylvania and the Eire Lands. If the supposition had proved true, the land would have cost 30 cents per acre ; as it resulted, there were less than 3,000,- 000 acres. The miscalculation arose from the mistaken assumption that the south shore of Lake Erie bore more nearly west than it does, and also in a mistake made in the length of the east-and- west line. The distance west from the Pennsyl- vania line, surveyed in 1796-97, was only fifty-six miles, the survey ending at the Tuscarawas River. To reach the western limits of the Reserve, a dis- tance of sixty-four miles was to be made. Abra- ham Tappan and Anson Sessions entered into an agreement with the Land Company, in 1805, to complete the survey of the lands between the Fire Lands and the Cuyahoga. This they did in ISOG, and, from the width of Range 19, it is very evident that the distance from the east to the west line of the Reserve is less than one hundred and twenty miles. This range . of townships is gore-shaped, and is much less than five miles wide, circum- stances leading the company to divide all below i j) y^ i- 176 HISTORY OF OHIO. Township 6 into tracts for the purpose of equaliza- tion. The west line of Range 19, from north to south, as originally run, bears to the ■west, and between it and Range 20, as indicated on the map, there is a strip of land, also gore-shaped, that was left in the first instance unsurveyed, the surveyors not knowing tlie exact whereabouts of the eastern line of the "half -million acres" belonging to the suf- ferers. In 1806, Amos Spafford, of Cleveland, and Almon Ruggles, of Huron, were agreed on by the two companies to ascertain and locate the line be- tween the Fire Lands and the lands of the Connecti- cut Company. They first surveyed off' the " half- million acres " belonging to the "sufferers,'' and, not agreeing with Seth Pease, who had run out the base and west lines, a dispute arose between the two companies, which was finally adjusted be- fore the draft, by establishing the eastern line of the Fire Lands where it now is. This left a strip of land east of the Fire Lands, called surplus lands, which was included in range 19, and is embraced in the western tier of townships of Lorain County. The mode of dividing the land among the indi- vidual purchasers, was a little peculiar, though evidently just. An equalizing committee accom- panied the surveyors, to make such observations and take such notes of the character of the town- ships as would enable them to grade them intelli- gently, and make a just estimate and equalization of their value. The amount of purchase-money was divided into 400 shares of 8't,000 a share. Certifi- cates were issued to each owner, showing him to be entitled to such proportion of the entire land, as the amount he paid, bore to the purchase price of the whole. Four townships of the greatest value were first selected from that part of the Western Reserve, to which the Indian title had been extinguished, and were divided into lots. Each township was di- vided into not less than 100 lots. The number of lots into wliich the four townships were divided, would, at least, equal the 400 shares, or a lot to a share, and each person or company of persons en- titled to one or more shares of the Reserve — each share being one four-hundredth part of the Re- serve — was allowed to participate in the draft that was determined upon for the division of the joint property. The committee appointed to select the four most valuable townships for such division, was directed to select of the remaining townships, a sufficient number, and of the best quality and greatest value, to be used for ec[ualizing purposes. After this selection was made, they were to choose the best remaining township, and this township was the one, to the value of which all others were brought by the equalizing process of annexation, and if there were several of equal value with the one so selected, no annexations were to be made to them. The equalizing townships were cut up into parcels of various size and value, and these parcels were annexed to townships inferior in value to the standard township, and annexations of land from the equalizing townships, were made to the inferior townships, in quantity and quality, sufficient to make all equal in value to the standard adopted. When the townships liad thus all been ecjualized, they were drawn by lot. There were ninety-three equalized parcels drawn east of the Cuyahoga, and forty-six on the west. The draft of the lands east of the river, took place prior to 1800, and of those west of that river, on the 4th day of April, 18o7. In the first draft, it required an ownership of $12,903.23 of the original purchase money, to en- title the owner to a township ; and in the second draft, it required an ownership of |26,087 in the original purchase-money, to entitle the owner to a township. The same mode and plan were followed in each draft. The townships were numbered, and the numbers, on separate pieces of paper, placed in a box. The names of tlie proprietors who had sub- scribed, and were the owners of a sufficient amount of the puroliase-money to entitle them to a township, were arranged in alphabetical order, and when it was necessary for several persons to combine, be- cause not owning severally, a suificient amount of the purchase-money, or number of shares, to en- title them to a township, the name of the person of the company that stood alphabetically first, was used to represent them in the draft, and in case the small owners were unable, from disagreement among themselves, to -unite, a committee was ap- pointed to select and class the proprietors, and those selected were required to associate them- selves together, for the purpose of the draft. The township, or parcel of land, corresponding to the first number drawn from the box belonged to the person whose name stood first on the list, or to the persons whom he represented ; and the second drawn belonged to the second person, and so down through tlie list. This was tlie mode adopted to sever the ownership in common, and to secure to each individual, or company of individuals, their interest in severalty. Soon after the conveyance to the land company, to avoid complications arising from the death of its members, and to facilitate the transmission of titles, the company conveyed the ' ^/U 5 \* jM- 4- HISTORY OF OHIO. 177 entire purchase, in trust, to John Morgan, John Cadwell and Jonathan Brace ; and as titles were wanted, either before or after the division by draft, conveyances were made to the purchasers by these trustees. Little was known of this country at the time of its purchase by the Land Company. It was for- merly inhabited by a nation of Indians called the Erigas or Eries, from which the lake took its name. This nation was at an early date destroyed by the Iroquois. In his '■ History of New France," published in 1744, in speaking of the south shore of Lake Erie, Charlevoix says : "All this shore is nearly unknown." An old French map, made in 1755, to be seen in the rooms of the Western Re- serve Historical Society, in Cleveland, names the country between the Cuyahoga and Sandusky Eivors, as Cauahogue ; and east of the Cuyahoga, as Gwahoga. This is also the name given to that river which is made to empty into Cuyahoga Bay ; and the country designated as Cauahogue is indi- cated as the seat of war, the Mart of Trade, and the chief hunting grounds of the Six Nations of the lake. The earliest settlement was on the Reserve, at Warren, in 1798, though salt was made in Weathersfield, Mahoning County, as early as 1755, by whites, who made short sojourns there for that purpose. The number of settlers increased in this section until, in 1800, there were some sixteen fam- ilies. In 1796, the first surveying party for the Land Company, landed at Conneaut, followed three years later by the first permanent settler. Then followed settlements in Geauga and Cuyahoga, in 1798; in Portage and Lake, in 1799; Summit, in 1800; Lorain, 1807, and Medina, in 1811. "The settlement of the Reserve commenced in a manner somewhat peculiar. Instead of beginning on one side of a county, and j)rogressiug gradually into the interior, as had usually been done in similar cases, the proprietors of the Reserve, being gov- erned by difi'erent and separate views, began their improvements wherever their individual interests led them. Here we find many of the first settlers immersed in a dense forest, fifteen or twenty miles or more from the abode of any white inhabitants. In consequence of their scattered situation, jour- neys were sometimes to be performed of twenty or fifty miles, for the sole purpose of having the staple of an ox-yoke mended, or some other mechanical job, in itself trifiing, but absolutely es.sential for the successful prosecution of business. These jour- neys had to be performed through the wilderness, at a great expense of time, and, in many cases, the only safe guide to direct their course, were the township lines made by the surveyors. The want of mills to grind the first harvest, was in itself a great evil. Prior to 1800, many families used a small hand-mill, properly called a sweat-mill, which took the hard labor of two hours to supply flour enough for one person a single day. About the year 1800, one or two grist-mills, operating by water- power, were erected. One of these was at Newburg, now in Cuyahoga Co. But the distance of many of the settlements from the mills, and the want of roads, often rendered the expense of grinding a single bushel ecjual to the value of two or three."* Speaking of the settlement of the Fire Lands, C. B. S(juier, late of Sandusky City, says : " The largest sufl'erers, and, consequently, those who held the largest interest in the Fire Lands, pur- chased the rights of many who held smaller inter- ests. The proprietors of these lands, anxious that their new territory should be settled, offered strong inducements for persons to settle in this then un- known region. It is quite difiicult to ascertain who the first settlers were, upon these lands. As early, if not prior to the organization of the State, sev- eral persons had squatted upon the lands at the mouth of the streams and near the shore of the lake, led a hunter's life, and trafficked with the Indians. But they were a race of wanderers, and gradually disappeared before the regular progress of the set- tlements. Those devoted missionaries, the Mora- vians, made a settlement, which they called New Salem, as early as 1790, on Huron River, about two miles below Milan. The first regular settlers, however, were Col. Jerard Ward, who came in the spiing of 1808, and Almon Piuggles and Jabez Wright, in succeeding autumn." The next year brought a large inflow of immigration, which spread over the greater portion of both Erie and Huron Counties, though the first settlement in Sandusky City was not made until 1817. It was not until the year 1800 that civil govern- ment was organized on the Western Reserve. The Governor and Judges of the Northwest Territory, under the ordinance of 1787, by proclamation in the following year, organized the county of Wash- ington, and included within it all of the Western Reserve east of the Cuyahoga; and in 1796, the year of the first occupation by the whites of the New Connecticut, the county of Wayne was erected, which included over one-ha'f of Ohio, all of the Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga, with a part of Indiana, all of Miclu'ijan, and the Ameri- *Judge Amzi Atwater. [ •» ^ :|v *-> ik^ 178 HISTORY OF OHIO can portion of Lakes Superior, Huron, St. Clair and Erie, to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, with the county seat at Detroit. In 1797, Jefferson County was estabhshed,and the Western Ptcscrve, east of the Cuyahoga, became a part of it, by re.stricting the limits of Washington. Connecticut and the Land Company refused to recognize the right of the ( leneral Government to inake such disposition of the Keserve. The act of including this territory within the counties of Washington, Jefferson and Wayne, they declared to be unwarranted, and the power of Congi-ess to prescribe rules for the gov- ernment of the same, they denied, and from the opening settlement in 1796, until the transfer of jurisdiction to the Cleneral Government was com- plete, on May 30, 1800, the newssttlers were entirely without municipal laws. There was no regulation governing the transmission of, or success to, prop- erty on the decease of the owner ; no regulations of any kind securing the protection of rights, or the redress of wrongs. The want of laws for the government of the settlers was seriously felt, and as early as 1796, the company petitioned the Legislature of Conneclieut to erect the Reserve into a county, with proper and suitable laws to regulate the internal po'ioy of the territory for a limited period. This petition, however, was not granted, and for upward of four years the inter- course and conduct of the early settlers were regu- lated and restrained only by their New England sense of justice and right. But on the 10th of July, ISOO, after Connecticut had released her jurisdiction to the LTnited States, the Western Reserve was erected into a county, by the name of Trumbull, in honor of the Governor of Cnnneeti- cut, by the civil authority of Ohio. At the elec- tion in the fall of that year, Edward Paine received thirty-eight votes out of the forty-two oast, for member of the Territorial Legislature. The elec- tion was held at Warren, the county seat, and was the first participation tJiat the settlers had in the affaiis of government here. During the same year the Court of Quarter Sessions, a tribunal that did not survive the Constitution of 1802, was es- tablished and organized, and by it the county was divided into eight organized townships. The town- ship of Cleveland was one, and embraced a large portion of territory east of the Cuyahoga, but all the Reserve lying west of that river. On December 1, 180.'), Geauga County was erected. It included within its limits, nearly all the present counties of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Cuyahoga. On February 10, 1807, there was a more general di- vision into counties. That part of the Western Resf-rve lying west of the Cuyahoga and north of Township No. 4, was attached to Geauga, to be a part thereof until Cuyahoga should be organized. In the same year Ashtabula was erected out of Trumbull and Geauga, to be organized whenever its population would warrant it ; also, all that part of Trumbull which lay west of the fifth range of town.ships, was erected into a county by the name of Portage, all of the Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga and south of Townsliip No. 5, being attached to it. The county of Cuyahoga was formed out of Geauga, on the same date, February 10, 1807, to be organized whenever its population should be sufiicient to require it, which occurred in 1810. On February 8, 1809, Huron County was erected into a county, covering the Fire Lands, but to remain attached to Geauga and Portage, for the time being, for purposes of government. The eastern boundary of this county was subsequently, in 1811, moved forward to the Black River, but, in the year 1822., it was given its present bounda- ries, and, in 1833, Erie County was erected, di- viding its territory. On the 18th of February, 1812, Medina was formed, and comprised all the teriltory between the eleventh range of townships and Huron County, and south of Township No. 5. It was attached to Portage, however, until January 14, 1818, when it received an independ- ent organization. Lorain County was formed on the 26th day of December, 1822, from the outly- ing portions of Huron, Medina and Cuyahoga Counties. It was organized with an indei)endent local administration, January 21, 1824. In 1840, were organized Summit County, on March 3, and Lake County on March 0; the former drawing from Rledina and Portage, and taking two town- ships from Stark County, and the latter being formed from Geauga and Cuyahoga. In 1846, Ashland County was formed, taking three town- ships of the Pieserve, on February 26, and ^laho- ning, on March 1, taking ten townships from Trumbull, leaving the boundaries of the Reserve as marked at present. In the history of its social development, the Western Reserve is not less interesting or peculiar than in the beginning of its material interests. The history of the mother State was peculiar, and the Reserve, it Wiis fondly hoped, would be a re- production of the maternal features and graces, a New Connecticut. A chronicler* of the early *Cbarles W. Elliott. V^^ 'V :^! 'k^ IIISTOIiy OF OHIO. 179 liistory of New Enf;land, writing of the Now Ha- ven Colony of l6o7, says: ''During (ho first year, little ' government' was needed or exercised. Each man was a lord to liimself. On the 4t.h of June (1638), the settlers met in Mr. Neuman's barn, and bound themselves by a sort of Constitu- tion. * * * They decided to make the Bible their law-book ; but by and by new towns were made, and new laws were needed, and they had the good sense to make them. Their State was founded upon their church, thus expressed in their first compact, signed by one hundred and eleven persons : ' That church members only shall be free_ Burgesses, and that they only shall choose Magistrates and officers among themselves, to have the power of transacting all publique civil aifairs of this plantation, of making and repealing laws, dividing of inheritances, deciding of differ- ences that may arise, and doing all things or busi- nesses of like nature.' " Twenty-seven years later, when circumstances made a union of the two Connecticut Colonies necessary, the greatest and most lasting objection on the part of the New Ha- ven Colony was the lessening of the civil power of the church which would follow the union. In 1 680, the Governor of the United Colonies, thus describes the community: "The people are strict Congregationalists. There are four or five Seven- day men, and about as many .Quakers. We have twenty-six towns and twenty-one churches. Beg- gars and vagabonds are not suffered, but are bound out to service." These characteristics of Connect- icut have been marked by all historians as well as the facts, that she " Early established and sup- ported schools and colleges ; her people have, from the outset, been industrious and honest ; crime has not abounded ; while talent and character, and courage and cleanliness, have been common through all her history." It wa.s to reproduce these characteristics throughout the territory embraced within the provisions of her charter, that the mother State labored. For one hundred and thirty years she followed this purpose with an un- deviating method. " One tract after another, suf- ficient for a municipal government, was granted to trusty men, who were to form a settlement of well-assorted families, with the church, the meet- ing hou.se, the settled ministry of the Cospel, the school, the local magistracy, and the democratic town-meeting represented in the General Assem- bly. Under this method, self-governed towns in what is now a part of Pennsylvania, were oticc represented in the General Assembly at Hartford and New Haven.''* It was with the hope of ex- tending this method to the Ile.serve (hat ConnectiT cut so strenuously asserted her juri.sdiction to hpr Western lands ; but in the years of rapid growth succeeding the war of the Revolution, the old method proved no longer practicable, and the par; ent surrendered her offspring to the hands of abler guardians. But there remained a field in which solicitous regard could find action, and the impress of her work in this direction is plainly apparent to this day. It was her method of " mis:^ions to the new settlements " which had become crystallized into a sj'stem about this time. Of the scope and character of this work, Key. Leonard Bacon thus speaks : " At first, individ- ual pastors, encouraged by their brethren, and ob- taining permission from their churches, performed long and weary journe3'S on horseback into Ver- mont and the great wilderness of Central New York, that they might preach the Word and ad- minister the ordinances of rehgion to such mein- bers of their flocks, and others, as had emigrated beyond the reach of ordinary New England priv- ileges. By degrees the work was enlarged, and arrangements for sustaining it were systematized, till in the year 1708, the same year in which the settlement of the Iteserve began, the pastors of Connecticut, in their General Association, instituted the Missionary Society of Connecticut, In 1 802, one year after the jurisdiction of the old State over the Eescrve was formally relinquished, the Trustees of the IMissionary Society were incorpo- rated. As early as 1800, only two years aiter the first few families from Connecticut had planted themselves this side of Northwestern Pennsylvania, the first missionary made his appearance among them. This was the Bev. Joseph Badger, the apostle of the Western Eeserve — a man of large and various experience, as well as of native force, and of venerable simplicity in character and man- ners. In those days the work of the missionary to the new settlements was by no means the same with what is now called ' Home IMis-ionary ' work. Our modern Home Missionary has his station and his home ; his business is to gather around him- self a permanent congregation ; his hope is to grow up with the congregation which he gathers, and the aid which he receives is given to help the church support its pa-tor. But the old-fashioned 'missionary to the new settlements,' was an itiner- ant. He had no station and no settled home. If he had a family, his work was continually calling ^ Aildrtss by Leonard Bacon, D. D. -^^ ^^ 180 IIISTOKY OF OHIO. him away from tliem. He went from one little settlement to another — from one lonely cabin to another — preachinii' from house to house, and not often spending two consecutive Sabbaths in one place. The nature of the emigration to the wilder- ness, in tliose days, required such labors. " It was soon felt that two missionaries were needed for the woi'k among the scattered settle- ments. Accordingly, the llev. Ezckiel J. Chap- man was sent. He arrived on the lieserve at tlie close of the year 1801, and returned to Connecti- cut in April, 1803. His place was soon supplied by a young man ordained expressly to the work, the llev. Thomas Itobbins, who continued labor- ing in this field from November, 1803, till April, 18UU. In a leiter of his, dated June 8, 1805, I find the following statement ; ' Since the be- ginning of the present year, I have been taking pains to mnke an actual enumeration of the fami- lies in this county.* The work I have just com- pleted. There are one or more families in sixty- four towns. January 1, 1804:, the number of families was about 800. The first of last January there were a httle more than 1100, of whfdi 450 are Yankees. There were twenty-four schools. There are seven churches, with a pri spect that two more will be organized soon, and more than twenty places where the worship of God is regu- larly maintained on the Sabbath.' " Such Wiis the beginning of an influence to which the people of the Reserve are principally indebted for the earty and secure foundation of the church and school, and for that individuality which marks them as a peculiar and envied people in a great common- wealth made up of the chosen intellect and brawn of a whole nation. Owing to the peculiar relation of the Reserve to the General Government in early years, the history of its public school fund is exceptional. By the ordi- nance of Congress in 1785, it was declared that Section IG of every toAvnship should be reserved for the maintenance of public schools in the town- ship. The oi-dmanoe of 1787, re-affirmed the policy thus declared. The provisions of the.se ordi- nances, in this respect, were not applicable to, nor operative over, the region of the Reserve, because of the fact that the United States did not own its soil; and, although the entire amount paid to Connecticut by the Land Company for the terri- *Trumbull County then included tho \vhoIe of ttie Reserve. tory of the Reserve was set apart for, and devoted to, the mtiintenance of public schools in that State, no part of that fund was appropriated to purposes of education here. There was an inequality of advantages between the people of the Reserve and the remainder of the State, in that respect. This inequality was, however, in a measure removed in 1803, by an act of Congress, which set apart and appropriated to the Western Reserve, as an equiv- alent for Section 16, a sufficient quantity of land in the United States Military District, to compen- sate the loss of that section, in tire lands lying east of the Cuyahoga. This amount was equal to one- thirty-sixth of the land of the reserve, to which the Indian title had before that time been extin- guished. The Indian title to the lands of the Re- serve west of the Cuyahoga, not then having been extinguished, the matter seemed to drop from public notice, and remain so until 1829. At this date, the Legislature, in a memorial to Congress, directed its attention to the fact, that, by the treaty of Fort Industry, concluded in 1805, the Indian title to the land west of the Cuyahoga, had been relinquished to the United States, and prayed in recognition of the fact, that an additional amount of land lying within the United States MiHtary District, should be set apart for the use of the public schools of the Reserve, and equal in quan- tity to one thirty-sixth of the territory ceded to the United States by that treaty. The memo- rial produced the desired result. In 1834, Con- gress, in compliance with a request of the Leg- islature, granted such an additional amount of land to the Reserve for school purposes, as to equalize its distribution of lands for such purpose, and in furtherance of its ob- ject to carry into effect its determination to donate one thirty-sixth part of the public domain to the purposes of education. The lands first allotted to the Reserve for such purpose, were sit- uated in the Counties of Holmes and Tuscarawas, and ill 1831, were surveyed and sold, the jsroceeds arising from their sale as well as the funds arising from the sale of those subsequently appropri- ated, being placed and invested with other school funds of the State, and constitute one of the sources from which the people of the Reserve derive the means of supporting and maintaining their common schools. ) >y MEDINA COUNTY COURT HOUSE ^\^ PAKT II. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY— PHYSICAL FEATURES — GEOLOGICAL SURVEY*— MATERIAL RESOURCES- CULTURAL SYSTEM— IMPROVEMENT IN STOCK, ETC. -AGRI- THE relation of the physical features of a country to its history is an important one, and he who would learn the hidden causes that make or mar a nation at its birth must seek in these "the divinity that shapes its ends.'' Here is found the spring whence flow the forces that on their broader current wreck the ship of state, or bear it safely on to its appoint- ed haven. In these plij'sical features are stored those potent industrial possibilities that make the master and the slave among the nations. From the fertile soil comes fruit-ladened, peace- loving agriculture ; from the rock-bound stores of mineral wealth springs the rude civilization of the Pacific slope, or the half-savage clashing of undisciplined capital and labor in the mining regions of Pennsylvania ; from the river rises the commercial metropolis, which, " crowned with the glorjr of the mountains," and fed with the bounty of the plains, stands the chosen ar- biter between the great forces that join to make a nation's greatness. The influence of this sub- tile power knows no bounds. Here it spreads the lotus plant of ease, and binds the nation in chains of indolent effeminacy ; here, among the bleak peaks of a sterile land, " The heather on the mountain height Begins to bloom on purple light," *Compiled from the report of Alfred W. Wheat, in the State Geological Purvey. tj'pe of a hardy and unconqtiered race ; here, it strews the sands of desert wilds, and man, with- out resourcs, becomes a savage. These manifestations are scarcely less marked in the smaller divisions of the State, and in them is found the natural introduction to a con- sideration of the civil, political and military his- tory of the county. Medina County is situated a little west of the middle line of the Western Keserve, which forms the northeastern corner of the State, and lies upon the broad summit of the water-shed that divides the drainage of the State. It is bounded on the north by Lorain and Cuyahoga, on the east by Summit, on the south by AVayne, and on the west by Lorain and Ashland Counties. Its form is nearly that of a rectangle, lying east and west. Its northwestern boundarj- is broken b}^ its wanting one township in the 16th and two in the 17th Kange. Its area given by the Auditor's suminary of the decennial assess- ment of 1880, is 262,208 acres, of which 101,- 997 acres are arable, 106, .381 acres in meadow and pasture land, and 53,630 acres are uncul- tivated or wood land. The average value, ex- clusive of buildings, $25.38 per acre. The whole county is somewhat rolling, the eastern part being especially marked in this respect. Here it is even hilly, reaching in Wadsworth ^ '>^ 183 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Township an altitude of 700 feet above Lake Erie. Tlie western part is more level, the land ill the northwestern parts not having an eleva- tion of more that two hudrecl and fifty or three hundred feet above the lake. In the western part is found a considerable extent of swamp, a body of some two thousand acres Ij'ing in Har- risville Township, which gives rise to the Black River, flowing in a generally northward direc- tion through Lorain Count}' and finding its out- let into Lake Erie at the village of Lorain, in the couuty of that name. The Eocky River, the more importantof the streams of this countj', finds its source in Montville at the foot of the high lands in the southeast part of the township, and, flow- ing in a general northward direction, empties into the lake in Rockport Township, in Cuyahoga County. The drainage southward is through the Killbuck, Chippewa and Styx Creeks, that eventually find an outlet in the Muskingum River, and thence to the Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico. None of these streams reach any importance within the limits of the county, though ample for the purposes of an agricult- ural communitj', and furnish motive power for a few mills. The bulk of the natural drainage is northward, though the few county ditches that exist in the county find an outlet south- ward. A single lake is formed in the county, situated on the boundary line between La Pay- ette and AYestfield Townships. This is a pleas- antly situated body of water, and is made a place of considerable resott b}' picnic parties, considerable capital having been employed to adapt it to this purpose. It is a mile and a half long, and has been made an outlet for a county ditch. It discharges its water through the Chippewa River. The soil of the county presents considerable diversitj' — clay, loam, gravelly and sandy mixt- ures and muck being found. The western por- tion is generally claj-, but not of the stiflT, una- dulterated quality found in many parts of Lor- ain County. In Litchfield and York Townships, however, which border on this county, the soil is the nearest to that described, the surface be- ing rather flat. In Hinckley Township is found a loamy soil, producing a growth of chestnut, walnut, hickory and oak timber. In Harrisville Township is found clay, sand and muck. Bowlder clay is found in many parts of the county, containing many pebbles of crj'stalline rock, granite, quartz, etc., brought from the far North, and more and larger stones derived from some neighboring locality. Of these, the lar- gest bowlder in Ohio, with possibly one or two exceptions, may be seen in a field at the cross- roads one mile and a half from Lodi, and a lit- tle east. This mass of erratic rock is that va- rietj' of granite known as syenite. The feld- spar is a dark flesh flolor. It shows two per- pendicular sides, the highest of which measures twelve feet above the sod. One of these sides measures fifteen feet across the face, and the other is ten and a half feet acros* The sloping side rests against a grassy bank, and gives ac- cess to the top of the mass. The depth of the bowlder below the soil cannot be stated ; ap- parently, it is considerable, and perhaps the larger part of it is out of sight. If half of the mass is below ground, as can fairly be inferred, then the weight of the block may safelj'' be put at about 165 tons' weight. Two rods dis- tant from this block is another bowlder of the same character, evidently broken from it. This second block is nearly- covered with the drift, the exposure being simply one corner, presenting three triangular surfaces. It pro- jects about seven feet above the sod. Another large mass of this rock lies near the two al- ready described, nearly covered with the drift. The exposure measures only three by six feet, though it can be struck with an iron probe some distance from this point. These speci- mens are of especial interest to those who un- derstand what were the transporting forces which brought these masses so far from their original beds. ^5= :rr S'- ■ V HISTOBY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 183 The timber varies noticeabh^ witli tlie change in soil. Clicstnnt in considerable quantities is foLiufl along- the ledges and sand}' tracts in the eastern part, while another quarter is made np of beech, sugar maple, oak and ash. The ten most abundant varieties of timber found in the county are in the following order : Beech, ma- ple, oak, elm, ash, whitewood, hickor}-, bass- wood, black walnut and butternut. Other va- rieties are found, in limited quantities, as fol- lows : Sycamore, ironwood, buckeye, willow and poplar — the first being found generally on the alluvia, lands of the river bottoms. Glacial markings are shown wherever the rock is exposed and is of such a nature as to retain them. The general trend of the stria is southeast. A well-marked glaciated surface is shown at the quarry of Henry A. Mills, in Wads- worth Township. The striae run southeast and northwest, the general dip of the glaciated sur- face being nearly ten degrees to the northwest. There is quite an extent of rock exposed along the road, affording an unusually good opportu- nity to see a contiguous, well-marked, glacier- planed surface. There are a few short, single striae, which strike fifteen degrees more east- wardly, and were, perhaps, made by icebergs succeeding the glaciers, which made the greater portion of the linings. The last-mentioned set are generally far apart, and, usually, but three to four feet long, while the glacial markings proper are continuous throughout the exposure, and are as true as " chalk-lines.'' There is a fine glaciated surface on the rock exposure in the northeastern part of Medina Township. The general section of the rocks exposed in the county is as follows : FRET. 1. Coal measures 100 2. Conglomerate 135 3. Cuyahoga shale (Waverly group) 250 The record of a boring in Litchfield Town- ship in ]860, by Mr. J. V. Straight, gives the following section : FT. IN. 1. Clay 15 2. Shale 180 3. Hard slale 2 4. White flint 2 5. Coal 2 G. Sh:Ue 1 7. Sandstone 2-5 Of the above series, No. 1 is drift clay ; Nos. 2 to 6, Cuyahoga shale ; No. 7, Bereagrit. No. 5, coal, is not true coal, but either a layer of carbonaceous shale, or a local accumulation of vegetable matter, such as is sometimes met with in the Waverly rocks. In Liverpool Township, a number of wells were bored, for various pur- poses, to a considerable depth, some to a depth of over 500 feet. No reliable record was kept of any of these borings, but, from a general statement, it is learned that the deepest one was put through the sandstone (Berea grit), the Bedford, Cleveland, Erie and Huron shale, some flinty layers (Hani'lton), and then 500 feet into limestone (corniferous, water-lime and Niagara) —a total depth of 1,450 feet. The coal measures reach into the southeast- ern part of the countv, and coal No. 1 is worked with profit in three mines which are located in Wadsworth Township. The succession of rocks in this region of the coal measures, according to Mr. Julian Humphrey, the senior partner of the Diamond Coal Company, and a man who has had thirty j'ears' experience in drilling for coal, is as follows : FT. i;^ 1. Drift 20 2. Coarse sandstone 40 3. Dark soft sh.ile g 4. White clay 4to6 5. Gray shale 16 6. Chocolate shale 16 • 7. Dark shale 16 8. Coal 3to5 9. Fire clay lto6 10. Fire stone, " bottom rock." The last stratum, a quartzose sandstone, was not drilled through, as it is extremely hard. ^^ 1^ A [\i\ 184 HISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. The conglomerate is supposed to be below the Are stone. Sir. Coleman has put down some seventy-five drill-holes in this section of the State, and says that this, his ideal section, is always essentially encountered where coal is found. The roof of shales of the Wadsworth coal mines are generally mazes of fossil coal plants, all pressed into thin sheets and printed upon the shale as distinctly as if photographed. The thickness of the coal is in some cases over five feet, but it is generally thinner, the larger portion of the township affording only thin coal. This coal lies in pockets, and, as it is the lowest in the coal series of Ohio, and forms the ma.rgin of the great coal basin, it is more irreg- ular than the seams of coal which were depos- ited subsequently. The coal measures extend into Sharon Township, which lies directly north, and borings in the southeast and southwest cor- ners of this township have shown the presence of coal, though not in quantities to justify min- ing operations. The coal question has agitated the community of Guilford Township — adjoin- ing Wadsworth on the west — to a considerable extent, but borings which have been made at several points, have not resulted in finding any coal. The carboniferous conglomerate is exposed in seven townships, all in the two eastern tiers save Guilford. But most of this conglomerate region shows the Cuvahoga shale of the Waverly group in the deeper ravines ; in fact, the pre- vailing rock in Medina Count}' is of this older division. Some fair building stone is quarried from the conglomerate, but a great proportion of this rock is unfit for building purposes. The character of this rock varies materiallj' in the several places when exposed. In general, the pebbles contained in it are quite small, and compose no considerable part of the formation, sand constituting the bulk of the material. The estimated thickness of this formation in Medina County is 135 feet. This division appears far- ther west in Brunswick than in any other township of the county, the extreme limit being about 100 rods west of the north and south center road, in the upper part of the township. It is here nearly a pure sandstone, the quartz pebbles being comparatively rare. The product of the quarries in the rocky ravine two miles north of the center is variable, some of the stone being a fine white grit, while much of it is badly stained w>th large, dark patches. In Hinckley Township, the conglomerate is more abundantly exposed than in any other town- ship. Immense perpendicular ledges, having curiously worn sides and caves, from which is- sue fine springs of never-failing water, are found here. The observant stroller over these extended rocky ledges sees many astonishing passages in the rock, made by the falling-away of large masses, consequent upon the under- mining of the softer rock below. The small stream running northwardl}^ through the township, was once a powerful wearing tor- rent that filled the valley, in the bottom of which it now so quietly flows. These ledge exposures of the conglomerate are found, also, in the perpendicular bluffs along Spruce Run, in Sharon Township. This rock is found also in the eastern half of Montville. Here, the grains of the rock are about the size of bird shot, with quartz pebbles as large as blue bird's eggs, scattered sparingly through the mass. In Wadsworth, the exposure is found one and three-fourths miles south of the center, by three- fourths of a mile west. A coarse-grained sand- stone, locall}' a conglomerate, is quarried some- what extensivelj' at a place one mile north of the center of the village. The dip at the quarry as made out at the most northwesterly out- cropping of the ledge is toward the northwest, and would seem to be a local exception to the general dip. This is explicable on the suppo- sition that here was the limit of this deposit, and the slope was naturall^^ to the shore, the dip being in the opposite direction or southeast. The conglomerate overlying the coal would ap- w iiL HISTORY OP MEDINA COUNTY. 185 pear to be the result of the washing in of peb- bles, derived from the true and older conglom- erate. This roek is quarried to a greater or less extent in Brunswick, Granger, Jlontville and Wadsworth Townships. The Waverl}' series, or the upper division of it, now named Cuj-ahoga Shale, is the third and oldest group of rocks found in Medina County, the greater portion of the drift being immedi- ateljr underlaid by this formation, which is ex- posed in a majority of the townships. Roughly- estimated, the Cuj'ahoga shale in this county may be said to have a thickness of 250 to 300 feet. This group is exceedingly rich in fossils The lithologieal character of the Cuyahoga shale is quite variable, ranging from very soft sliale to a hard, argillaceous sandstone. Some of it, by exposure to weather, separates into thin, tough sheets, but the greater part crumbles down into cla}-. A few beds contain lenticular concretion of lime and iron. The rock is usu- ally of a grajf color, but in shade, as well as in composition and hardness, it differs very greatlj' in successive layers. This rock is quarried for various purposes in Homer, Montville, Harris- ville, Guilford and Medina Townships. The rock in Homer is a soft, gray shale, with inter- spersed layers of hard, sandy shale, of a lighter color. The latter is occasionally worked out of the river bed and used for foundation stone for bridges, etc., but it is too hard to be cut well, and long weathering will cause it to dis- integrate or split into thin slabs. Quarrying along the Whetstone Creek, about a mile south- east of Lodi, has been carried on in numerous places since 1840. The rock is chiefly an ar- gillaceous sandstone, most of the beds being only a few inches thick, and the thickest not twenty inches. Large crevices run through all the rock, which is badly broken up. One mile west of Bridgeport, the town just across the county line in Wayne County, there is a large quarry on the south side of the Killbuck Elver. At this exposure, the rock lies in thicker beds than it does along the Whetstone Creek. This rock is also quarried in the ravine of Fall Creek, one and a half miles east of Seville. Whet- stones and grindstones have been extensivelj' manufactured out of this rock in the northeast corner of Guilford Township, by David Wilson. The grit is coarser but not so sharp as that found in the stone of this group in Wadsworth. In the latter township, whetstones have been manufactured quite extensively from rock taken from the bed of Mineral Run, on land located on the north border of the township, and IGO rods east of the Guilford line. These stones were manufactured by Rej'nolds, Sisler & Com- pany, of Manchester, Summit County, and are known as an "oil and water stone." It was worked into all shapes required by the market, some of it meeting the demands of surgeons and dentists. The three laj'ers of stone found at this localitj- vary in fineness and softness, the lower ones being coarser and harder than the upper one, which was worked principally into hones, etc. The average thickness of the three layers is four inches. In Montville, there is a sandstone quarry, situated about fortj' rods south of the Medina line, and east of the La- fayette line about amile. The stone is unreliable in quality, however, as it often splits into thin sheets after continued weathering. Judge Cas- tle put this stone into the foundation walls of some business blocks in Medina Village, and, in the course of twenty years, it had disintegrated so much that he was obliged to have it replaced with new stone. The quarry at Weymouth af- fords a fine-grained, drab-colored stone, valua- ble for monuments. A slab of this stone, in the cemetery, at Hinckley, has stood weathering over thirty years, and now appears to be in better condition than a majority of the marble slabs in the same cemetery. This bed of stone is nearly two feet thick, but to be worked out, a large amount of superimposed soft shale has to be removed. There is no difficulty in getting water for -,^ k. 186 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. domestic or other purposes. In some places, wells are sunk to a considerable depth before a permanent supplj- is secured, but there are no localities where water cannot be procured by boring. In Brunswick, the wells are generally deep, especiallj' about the center. James Wood- ward makes tliis statement about a well which he dug fifty rods north of the center ; Below the alluvium there were twelve feet of yellow clay, and below the yellow clay the well was dug forty-two feet into blue clay, which con- tained a little gravel throughout. This may be called a sample of the wells in this vicinity. In Hinckley Township, there are a number of fine springs ; in Litchfield are several " flowing wells " that afford large, unfailing supplies of good water, and along the border of the princi- pal streams are found thesa never-failing sources of supply. In the western part of the county gas-springs and wells are frequently found. One in Medina Township, a mile northwest of Weymouth, is the most eusterlj' one discov- ered. In this case the gas comes from a spring of water which has never been known to freeze over. Another spring of this character is found in the bed of the west branch of Rocky River, three miles north of Medina Village, and west of the turnpike bridge. Similar springs are known in Spsncer, Litchfield and Harrisville Townships, but in no case has this gas been utilized. The economic geology of Medina County makes no great show. The mineral wealth of the county lies chiefly in coal. Of ironstone there is but little, and that contains only a small per cent of iron, and of lime there is a notable lack. The absence of limestone sug- gested to the residents of Westfield Township the substitution of the marl which is found there in a swamp of some twenty acres. This material is like a whitish clay with minute shells, and when burnt, the lime produced is a shade between the white and gray lime in the markets, but the strength is not nearly equal to that of ordinary lime. Many of the houses in the township were formerly plastered with this marl lime. No effort has been made to turn this deposit to account as a fertilizer. Peat is found in considerable quantities in this township, over 300 acres being covei'ed with this material. A much larger area, however, of this material is found in Harrisville Town- ship. Here over two thousand acres are cov- ered with this material. One-half of this terri- tory has the deposit not over eighteen inches deep, the underlying clay being heavy, yet light colored. The average depth of the peat on 1,000 acres is about five feet. This large deposit of peat has as yet no economic value, but the time may come when such material may be worth the preparing for fuel. Salt is indicated in the wells and springs which are found on a narrow belt of land running west- wardly, and about eighty rods north of the cen- ter road of Spencer Township. The percent- age of salt in the water is small, yet it was enough to interfere with the working of a steam boiler, producing saline incrustations upon it. Salt licks are known in the township along this belt of salt territorj- and in Harris- ville Township also. The discovery of coal oil in neighboring parts of Lorain County set parties at work boring for oil in Litchfield Township in 1860. Some 225 feet was penetrated and oil brought up by pumping, but not in anj' great amount. During the drilling gas escaped with a clear whistling sound, and when set on fire it blazed up from twenty to thirty feet, the outlet being eight inches square. There are three other similar gas-springs in the township, of which, however, no use is made. In Liverpool Town- ship, the search for petroleum was somewhat more successful, though failing to warrant the expense of prospecting. Nine of the wells bored yielded small quantities of oil ; two others failed to afford any. Some wells which were sunk only 100 feet "struck oil." One ;f^ ^: \iL IlISTOKY or MEDINA COUNTY. 187 hundred and fifty barrels of oil were taken from one well,. and others yielded from thirty to fortj' barrels each. None of these can be profitabl}^ worked for their oil at present prices. Gas comes continually from several of these wells. G-alena has been found in Homer, and a few parties, more sanguine than wise, engaged at one time in an attempt to develop it. Jlr. Alfred W. Wheat, who made a survey of the coLinty for the State G-eological Keport, says ; " While traveling about the county, I not infre- quentljr had persons whisper in my ear, with great caution, the word ' lead ;' and I found several tracts of land under lease to parties who were confident that they should develop large deposits of galena. All parties were as- sured that such a search would be quite profit- less." A shale found in the southwestern j)art of Sharon was some yeai's ago converted into a mineral paint at a mill in Bagdad. This was thought well of for the painting of outbuild- ings and farming implements, but has of late j-ears been little used here. The ravine cut bj' Mineral Kun in Wadsworth Township has shown some shales that have been used as paint. The section is approximately as fol- lows : Below the soil are, first, a buff colored shale, some twenty-five feet in thickness ; be- low this a darker shale, ten feet thick — both these shales are valuable for pigment ; below these shales a layer of ironstone, one foot thick ; then follow alternate layers of soft shale and the whetstone rock, thickness not easily determined. Passing down the ravine a few rods, a shaly sandstone is exposed which gradually runs into a coarse-grained rock, con- taining very small pebbles. This ravine gives a section of eighty or ninety feet. An analysis of the ironstone found in Mineral Run was made by the State Chemist, Professor Worm- ley. It had been supposed to be quite rich in iron, but the analysis showed that it contained only two and a half per cent of metallic iron. The coal measures cover three-fourths of Wadsworth Township, which is the extreme southeasterly one in the count}'. By careful estimation it is thought that the workable coal extends over -150 acres in the township. Drill- ing has been done very generally over the coal territory, and basins of excellent coal found and mapped out, but insufficient railroad facilities delayed the general development of it. Three mines are in operation, the coal being of good quality, such as sells in Cleveland on an equal- ity with the Willow Bank Coal. Of these mines, the Wadsworth Coal Company began shipping coal in December 1869. In 1871, the daily production of this mine was 150 tons, and the estimated product fully forty thousand tons. The coal is shipped by the Silver Creek Branch of the New York, Penns^dvania & Ohio Rail- road. The Diamond Coal Works, of Humphrey, Coleman & Co., are situated two miles south- east of the village of Wadsworth, the railroad running close to the mine, which was first opened in December, 1869. In 1871, the daily shipments amounted to seventy -five tons per day, the jdeld for the year aggregating some thirteen thousand tons. The iMyers Coal Bank is in the northwestern part of the township, three miles from the other mines. It has some peculiar features. A conglomerate of mixed pebbles, etc., immediatelj^ overlies the coal in - this bank, but is somewhat broken and tilted up, showing great crevices. The coal is broken up also, and shows manj' mud cracks, but is of good qualitj'. It does not fall to dust by weathering, or run together when burning in a grate. The market for this coal is a local one ; the towns to the north and west generallj' send- ing their wagons to this bank for their coal sup- ply. Unfortunatelj', there is a large fissure in the floor of the mine through which comes a flow of water, rendering constant pumping nec- essary. The combined product of these mines, although the latter is giving indications of ex- ^: ^k* 188 HISTORY OF MEDIN/v COUNTY. haustion, for the 3'ear ending May 31, 1880, was 106,000 tons. The chief material resource of Medina County, however, lies in the varied productiveness of the soil with which it is furnislied. It is neces- sarily an agrionltural rather than a mining or a mauufaetnring county. It partakes largely of the prominent features that are common to the most of Northeastern Ohio, but without that flatness of surface that characterizes some of the more western counties of the Reserve. The first settlers here found a country thicklj- covered with a heav}- growth of timber, and the land, shielded from the piercing rays of the sun bj' the dense forest foliage, saturated with the moisture which the character of a large part of the countrj- favored. To erect here a home, and render the land subject to an annual tribute for the support of his family, tasked the powers of the pioneer to their utmost. It was an even- handed straggle for subsistence, and anything accomplished might safely be set down as an improvement. This was practicallj' true for the first twenty years in the history of a settle- ment. An average of five years was con- sumed before the frontier farm could be reli-ed upon to furnish support, and, in the meantime, the fare furnished bj' the abundance of game and wild fruit, was eked out with economical purchases of corn and wheat from the older settlements. After erecting a cabin with the aid of hospitable neighbors, from five to ten acres were felled. This was then "chopped over," i. e., the trees were cut into suitable lengths for rolling into piles for burning. After the universal bee for rolling came the burning, which frequently engaged the services of the wife in attending the fire, while the husband chopped by the light thus afforded, carrying on their labors often to the small hours of the night. On a single farm this much was fre- quently accomplished in three months, and a small crop of corn harvested in the first year, but the average results were not so favorable. The efforts of the settler were directed toward getting ready for the " bee " as early as possible, for when the "rolling season " began, there was an uninterrupted demand upon the settler for from six to eight weeks in the fields of his neighbors. JMany were called upon when they could least afford the time, but, from the neces- sities of the situation, there was no refusal pos- sible, and, large as this demand appears, il will not be considered exorbitant when it is re- membered that a " neighborhood " covered an area of miles in extent. With such an abund- ance of timber and the total lack of foreign de- mand, the prevailing tendencj'' is to underrate the value of timber, and to carry the work of clearing to the very verge of denuding the land of this important aid to agriculture. This tendency seems to have been quite marked in common with the whole Western Reserve. The percentage of the whole area of the county covered by timber, in 1853, was 29.39 per cent; in 1870, it was reduced to 23.31, and, during the last decade, it has been further reduced to 20.46 per cent, while wood is still the principal article in use for fuel throughout the county, selling at ver3f moderate prices, save when the bad roads of spring and winter make its deliv- ery more expensive than the timber itself Considerable difficulty has been experienced of late j-ears in securing material for building from the native woods. Even before the intro- duction of railroads, pine lumber and brick came considerably into use as a matter of ne- cessity, and, of later years, this fact is still more marked. The use of wood as fuel has been largely a matter of necessity, and the drainage on the timber supply less exacting, has not been felt. Coal found its way into the villages as fuel in 1869, when the mines were opened at Wadsworth. This was before railroad facilities were secured, and it was wagoned across the country, giving rise to quite an active business in teaming. Many of the farmers in ■>f^ ^ h 'A HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 191 that vicinity liave begun using coal, also, as tlie more economical fuel. The prevailing sj'stem of agriculture in 5Ie- dina County may properly be termed that of mixed husbandry. Specialties find little favor with the farmers. The practice is to cultivate the various kinds of grain and grasses, and to raise, keep and fatten stock, the latter business, however, being the leading pursuit of but a small proportion of the farmers. The mode of culti\-ating the farming lands has not been of the highest type. Provided with a fairly pro- ductive soil, and his father having made a fair support in a certain line of farming, the average farmer has not had the opportunity, or has not felt the need, of studying the principles of such branches of learning as relate to agriculture, and has frequently hesitated to receive, or promptly rejected, the teachings of science. A few per- sons, however, were found at a comparatively early day who brought to the business of farm- ing that amount of patient investigation which the greatest industry of this countrj' demands, and farmers are becoming less and less unwilling to learn from others. This has had its effect upon the husbandry of the county-, which is at- taining a commendable thoroughness, and is rapidl}' improving in every respect. The soil is greatlj' diversified, and even on the same farm exhibits marked differences. The larger part of the western portion of the count}- is claj-ej- soil, with here and there a mixture of sand and gravel. In Harrisville, some 2,000 acres are covered with swamps. 3Iost of the western and southern parts have been plowed, and the land, though easily shaken by jumping upon it, has been found quite safe for cattle all over it. In the eastern part of the county the proportion of clay is axiuch less, and a fine loamy soil is met with, especially in the northeastern part. Possessing soil, for the most part, that demands constant renewal, the subject of fertilizers was early brought to the attention of the farmers, but they have gener- ally been satisfied with such barnyard accumu- lations as the system of farming in vogue would furnish. Plaster has been found unsuited, it is thought, to the character of soils here, and has never gained much favor. Phosphates have come into limited use of late years, but only as an experiment, and the general voice is that it does not " pa}^" Nor are any artificial means used to increase the barnyard supply, which is not infrequently- treated as a serious inconven- ience rather than a fortunate possession of the farmer. The constant cropping of a field for a considerable number of years without renew- ing is not often met with in Medina Count}'. Occasional fields on the river bottoms are found which will bear such treatment and give good returns, but they are very limited in number, notation of crops has been the rule with the average farmer for some 3-ears, corn being the first crop planted on sod ground, followed by oats and then wheat. Flax is sometimes used on sod ground, especially a new piece of wood- land, and occasionall}' wheat is found to do well on sod ground. In the ordinary rotation of crops the manure is generally applied to the wheat crop, as it is thought it is more effect- ively applied here, and leaves a better soil for the grass which follows. Deep plowing with the ?ilichigan double plow was practiced to a considerable extent some twenty-five years ago with variable results. It afterward fell into disrepute on account of its hea\'3' draft, or from the fact that the upper soil was buried so deep that several seasons were required to effect the proper mixture of the soils. Later, another system was adopted with satisfactory effects. Two plows were used and the team divided be- tween them. A shallow soil-plow turned over the surface, which was followed by a long steel plow without a turning board. The latter sim- ply raised and loosened the subsoil to a depth of twelve or fifteen inches, and upon this the top soil was turned by the lighter implement. This proved a vast improvement on the old plan, ^ f 193 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. furnishing tlie requisite depth without burying the upper soil, and loosening the subsoil, thus furnishing a natural escape for the excessive moisture which the character of the hard-pan too often resists, allowing it to escape only by evaporation. This method, experience showed, was only necessary about once in eight j'ears, and was not considered expensive, but the plan has of late years fallen into disuse, though subsoiling is still practiced to a considerable extent. The Oliver Chilled Plow, with a cutter, is used somewhat, but it has not worked into general use as yet. ArtiScial drainage has not been extensively practiced. A large proportion of the county is high, rolling country with a natural drainage that has served the purpose of carrying off the surplus water. There are six county ditches with an aggragate length of sixty-four miles, the longest of which reaches a distance of twenty-three miles. These were constructed at a cost of $57,600 and are located in Lafayette Township and the marshy dis- tricts of Harrisville and Westfield Townships. Under-draining and open-draining is carried on to some extent, but not so generally as in many other parts of the State. The first tile establishment was erected at Mallet Creek, in 1873, and, in 1876, it reported a product of 10,000 rods as the result of three years' business. Good material for the manu- facture of tile was abundant, but there was not demand for all the establishment could make, a fact which occurs in but few counties in the State. Tile-draining, as a general thing, is looked upon simply as a means of carrj-ing off the surface surplus of water, and but little ac- count is made of it as a means of improving the character of the soil. The subject of grass lands is an important one in Medina County, from the fact that the grazing of stock for various purposes has been the leading business of the farmers from the first. Grain is principally raised for home con- sumption, and the system of husbandry, so far as any has i^revailed. has been directed mainly to secure the best results for the grass crop. Timothy grass, with clover, is mainly relied upon for the supply of hay, meadows being turned over about once in five years. Meadows are pastured to some extent in the fall, but are seldom "turned out" for this purpose, grass lands being seeded for the especial purpose for which thej' are designed- Meadows are seldom under-drained, and have generally received very little attention in the way of top-dressing, the manure being generally applied to the wheat crop, which preceded the seeding down. Or- chard and blue grass have been introduced to a limited extent of late j'ears, experiments with a mixture of these grasses having proved their value as pasture grasses. There is considera- ble hesitation manifested in experimenting with the blue-grass, as it is claimed by many — among them some scientific agriculturists — that the June grass, 2}oa pratensis, is the same thing modified by the difference of soil and climate. Clover is sown in considerable quantities, prin- cipally for the seed. It is very frequently sown in combination with timothy, for the pur- pose of producing a quality of hay highly esteemed for milch cows and sheep. It is used considerably, also, as pasturage, but the seed which commands a ready sale, at a good cash price, renders this disposition of the crop the most available, especially as it interferes with the other uses to only a limited extent. The most &2rious consequences are felt in the slight use of this crop as a fertilizer. But few acres are turned under annually, though there is evi- dence of an awakening in this direction. While the survey of the agriculture of Me- dina County does not exhibit the cultivation of any specialty, it will be observed that the larger proportion of the energy and attention of the farming community has been centered alternately in dairying and sheep culture. But, while this is true, these objects have not ab- sorbed the activities of the farmers, to the exclu- i^^ :^ -k. HISTORY OF MEDIJ^A COUNTY. 193 sion of other branches of farm industry. The aim of the earliest settlers, with their lands as their only resource, was to derive from these a complete support, and to this end, a system of mixed husbandry was a necessity. Their de- scendants, hedged about by the results of experience, and aiming to sell their surplus products in such form as would take from the land the smallest amount of its fertility, have, from the nature of the case, followed in their footsteps. G-rain has been raised for home consumption entirel}', and has barely sufficed for that, until quite recently. In the early cul- ture of wheat, a great many discouragements were met. The weevil and rust destroyed it j-ear after year, and the land seemed to be to- tally unfit for its cultivation. It was thought by the first settlers that it could be grown only on sod ground, and was, finally, for some years adandoned, and a lai-ge part of the wheat used here was bought abroad. When advancement had been made, so far as to be able to accumu- late the barnyard droppings, manure was ap- plied to the wheat fields, and very creditable crops secured. During later j-ears, and espe- cially during the past three years, there has been a marked improvement in the results of wheat ciiiture. This is chiefl}' confined to the townships of Sharon, Wadsworth and G uilford, where the soil is more of the sandy and loamy character. The variety principally sown in later years has been the Fultz (beardless), Lancaster or swamp (bearded), Todd and some Clawson. The "White Mediterranean has been experi- mented with, but the leading variety during the last four years has been the Fultz. No particular system of cultivation has been gener- ally adopted in regard to this grain. The prac- tice of plowing '■ bare fallows," practiced at an earlier date, is occasionally done at present. The past year, a field of clover in Medina Township was plowed under and sowed to wheat in the fall, a treatment which insures a profitable return, and is occasionally practiced. Wheat in early years was sown among the standing corn, and later, between the shocks that were placed in rows through the field, and the spaces thus left put in oats on the following spring. The latter method is occasionally IDracticed yet, but generally an oat crop inter- venes. After plowing and seeding, the manure is applied as a top dressing, this being consid- ered the most effective vaxy of applying fertil- izers. Where the drill is employed, as in a large portion of cases, the same rule is followed, although there are many cases where it is har- rowed in with the seed when sown broadcast or before drilling. The practice of sowing wheat upon the same ground for many success- ive years is becoming less known, though still followed here and there where the soil seems well nigh exhaustless. The breadth of land sown is by no means uniform, varying about in proportion to the uncertainty of the product per acre. The wheat-growing townships in the southeast part of the county are pretty constant in their cultivation of this grain, but in other parts the failure of the crop in a single year has the efifect of turning the attention of a large number of farmers to other interests. The last few years have been especially favorable to this crop, and a larger acreage than ever before has been sown, the product not only supplying the home market but furnishing a surplus for ex- portation. The grain is usually threshed in the barn or in the barnyard. The first ma- chines, worked by horse power, were introduced here about 1835. Of late, machines worked bj^ the portable steam engine have been the favor- ite, and very largely used. Rye and barley are but little cultivated. The former was early cultivated for the hogs and occasionally fed to sheep, but it has long since ceased to be a grain of considerable cultivation. It is principally grown now among the Ger- man population of the county, and is valuable chiefly for the straw, which finds a ready sale Al i\ 19-t PIISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. in limited quantities for binding cornstalljs. Tiie average j-ield of the grain is about ten bushels per acre. Barle}- is occasionally' raised, but not to so large an extent as in earlier years. The principal demand for this grain is for brewing, and the market is too distant to stimu- late its production, though it proves a valuable crop where the soil is fitted for its cultivation. Buckwheat was formerly grown to a consider- able extent, but of late years the cultivation of this grain has fallen off so that hardly the home supply is produced. Oats are extensively grown, but find a demand at home for the full supply. It is a reasonably sure crop, and, though occasionally affected by drought, it is relied upon with considerable confidence for home use. Bust has at times proved a serious drawback to the raising of this crop, and a late frost occasionally ruins the crop, but these have not been destructive of late years. The corn crop, while not grown to the exclu- sion of the others, is the one on which the farmers of Medina County most confidently rely, and the land devoted to its culture is o\y\y limited by the necessities of the situation. It is far more stable in its yield, less liable to dis- ease, and maj' be slighted in its cultivation with greater impunity than any other crop. The soft varieties of seed are generally pre- ferred, and are usuallj^ planted on sod ground. In 1835, there was some interest awakened in the "Baden" corn. This variety was promised to yield large returns, which was realized, but in an unexpected way. The stalks reached an enormous size, some developing a growth of three inches in diameter and some fifteen feet in height, but bearing not a single ear of corn. It became quite notorious, and passed into the popular sayings as a mark of hollow pretension. It is usually well put in, the ground being pre- pared with considerable care. The practice of fall plowing for corn obtains largely in the county, and shows satisfactory gajijs on the spring plowing. The old way of " going through " the field a certain number of times before "laying by " the crop, is still generally followed in the county. The practice of work- ing the corn until it " tassels out," which pre- vails in many places, is not followed to any great extent in Medina County. This extra amount of cultivation is not thought to " pay " by most of the farmers, and others are obliged by the exigencies of the season to forego this extra amount of attention. The farms are gen- erally small, and worked by the owner alone, and the clover and wheat cutting coming close together make it impossible for the farmer to bestow more time on his corn. The crop is usually cut and husked in the field, the stalks being removed and stacked at a convenient place for feeding in the winter. The custom of husking from the standing stalk, which was early much in vogue, was abandoned some time since, as wasteful of time and material. The breadth planted and the yield per acre is some- what variable, but with improved cultivation, the yield has increased, and more land has gradually been devoted to it. The other crops that occupy, or have occu- pied, a more or less prominent place among the agricultural products of the county are pota- toes, flax and sorghum. The quality of the soil is well adapted to the raising of potatoes, and farmers Avho have given considerable attention to the proper cultivation of this highly prized and indispensable esculent, have always been well rewarded for their labor and painstaking. It is a staple vegetable, universally used, always commands a fair price, and its general cultiva- tion for exportation would undoubtedly prove highly remunerative. This fact seems to have made no impression upon the farmers, as no more are produced than are used at home. The leading variety is the ea«rly rose, with the Peach- blow and Peerless cultivated in considerable quantities. The Snowflake is highly prized by many, while other varieties are being cultivated as experiments or to suit individual tastes. "^"1^ ^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 195 The average j'ield of this crop is good, and is not often seriously ailected h^ disease or in- sects. Flax is grown to considerable extent, and, contrar3'to its history in most parts of the State its cultivation is rather on the increase in this county. A flax-mill at Seville stimulates its cultivation, and many farmers esteem it highly as a valuable crop to sow upon sod ground to precede wheat. Its drain upon the fertility of the soil is not seriously felt, and it is thought to have a beneficial effect in rendering the soil loose and friable. The seed commands a ready sale, and the fiber is always in demand at the mill in Seville. Sorghum is another exception to the general rule. It was introduced here about 1857, but most of the farmers conceived a dislike to it. It was planted in small quantities by a good many, but it was allowed to pass without any particuLar care, and many never harvested it at all. Two or three mills were bought, but com- paratively little molasses was manufactured. The first product, owing to the lack of interest and information, and the carelessness with which it was manufactured, was sorry stufi". This result re-acted with discouraging effect upon the producers. Another cause which con- tributed to this result was the exercise of a ruinous economy on the part of the mass of the farmers. Instead of purchasing new seed and sparing no pains to make a fair trial of this new crop, the majority of those who planted a sec- ond crop procured seed from their neighbors, and allowed the farm- work to seriously interfere with the cultivation of the cane. The result was that it deteriorated in quantity and quality, and the whole thing was voted a failure. No great effort was made to produce sugar, as the expense proved an insurmountable barrier to its successful prosecution. A limited amount of cane is still planted and some sirup manu- factured, but it has no sale and is made simply for home use. Tobacco is cultivated here and there by in- dividuals for the private use of the producer, and it may well be hoped that its culture may not be further extended. It is an exacting crop upon the land, and, sooner or later, the exhaustive process will ultimately work the deterioration of any neighborhood* or farming district where its culture is a prominent part of the farming operations. The forests of Bledina County are well sup- plied with the sugar maple, and farmers have not been slow to utilize them in the waj' of making sugar. It was the practice at an early date, to manufacture this product in grain sugar, as it proved more available for the uses of the household, but of late 3^ears it has found a more valuable market in cakes and as sirup. A survey of this branch of Medina Countj-'s agriculture would hardly be complete without some reference to the late frosts of 1859 and 1845. The frost of 1859 came on a Saturday night in Juue. The previous night had brought a fall of rain, and on Saturday it cleared off with a cool atmosphere, which grew colder as night approached. In the morning, the " killing frost" had left scarcely a vestige of the grow- ing crops alive. Corn was about eight or ten inches high, and potatoes had reached the growth that made the effect of the frost most damaging. All grain was ruined, and the peo- ple found themselves face to face with " perilous times," if not starvation. The frost had been general over the State, and the situation was considered alarming. Some time was lost in unavailing regrets, and some crops that might have been saved by prompt cutting off' even with the ground were lost by delay. Fort- unateh', there were some late crops that had not come forward enough to become involved in the general disaster, and others were saved by favorable locations. The less fortunate farmers set at once to repair the misfortune so far as possible. The corn and potatoes were replanted, buckwheat was sowed in the place of 196 IIISTOEY OF MEDINA COUJ^TY. wheat, and, thanks to an unusually long season, these crops were fairl}' matured. There was a large proportion of soft corn, hundreds of bush- els of which proved almost a complete loss. In 1845, the frost occurred on three successive Mondaj's in Maj- or June, and each frost fol- lowed by g, burning sun. Crops on exposed situations were completely destroyed, and the severe drought that followed completed the sum of miserj'. To this was added such a swarm of grasshoppers as has scarcely been seen in this State. They attacked buildings, fences and tools with such vigor as to cause con- siderable damage in thi^ way. Farmers who usually mowed fifty tons of ha}'' got scarcely one, and the tools used in the field had to be hid to keep the woodwork from being made too rough to use, bs' these insatiable insects. Fruit-culture may be safely said to be yet in its infancy in Medina County. The first settlers, deprived for a time of its use, and realizing the great demand in everj^ family for the important article of food, early set about planting orchards. But little care was exercised, in a majority of cases, in the selection o ' varieties, or in the care of orchards after once well set. One of the earliest apple orchards was started from seeds saved from apples eaten by the familj- while on their way to a new home in the woods. This orchard was, for a time, the most important in the county. Tlie lack of -railroads has had the effect of retarding the development of this in- terest, and even now, taking into consideration the value of good fruit as a substantial element of food, as a valuable agent in preserving and promoting health, and as a luxury which all classes may enjoy, this subject has not received the attention which its importance merits at the hands of the careful agriculturist. The old apple orchards have been prolific producers, and, in favorable seasons, hundreds of bushels have been allowed to waste for the lack of a market. At an early daj', considerable fruit was dried, and the practice is kept up to a con- siderable extent at present, with a fair local de- mand.* The quality of the apples in the county is hardly adapted to the market demands of the present. This requires a large, fair-looking apple, without much regard to the taste or grain of the fruit. The apple orchards of this countj' are selected chiefly with respect to the taste of the owner, no attempt having as yet been made to grow fruit for market. The lead- ing varieties found here are the Kambo, Bell- flower, Seek-no-Further, Russet, Rhode Island Greening, Spitzenberg, Northern Spy, Baldwin, Fall Pipi_in, Queen Anne, Red Astrakhan, Sweet Bough and Early Harvest. King of Tompkins County is among the later varieties, and is in the line of the market demands, as is the Tulpehocken. The former is the favorite for a large apple, some of the fruit measuring fourteen and one-half inches in circumference, and at the same time retaining a fine flavor and smooth texture. The apple is the hardiest and most reliable of all the fruits for this re- gion, and there are more acres in apple orchards than in all other fruits combined. Peaches, bj- reason of the unfavorableness of the climate, are, of late years, exceedingly un- certain, and are but little planted. Forty years ago, this fruit was as certain and prolific in its jield as apples, but succeeding years have wrought such climatic changes that there is a fair crop of this fruit only about once in five years. Late frosts in the spring usually cut oflf the crop, either in the blossom or when the young fruit has just formed ; and, in addition to this, there occurs every few years a winter of such severity that even the trees themselves are seriously injured or destroyed. There are several peach orchards in the county, princi- pally located in the eastern part of the county. The .case of cherries of the finer kind is very i'Aii "appln f.ictory" in Medina Vill.ige has, for the last few years, been enfraged in drjinff fniil; for tlic market. Some 20 000 bushels of apples were bought during the present fall (18B0), at 16 cents per busliel, and at that price there is at present no profitable demand for the dried fruit. >^ HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. lOT similar to that of peaches, as the trees are somewhat tender and the blossoms are liable to be destroj'ed by late frosts in the spring. The hardier kinds, such as the Early Eiohmond, the Morellos and Maj' Duke are much more reliable and hardy, and often j'ield fine crops. Pears are planted in small way principally, though there are occasional orchards of considerable size. The first trees of this sort were seedlings, which of late years have been supplanted by dwarfs or their outgrowth of half-standards. The latest additions, however, are of the stand- ards. The tendency to blight, which the pear- tree shows here as elsewhere in Ohio, prevents any extended attention to the orchard culture of this fruit. No effective remedy has as yet been devised for this scourge of the pear tree, unless the recent discussion of horticulturists have struck the root of the matter. In the re- cent session of the Montgomerj' Horticultural Society, it was set forth that " the blight seldom, if ever, attacks trees which have their stems shaded by their branches ; while the branches themselves — the foliage — is defended from the direct raj's of the summer sun during the hot- test part of the day, by some screen such as is afforded by a building or another tree which shades them from about 11 A. M. to 3 P. M., more or less. Another fact regarding the per- manent thriftiness of pear-trees is, that, if the roots can penetrate deeply into wholesome soil, or otherwise can occupy a stratum which sup- plies them uniformly as to moisture and tem- perature, they succeed." Plums are scarcely grown at all, owing to the prevalence of the curculio insect, although the trees seem to grow well and remain healthy. The lack of an easj' access to market has been a great drawback to the orchard culture of fruit. A generous provision for family wants has all that has been aimed at, and the consid- erable surplus that has grown out of this, has been converted into cider or gone largely to waste. This feature is aggravated by the un- fortunate habit of the most reliable orchards of bearing fall crops every alternate year, with scant ones or failures between. The eflfect of this habit on the market, is disastrous to the grower, and only those i-eap the harvest, who, by careful management, secure a good crop in the " off year." The presence of good facilities for transportation, and a reliable nursery in the countj', may be trusted to awaken a lively in- terest in this matter of fruit-growing. The cultivation of small fruits for market has received but little general attention. The cul- tivation of strawberries, raspberries, etc., in gardens, for private use, extends to more per- sons each year, and more are used. There is, however, a growing surplus which finds its waj' to the villages, going a good way toward sup- plying the demand. In the matter of black- berries, the wild fruit is the strongest compet- itor against the cultivation for private use or market. Grapes have received some attention, in a small waj', in this county. The hardier va- rieties of this fruit succeed reasonably well in this county, especially when the sand soil pre- dominates. Some attempts at small vineyards have been made, but with no marked results. The Isabella, lona. Concord and Delaware are found, but the necessary amount of care is sel- dom bestowed, and the results, when compared with more favorable localities, are not flatter- ing. In the matter of stock-breeding, there is a very general interest, though the number of those who malie it a specialty, or a leading feat- ure of their farm industr'y, is small. Probably less than one-third can be placed in this class, though among these may be included a major- itj^ of the wealthier farmers. Among this portion of the farming communitj^, a persever- ing, patient, investigating spirit has been man- ifested, that has accomplished large results for the stock of the county. No class of stock has been slighted in this respect, though perhaps cattle and sheep have profited most. n^ D \ ?k^ 198 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. It is quite natural that the earlj' history of the horse in Medina County should be some- what obscure. In the early settlement, the na- ture of farm work called for the steady strength, the freedom from accident and the easy keep- ing of the ox, and horses found no general de- mand until the pioneers could afford the luxury of speed in travel. It was not long before this demand made a marked change in the charac- ter of the teams, which has continued until now one would scarcely meet with an ox team upon the road in a month's travel through the county. The early stock of horses were such as could be bought in the older settlements, and were marked by no particular characteristic of breed or quality. The only demand was for the ordinary purposes of the farm, and the peo- ple were not only not in position " to look a gift horse in the mouth," but were quite as powerless to be fastidious in regard to any horse. Among the earliest efforts to improve upon this stock was the importation of a horse called " Blucher." But little is remembered of his characteristics or pedigree, but he was ex- tensively used, and was considered desirable at that time, though modern improvements have caused them to be remembered as an inferior grade. Succeeding him came "Duroc" and " May Duke," which left their impress upon the stock of the county to a marked degree. This is especially true of the latter animal, and the " May Duke " horses were sure to carry off the premiums when shown at the early fairs. These horses were owned at Seville, and are described as a cross between a heavy, general-purpose hor.3e and a genuine roadster. This was the character of the animal in general demand, and a great many of their colts were got in the county. In or about 1852, F. G. Foot, of West- field, brought in a Black Hawk Morgan horse, named " David Hill." He was a fine black an- imal, weighed about one thousand pounds, could trot a mile in about three minutes, and suited the popular taste better than anything that had preceded him. His stock was found very largely in the northern part of 'the county, and proved excellent roadsters. Closely following him, or about the same time, Hiram Sykes, of Hinck- ley, brought " Eastman Morgan " from Ver- mont. He was sired by " Sherman Morgan," and was a little faster horse than his immediate predecessor in Medina County. Speed had be- gun to be quite an object among the younger class of the farming community. The boys were beginning to own horses of their own, and preferred a horse that could leave the dust in others' eyes to one better fitted for heav^' work. With this class the Vermont Morgan was a great favorite. The horse in question was a '' blockjr^ JDon}'- shaped " animal, weighing about twelve hundred pounds, and surprised horse- men with his speed, as there was nothing about him to promise it. Though used a good deal in the county, he never got anj' trotters, though all were found to be good roadsters. M. Lyon brought in a chestnut stallion from Vermont about the same time, but he was not so popular as the one just mentioned. There is some di- versity of opinion, at this time, as to the merits of the old 3Iorgan strain. There are those who complain of hoof difficulties, though this is claimed, by the friends of the strain, as the re- sult of injudicious management when the ani- mal is young. Bred for speed, the owner was anxious to develop it as soon as possible, and frequently trained his j^oung horse at an early age, when most likely to injure the foot. Perhaps the most celebrated strain of horses — a strain the repute of which has not passed away with the animals that represented it — was the Stranger breed. The founder of this breed a was horse brought from Kentucky by a stran- ger, and sold, when a two-year-old colt, for $70, to Horace Hatch, of Medina. This was about 1850 ; he was kept here about four years, and sold for S.3,000, but he proved a short-lived an- imal, dying soon afterward. Though here but a short time, he left a good deal of his stock in SI L_ ^4^ thL, HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 199 the county, all of which showed more or less of the fine qualities of the sire. ■' Chestnut Tom " was one of his colts, which was bought by Mr. Hatch when a colt. He possessed the charac- teristics of his sire in a large degree, and was a general favorite among horse-breeders. " Tom B.," by " Chestnut Tom,'' was a fine specimen of the Stranger strain of horses, and trotted in 2:37, and afterward was sold at a high price. " Erie Abdallah" and " Hotspur" made a sea- son at Wellington a little later than this, and left a large number of colts in Lorain County and some in Medina. The first is a " general purpo33 " horse, noted as a spirited, active and fleet traveler, with surprising powers of endur- ance. He made, at one time, a single dash of ten miles in the extraordinary time of thirty-one minutes and nine seconds. " Hotspur," how- ever, seemed to be the greater favorite in Me- dina, and two of his colts, " Hotspur Chief," owned in Homer, and "Hotspur Joe," owned by Emory, in Cleveland, were kept in the stud in this county. They were bred, too, quite extensively, and many of their get are to be found in the county. " Hotspur Joe " was kept some three years by the Shanks Brothers, but was finally sold, and went to Kansas for breeding purposes. "Nettie," a Hotspur colt owned by Shanks brothers, developed consider- ble speed, trotting a mile in 2: 35, and was sold for $1,500. Among the more modern horses, " General Hayes," a young horse recently sold by Shanks Brothers for §3,000, is perhaps most prominent. He was sired by old " Flying Hiatoga," and out of a mare by " Stranger ; " — fine trotting stock on both sides. He was bought at Berlin Heights when about two years old for $1,000, and kept in stud for some two years and a half, and, after three weeks' training, he was put on a pri- vate track, when he displayed such speed as to sell readily for $3,000, to Mr, Emory, of Cleve- land. It will be observed that the general demand thus far was for a light, active horse. This is still true, though perhops confined more gener- ally to the northern part of the county. Of late, the demand in the southern part has been for a heavier horse, and the "general-purpose " Clydesdale and Norman are finding more favor, especially in the township of Wadsworth and Guilford. This division is the more noticeable from the fact that the heavy horses are found in the hilliest part of the county, a country to which they are generally considered least adapted. Of the latter class, Seth Baughman, of Wadsworth, brought in a fine Clydesdale stallion. He was a large, well-built horse, and attracted lovers of the draft horse. This class of horses are of Scottish descent, of the largest size, averaging from sixteen to eighteen hands high, with ponderous bodies, stout limbs, hairy at the fetlocks, of high and noble carriage, and un- surpassed in weight and strength. They occa- sionally reach a weight of seventeen and even eighteen hundred pounds. S. A. Earlo, of Friendville, has a stallion of this breed, recent- ly' introduced, and a half-brother of " General Hayes," which ho calls "Joe Geiger." The latter is a well-bred horse, and has developed some speed. He was raised in Pickaway County, is a dark bay, stands sixteen and one- half hands high, and weighs over twelve hun- dred pounds. His sire was " Hiatoga," or better known as " Old Togue," a grandson of the founder of the strain in Virginia. " Bonnie Scotland," the Clydesdale stallion, is a dark bay, sixteen and three-fourths hands high, and weighs, in good condition, 1,800 pounds. He was bred in Sterlingshire, Scotland, by Andrew Stuart, Esq., of Kip Dowrie, and imported to Canada in 1876. He was imported into Syra- cuse, N. Y., in the spring of 1880, and there bought hj Mr. Earle. The Normans have not been popular in this county, for the reason that the general taste demanded a light, active ani- mal. In 1878, however, William Smith, of Hillsdale, Michigan, made a season in the -^; r i> ^ 200 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. county with a fine horse of this breed. Ho was considerably used, and the stock finds read}' sale at good figures. Thej' are natives of France, and embodj' more speed in action than the ordinary draft horse, together with great strength of limb and power of locomotion. Their average size is from sixteen to seventeen hands high, compact in body, symmetrical in shape, clean in limb and enduring in labor. One of the best-bred horses now owned in the county is " Membrino Thorn," recently imported to this county by Jacob Miller, lately deceased. He was bred on the celebrated stock-farm of Dr. Hurd. of Kentucky, and brought to the southern part of the State, where Mr. Miller found him. The horse is a fine black animal, weighing, in good flesh, about eleven hundred and fifty pounds, and standing fifteen and three-fourths hands high. He is a fine-appearing, high-headed ani- mal of the roadster class, and has got quite a large number of colts in the county, the older ones being about three and one-half years. The principal breeders of horses in the county are Shanks Brothers, in Litchfield, and S. A. Earle, of Pricndville. Mr. Miller, before his death, had given a good deal of attention to this class of stock, preparing a track and arranging to develop this business, but death put an end to his plans before they had reached their culmi- nation. In the Medina Gazette of April 21, 1859, is the following on the subject of the horses of the count}' : " Medina can boast of a better stud of horses than anj' other county in this State. At our State fairs, we invariably take most of the premiums, and always receive praise for their fine style and purity of blood. The following horses are among the number who have received considerable prominence : Buckej'c Boy, owned by Dr. Carpenter; Em- psror, owned by Hubbard & Hall ; Stranger, owned by H. S. Hatch ; Eastman Morgan, owned by H. Sykes ; Odd Fellow, owned by C. H. Hill. The following are fast coming into notice, and have appeared at our county fairs, many of which have taken premiums. They are a good stock of horses : Ma}' Duke, owned by S. Beedle ; Yankee Lad, by L. W. Ladd ; Duke of York, by A. Hubbard ; Jack Best, by C. Halliwell ; Green Mountain Mor- gan, by A. Brown ; Black Hawk Messenger, by S. A. Earle ; Prince, by D. Kreider ; Black Tiger, by A. Miner, and David Crockett, by H. C. Galehouse." Mules have never been received with favor by the general mass of the farmers. Their appearance was not prepossessing, and those conditions to which this animal is supposed to be best fitted have never existed in this coun- ty, and the mule has therefore not secured much of a foothold. The introduction of cattle into tlie county was as early as the coming of the first settler. Cows were a necessary part of the pioneer's outfit, without which his chances for obtaining a reasonably comfortable existence were very- poor indeed, and few families were without them. But, once here, it required all the care and diligence of the settler to protect them against the ravages of wild beasts and disease. Wolves were not so dangerous to cattle as in many places, but now and then a yearling or calf was sacrificed to their voracious appetites. The murrain, a little later, took off scores of these animals, entailing considerable privation before they could be replaced. Then the marshes and the rank vegetation took their quota, so that in spite of the emploj'ment of all the available children of the settlement as herders, and the dosing of cattle with alum, soot and soft soap, hundreds fell victims to the snares of a new country. Under such circum- stances, the effort was narrowed down to a struggle to maintain, rather than improve, the breed. The people who settled this county were from New York and the New England States, where the short-horn breed of cattle had been introduced as early as 1800. Subse- -V_ ^h^. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 201 quent to the war of 1812, still larger importa- tions had been made, and short-horn grades were not unfrequentlj' met with in the New En- gland States at the time this country drew up- on them for its settlement. This general interest was soon transferred to Ohio by the way of Kentuckj' more largely than from the East, and, in 1834, the "Ohio Importing Company " was formed to import short-horn Durhams from England. Seven bulls and twelve cows, nine- teen in all, were imported and exhibited in the following j'ear at the State fair. This company subsequently increased the number of their importation to thirty head. In 1852, the "Sci- oto Importing Company " imported sixteen head, and, in the following year, a similar com- pany, formed in Madison County, imported twent3--two head. In 1854, similar companies were formed in Clinton and Clark Counties, by which some forty more animals were brought to the State. Amid all this activity in the im- provement of stock, it is not to be expected that the enterprising people of this county should fail to profit by it. Not long after the introduction of these cattle by the Ohio com- pany, Messrs. Wheatley and Spencely, of Gran- ger, separately introduced the breed here. Lit- tle more is remembered of the matter than this bare fact. E. A. Warner dealt in this stock earl3^, bringing in a bull known as Talleyrand, ' a namesake, if not a descendant, of one of the cows brought in by the Ohio company. Other leading bulls of this herd were Solomon, Ab- salom and Gen. Grant. For years, Jlr. Warner was a leading breeder of this class of stock, though he discarded the practice of registering his cattle in the herd book. In 1855, Mr. T. S. Shaw bought a bull in Sullivan, which was raised on the farm of Cassius M. Clay. It was a fine white animal, the favorite color of that stock farm, and, after staying here three or four years, it was sold and taken to the West. The herd of A. L. Clapp was started in 1874, by the purchase of a bull, Punch 8,881, bred by J. G. Ilnnerty, of Licking County, Ohio, a heifer of William Wheatley, of Ilichlield, Sum- mit Count}-, and, soon after, a cow of R. Baker, Elyria, Ohio. This cow was bred by William Warfield, of Kentucky. In August, 1877, an- other heifer, of the Rose of Sharon strain, was purchased of J. G. Hagerty. The herd now consists of thirteen head. A letter from C. C. Cottingham, at Sharon Center, thus details the history of the short- horns in his vicinity: ''In 1816, John Bell bought a bull of Raw Jackson, of Orange, Cuyahoga County, and, four j'ears later, bought another from the same man. These two bulls did much to improve the native cattle. In 1859, I bought a cow of Raw Jackson, which he had recently purchased of Samuel Thorn, of New York. Ten years later, we started our present herd with four cows purchased of John Jackson, of Orange, Cuyahoga Countj'. In 1871, I bought of J. G. Hagerty, of Licking County, Duke 9,787, and subsequently added two young cows. In 1874, I purchased Scot- tish Crown 24,795, of William Miller, of Can- ada. Three j'ears later, in connection with T. G. Briggs, I bought one of the Bates family, Duke of Winfield 22,985. Have sold for breeding purposes, forty head, and have in my herd at present twenty-seven head. "In 1864, George Waters, Sr., bought a cow of Raw Spencly, Sr., of Granger. Some years later, he bought Punch 8,881 and a cow of J. G. Hagerty, of Licking County. Mr. Waters was quite successful, and, at his death, some eight years after, had a fine herd, which was sold at public sale. "In 1869, Adam Turner started his present herd from cows bought of J. Woodward, of Sharon, and J. L. Beck, of Guilford, and, prob- ably, for the number of cows, has raised more calves than anj^ other breeder in the township. T. G. Briggs keeps a herd of short-horns, the first of which he purchased from G. IVaters, Sr., in 1872. He has since purchased several v^ l\A. 303 HISTOlir OF MEDINA COUNTY. head from the Canada West Breeduig Associa- tion, and has at present seventeen head in his herd. " George Waters, Jr., has a small herd, es- tablished in 1875 by the purchase of two cows of D. C. Wilhelm, of Licking County. He aft- erward bought a bull of J. G-. HagertJ^ S. S. Totman started his herd with six cows in 1875^76, bought of George Waters, Jr., of Sharon, Sylvester & King, of Granger, and has now a herd of fifteaa head. T. C. and E. Woodward have small herds, descendants of a cow purchased by their father (John Wood- ward, Sr.,) of Eaw Jackson in 1859. Most of the farmers in the northern part of Sharon have resorted to Short-horn blood for the im- provement of their stock." The report to the Short-horn Breeders' Asso- ciation, from Medina County in 1876, repre- sented that there were six or eight herds in the county, with a poor demand for the stock, not more than one in twenty of the farmers using this blood for the improvement of their herds. Besides Mr. Cottingham, none reported save J. B. Porter, of Hinckley, as follows : Herd established, 1868 ; first animals were Lady Queen, by son of Starlight 5,200 ; Kate Dar- ling, by King Duke 8,400 ; Red Rose, by same ; Lady Butterfly, by Master Butterfly 17,702; purchased Kinallor Third 14,608. Have now fourteen cows and heifers and two bulls ; breed- ing bull now in use, Decoration 22,541. There is less apathy among the farmers now than shown by the report in 1876, though the de- mands of the dairying business, which is a lead- ing interest in Medina, has much to do with the number of those who care to breed fine stock. The earliest effort to improve this class of stock, however, was by the introduction of the Devon blood. Joel Brigham, who had been a farmer in Harrisville, went into merchandis- ing, and on one of his visits to New York his farmer's instinct lead him to buy two Devon calves at $55 apiece. At this early time, when it was noised about what Mr. Brigham had done, there was considerable curiosity manifested to see them. Iram Packard bought one and kept it for some 3'ears. This is a strikingl}' distinct breed in form and quality, medium in size, uniformly red in color, and comely in appearance. This blood, or that which was closely allied to it, seems to have been imported into New England in the seven- teenth century, and the native stock of that section has for man}- generations borne strong resemblances to this stock. It failed to gain a footing here, and passed away before the Short- horn fashion. Frazer & Owens, of Seville, are breeding this class of cattle and make a credit- able showing at the fairs. The Ayrshires have been introduced within the last decade. There are several herds of grades, but the onh- pedigree stock of this blood iu the county is in the herd of P. B. Clark, of Medina. This breed is said to have originated in the district of Ayrshire, in Scot- land, by a cross of Short-horn bulls from the north of England on the common or native Kyloe cow of Scotland, and cultivated into their present excellent dairy qualities by care- ful and persistent breeding. Thej^ are highly esteemed by those who are partial to them for their large yields of milk, which render them much more profltaljle for dairy uses than the common cow of the countrj'. In size, they are about the size of the common native cattle ; in color, usually red or brown more or less mixed with white, and in shtipe, more like the Short- horn than others, though lacking their fine con- tour and comeliness of appearance. It was these characteristics that led i\Ir. Clark to go into the breeding of this stock. He was inter- ested in dairying, and he became convinced that he could make 20 per cent more out of his grass with Ayrshire cows than any other blood. He started his herd in 1874, buying a bull, " Sir Robert," of C. C. Puller, in Portage county, "^^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 303 to which he bred the common cows of his daily, A little later ho went to see a famous cow, " Dandj-," in the herd of A. J. Miller, of Lorain Countj', This cow had given 10,000 pounds of milk in ten consecutive months, and was with calf at that time. Mr. Clark was so pleased with the animal that he agreed to take her calf when three daj's old, provided it could stand, at $50. His next purchase was a year- ling bull imported from Canada, Coi-nhill 1st, and when old enough used him for breeding purposes, sending " Sir Robert " to the sliam- bles. The present breeding bull is of his own breeding, " Cornhill 2d." The herd consists of five head of full-blood, registered stock, twenty head of from one-half to three-quarter blood. On his farm he has some forty head of cattle, all of his own breeding, and it is his intention to use AjTshire exclusively for dairj' purposes. The Jerseys are represented by a single herd of thoroughbred stock, that of G-eorge Burr, of Lodi. There seems to be a distinction be- tween the " Herd Book stock " and that regis- tered in the '■ American Jersey Cattle Club Herd Register." The former is not considered ex- clusive enough, and much stock is found regis- tered there that is considered below the caste of the pure Jersej^, hence they sustain a sort of high and low church relation to each other. The Alderney, G-uernsey and Jersey, geMeralhj speaking, have a common origin, and owe their distinctive qualities to the manner of breeding, tastes and preferences of the propagators of this stock, for generations past. In size, they are smaller than oar native cows, delicate in form, unique in shape, diversified in color, and blood-like in appearance. The prime quality claimed for the cow is the exceeding 3'ellow color and rich quality of her milk, cream and butter, in all which she stands without a rival, although her quantity of milk is moderate, compared with the weight of butter which it yields. The herd of Mr. Burr was started iu 1877, by the pur- chase of a young bull, " Duke of Bledina No. 4,075," of Prank Ford, in Portage County. The sire of this bull was " Butter Stamp No. 700," and was imported in " Butter Mine " from the Island of Jersej^ His dam, Ford's " Nellie No. 3,395 " and granddam, " Lady Palestine No. 2,769," are descendants of a long line of deep and rich milkers. In December of 1878, two fine young heifers were purchased iu Indi- anapolis, for Miss Bertha Burr, and added to the herd. These heifers, " Brendus No. 6,3G2," and " Carmen No. 6,361," were sired by "Marius No. 760," bred by I. J. Hand, and purchased for the Beech Grove herd at a cost of $500. One of these heifers is squirrel gray in color, with full, black points, and both were bred to " Le Brock's Prize No. 3,350," an im- ported bull of great promise, winning the first prize over all Jerseys at the Roj^al Agricultural Show. He was purchased by Mr. Jackson, and put at the head of the Beech Grove herd at Indianapolis. These cows both subsequently dropped heifer calves. In December, 1879, the bull " Opetrus No. 4,128," sired by "One Tan," and out of Petrus, which is at present the head of the herd, was bought out of the same herd in Indiana. Having purchased the heifer '' Le Broemer No. 10,670," from his sister, Mr. Burr now has five cows and heifers, and one bull in his herd. These animals are all dark breeding, and several of full solid color and full black points. The cows " Brendus '' and " Carmen," when twenty-four months old, gave twelve pounds and thirteen ounces of butter in seven days, without extra feed, and made over one- half pound of butter a day each, within an av- erage of eight weeks of calving. Sheep were introduced into Medina Co. al- most as early as any stock. The first set- tlers seemed to have looked the ground all over, and to have prepared for an isolated ex- istence in the woods. In these plans, sheep formed a conspicuous item, as the production of wool for the various articles of clothing seemed nearly indispensable. But the number ^4"^ — >^ ^h\ 204 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. and boldness of the wolves made sheep-raising a burden upon the frontier farmer, taxed as he was with the cares and anxieties of a " clear- ing,'' that he could ill afford, and many soon gave up, the experiment. Others, however, per- severed in spite of discouragements, and the county has probably not been without sheep since their first introduction, though the num- ber has been very small at times. After the wolf had been exterminated under the influence of liberal bounties paid for their scalps, the dogs caused serious havoc among them, a farmer sometimes finding as many as twent}- or thirty killed and Abounded in a single night. It did not need any outside encouragement to wage a war of extermination upon these ani- mals, and many a sheep-killing dog was sum- marily disposed of. It is diflScult to determine the characteristics of the early sheep. In 1816, Wells & Dickinson, large woolen manu- facturers at Steubenville, had large ilocks of Spanish merino sheep, derived from the Hum- phrey importations. These were pastured at this time on the Stark County plains, and were the talk of stock admirers of the State. In 1824, the failure of this firm caused these sheep to be scattered in small parcels all over the State, and they fell into the hands of many who cared more to improve on the common stock than to breed full-blooded animals. In this way some of tliese superior grades came to this county, and were owned as early as 1830 by William Chambers, of Guilford Town- ship. These sheep were characterized bj' a light carcass and fleece, though the latter was of fine texture and good fiber. American cul- tivation has done much to improve these orio-i- nal and subsequent importations, so that at this day no fine-wooled sheep in the world excel, and few equal, the American Merinos in the heavy product of their fieeces, or the size and stamina of their bodies. Of the latter class there are several fine flocks in this couutjr. Asa Farnum, Esq., of Cliippewa Lake, has been engaged in growing fine-wooled sheep for the last forty years. The flock of Alexander Brothers, of WestBeld, is one of the best^ and was started in 1861, by purchases from the flock of Mr. Farnum. The breeding of regis- tered sheep for sale, however, has been of more recent date with these gentlemen. In Decem- ber, 1879, their entire floclt of previous breed- ing was sold, and the foundation of a new flock laid by the purchase of three j-earling ewes and one ram, on September 16th of that year. These were drawn from the flock of E. Townsend, of Pavilion Center, Genesee Co., N. Y., and, on January 20, 1880, twenty yearling ewes, from the flock of J. E. Gilmore, of the same place. These latter animals were bred, however, by Townsend. Since these purchases, additions have been made from time to time, until their flock now numbers fifty-one breed- ing ewes from one to two years old, which were derived by Mr. Townsend from the celebrated Hammond flock of Vermont. In addition to the names noted, those of A. L. Clapp, of Chat- ham, William Kennedy, of Brunswick, and J. Barneby, of York, should be mentioned as dealers in this class of stock. About 1812, Nathaniel Pierce introduced in the south part of Granger some Saxon sheep from the flock of H. D. Grove, of Hoosick, Uensselear Co., N. Y. i\Ir. Grove, who was a native of Saxony, made various importations from his native land. In a letter from which these facts have been derived, Hon. Halsey Hulburt, of Seville, adds : '■ Mr. Grove died— perhaps in the winter of 1843-4-1 — the owner of the flock in Granger, and it was sold at pub- lic sale by his administrators in October, 1844, and widely scattered over the country. Old Gov. Morris, of Highland Co., Ohio, was present and pui-chased some. I had twenty of the ewes, and bred them until I found their light fleeces— two and one-half to three pounds — did not pay, and gradually increased their fleeces by merino bucks, to an average, in late - ^3 .^ jy k liL HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 205 years, of eight pounds. With the Saxons I bought tlie foot-rot, which has continued in my flock ever since. In June, I disposed of my sheep to be rid of it, and have purchased in Wisconsin. It is problematical, I think, -whether merino sheep can be kept on our level lands without foot-rot (our great discouragement in wool- growing) as an accompaniment." Of the coarser-wooled, mutton sheep, the Cotswold blood was introduced as early as 1852, bj' J. L. Beck, of Guilford. In that year, he purchased a buck and two ewes from the flock of George Shaw, of Sussex Count}', New Jersejf, paying $40 for the one, and $20 each, for the rest, the three sheep costing in Medina County a little more than $113. These ani- mals were of the best blood in the country, and, by the exercise of great care and excellent judgment, Mr. Beck has succeeded in maintain- ing the character of his flock. The second buck used was of his own breeding, by his Jer- sey ewes and a buck owned by Mr. Bell, of Sharon, who was also interested in this class of sheep. Mr. W. H. Witter, of Montville, and Mr. Shaw, just south of Jledina, were somewhat interested in these sheep, and exchanges were made among these gentlemen for breeding bucks of the various flocks. The sixth buck of Mr. Beck's flock, was purchased of William Squires, of Lorain County, of whom he had bought a buck and some ewes the j^ear pre- vious. His seventh breeding buck was an im- ported animal, and was purchased at an ex- pense of $200 ; the ninth was an imported ani- ,mal purchased of William Moffltt, of Cuyahoga County, etc. Sufficient is given to show the care exercised in the selection of his animals ; and the reputation his flock has achieved, shows the estimation in which his judgment is held bj' growers of coarse wools. There is a good demand for all his surplus stock, and not a little interest is awakened in this class of sheep. Mr. Beck's flock now consists of twenty- nine ewes, and three bucks. Of the middle wools — abundant in fleece, massive in the quantity, and delicious in the excellence of their flesh — is found the South- down and Shropshire. Of the latter, two bucks have been imported by William King, of Granger. Of the Southdowns, there are a few specimens in the county, but they are proving, generall}', popular. Sheep are raised in Medina for the wool , and, though general opinion does not accept the dictum of the fine wool growers^ merino grades are the leading characteristics of the sheep in the county. The alternation by many of the farmers from dairying to sheep- raising, is not calculated to do the most for the character of either industry, and experience will probably prove that in this, as well as else- where " a rolling stone gathers no moss." Swine were the earliest and the most easily maintained of any stock on the frontier farms. No family was so poor as to be without them, and none were so rich as not to need them. In most parts of the county thej^ were allowed to run at large in the forest, gradually taking on the nature of the wild hog, which were found here hy the first settlers. This breed of hogs were of thin flesh, large bones, thick skin and formidable tusks. They were wholly unfit for food, though the exigencies of pioneer life often made them the only resource. Their skin was used for tanning purposes, and fur- nished a very desirable leather for horse col- lars and other parts of the harness. The woods breed of hogs, however, has long since become extinct in this county, and, where it used to take two years to make a 200-pound hog, a 300 and 400 pound hog can be made in nine to twelve months. The principal breeds are the Suffolk, Chester White, and Berkshire. The latter was the first introduced, but they were then a rough, coarse-boned animal, and were soon abandoned. A fine-boned Suffolk was in- troduced later, but they were found as much in the one extreme as the early Berkshires had been in the other. A cross between these and r ik_ 206 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. the Chester White has prodiiced a favorite ani- mal with mau}'. A later Berkshire, which an- swers the demands of the critic, is now found in the countj', and great pains are being taken to preserve the breed in all its purit}^. The Yorkshire hog was introduced in Harrisville, in 1874, bj- John Warner, Esq. This breed matures earl}', puts on a large quantity of fat and keeps within the limits of the " small breeds." Some of Mr. Warner's April pigs dress this winter 185 pounds, which is consid- ered a ver}- good showing. There is an objection found, that thej' are rather better to furnish lard tlian niL-ss-pork. The Magie and Poland- China are also occasionally found, but there is not the same interest manifested in this branch of stock-raising as in others. Dairying came to this country by right of succession. In the old Connecticut, this had been a prominent feature of the farm industry before the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the early settlers coming from New England brought the custom with them. Here it found a congenial soil, and, growing with the growth of the county, it is now one of the chief sources of revenue. The first eflbrt to establish this enterprise in this county was probably in 1816. In Northrup's history of Jledina Count}', it is related of Mrs. William Warner, that "she thought her table poorly supplied if cheese was wanting." Knowing that her husband was daily employed, .iind had not time to attend to all that must be done, she undertook to make a cheese-press. She rolled a short log to the corner of the cabin, and fixed it firmly on one end, next she took a puncheon and placed one end in the opening between the logs, and soon made the discovery that a few stones placed on the other end would create leverage. She used the rim of an old sieve for a cheese rim, into which she placed the curd, surrounded by a cloth ; placed that on top of the upright log, adjusted the puncheon properly, put the stones in place, and soon had the satisfaction of know- ing that cheese could be pressed and made. That rudely constructed press was used b}' her for many j-ears, and she has the satisfaction of telling that from then until the present time (1860) she has never been without cheese, and that always made by herself" This was not an isolated case, save perhaps in the rudeness of the press and the time of beginning the man- ufacture. It was early observed that the soil was best adapted to grazing, and soon sug- gested an increase in the number of cows. But, before there was a marketfor the surplus make, cheese was made for home consumption, and most families could afford the luxury of cheese. After the construction of the canal from Cleve- land to Portsmouth, which opened up a market to this count}', considerable cheese was made in a private way and marketed in the various towns that were accessible. In 18-17, C. B. Chamberlin, a native of Vermont, settled in Montville Township, and purchased 500 acres of land, in the following year put on 100 cows, and began dairying on a scale never before known in this county, and perhaps not on the " Preserve." The most of the land had been cleared before feed was abundant, and he made from 200 to 300 pounds of cheese per day. This he continued for some eight years, gener- ally marketing his jproduct in Chillicothe, where he went every week. Occasionally he con- tracted his make at Akron or Cleveland. In the meanwhil.e his operations excited great interest among the farmers in the county, and people came from a considerable distance away to see him " bandage a cheese in the press." This practice, now so common, was then un- known, and was considered a great novelty. About 1855, a number of the farmers enlarged their dairy operations to a considerable extent, among whom may be mentioned P. B. Clark, Andrew Ha'ght and J. II. Sedgwick. At this time the implements and appurtenances of the dairy were very rude. The milking was done in open yards, and milking barns were unknown. (Ji Uj e^C^en^ J^l te HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 209 Cheeses were thin and small, and were held through the season. In the fall, when ready for market, the}' were frequently shipped in rough casks made for the pui-pose. WelUug- tou soon grew into a market for this product, and the greater proportion of the cheese made in the county was hauled there bj' the farmers. The factory system in this county, dates from 1866, in Litchfield Township. Cheese factories originated, it is said, in Herkimer County, N. Y. The da\Tj business began on a considera- ble scale there, as early as 1800, and, by 1830, a trade had been established with England for the product of this industry. From there it spread to the Western Reserve, beginning in the northeastern part, and coming to Medina, as above indicated. The Litchfield Factory was built by Benedict & Brooker, and A. D. Hall, of Geauga County, was secured to initiate them in the mysteries of combined action in the dairy business. "Cheese meetings" be- came a common thing at once all over the countj'. JMr. Plall was an enthusiast upon the subject, and he and his wife were paid high wages for their instruction and assistance in placing the factory system on its feet here, some private cheese-makers employing them to give instructions in the factorj' sj-stem of manu- facture. In 1867, Chamberlin & McDowell erected a factory in Medina, and about the same time, similar enterprises were inaugurated in most of the northern and northeastern town- ships. Since, the dairy business has been an important interest, forming one of the most profitable sources of revenue. These factories have more than doubled the manufacture ; have lessened the labor to the farmer, and increased the price of the manufactured article. Fac- tories have not found encouragement in the southeastern part of the county, or in localities where the German element is predominant. They are generally given to wheat culture, and are not to be diverted from this sort of hus- bandry. There are some fourteen factories now in the county, though all have not been in operation during the past season. The season of 1879 was very poor for cheese makers, and the farmers made haste to dispose of their cows and put on sheep. Last season the price of cheese greatlj' improved, but the patronage was so poor that many factories could not afford to continue business on tlie percentage plan, and closed their operations. The average capacity of these factories is from thirty to forty cheeses per day, receiving the milk of some 400 cows. Few have, of late years, worked up to their full capacity, though some have received the milk from 500 to 600 cows at times. Private dairy- ing is still continued, in some instances on so large a scale as, perhaps, to be properly classed as a private factory. The principal market for this product of late years has been at Wellington, where, by a sys- tem of partnership with factory men, the inter- est has been built up into immense proportions. The springtide in this business was from 1860 to 1874. During the war, Mr. F. B. Clark, one year, realized $90 per cow, selling his home- made cheese at an average of 16|- cents per pound. Mr. C. B. Chamberlin was not only earliest in the dairying business, but for a num- ber of years foremost in the factory business. Selling the first factory in Medina to his part- ner, he fitted up the old mill for the business, which was burned about 1874 with some thou- sand cheeses. He at once put up another fac- tory in the village, which is considered the model establishment of the county. He has three others in various parts of the county. In 1875, he engaged in purchasing the product for the Eastern markets, wintering some 12,000 boxes that year in New York City. In 1876, he bought 25,000 boxes, and 30,000 boxes in the following year, all of which he shipped to Philadelphia. The larger proportion of the cheese made here of late has been marketed at Wellington, though not an inconsiderable amount is sent elsewhere on private account. 1210 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. A noticeable and favorable feature of the agricLiltare of the countj' is tlie moderate size of the farms. By the census of 1870, it ap- pears that there wci e then 2.722 farms, of which over 2,000 were less than one hundred acres each, and of the latter number, a few more than half wore farms of less than fift^' acres each. The census of the present j-ear (1880) shows the number of farms at present to be 3,086, and, at the same time, a falling-off in the popu- lation. The natural inference from the imper- fect returns as j'et received would seem to be that families were generally smaller, and that the larger farms liad been divided, the average farm now not reaching over eighty-five acres. These farms are well tilled, the buildings well improved, the grade of stock equal to the best in the State, and a general well-to-do air of neatness and comfort prevails everywhere throughout the farming community. Improved agricultural implements are found everywhere, the farmers readilj' perceiving the advantage to be gained bj' thorough equipment for their work. In the matter of markets, the railroad facilities provided within the last decade have solved the problem that for years vexed the farming community of ?Iorrow Countj-. The question of highwa3-s is yet an unfathomed mysterj'. Like most of the Western Reserve, Medina is at the mercy of its clay roads. Sand and gravel in suitable quantities cannot be found here, and the great inquiry is, as to how these roads shall be constructed to absorb the least moisture. In the State Agricultural Re- port of 1876, ten miles of graveled road was reported, but it would probably puzzle the old- est inhabitant to locate the road. The " river road " is the one probably referred to, where, in places, the gravel of the river has been put on to the highway. It is lost sight of, however, at every muddy season. The bridging of the county is not an important item of expense. The Rocky River and the Black River are the principal streams of the county, which can be easily spanned anywhere in one hundred feet. The old covered bridges of the earlier days still continue to be favorites with the people, though of late iron bridges have been intro- duced to some extent. Agricultural societies grew up ver^' naturally in this communit}'. They were a prominent fea- ture of the farming communities of Connecti- cut, anil, some years before any regularly organ- ized effort was put forth to this end, the people, anxious to transfer the customs and traditions of their earl}' home to this land, spontaneouslj' came together to show their stock and compare their respective merits. On June 3, 1833, the CoLintj' Commissioners directed the Auditor to call a meeting of the farmers of the ct>untj', for the purpose of forming an Agricultural Society. For some reason, there was no adequate result from this effort A great many of the farmers had early become interested in horses and cat- tle, and for some 3'ears, on a certain day, the}' met at the public square, where an impromptu organization of committees was had, who passed theki- judgment upon the respective merits of the animals present, without regard to entries. This custom gradually grew in importance until the farmers' wives brought the results of their handiwork, and the whole farming community joined in a sort of" harvest home " holiday. An important feature of these gath- erings was the array of j'oked oxen, and it was not uncommon to see, at these times, twenty or thirty 3'oke in " a string." This practice was continued after the regular organization of a society, and premiums were offered to the township thai; should send the longest " string" of j'oked cattle. In 1845, a permanent organization was formed, and, in spite of a vigorous opposition on the part of the minority, leased, rather than bought, seven acres of Jlr. Bronson, just east of the foundry. The contract was for ten years at $70 per j'ear, dur- ing which time a large building which served as floral, domestic, art and mechanical halls, ^. T -tl> HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 211 was built. At tlio expiration of the lease, the Society found itself in debt to the extent of 1100. A spirited meeting of the society at the Court House canvassed the subject, and the old-time minority carried considerable weight with their " I-told-you-so " argument. Mr. W. H. Witter, a prominent advocate of the pur- chasing policj', was made President, and a di- rector from each township, who should solicit the farmers from their respective localities to take stock at $5 per share, the funds to be de- voted to the purchase of grounds for holding the fair. This bid fair to fail, when, later, a meeting of the directors revealed that but little or no stock had been subscribed. Mr. Witter was appointed as a soliciting committee, and in a few months' time succeeded in raising $1,200 in this vfny. Eighteen acres were at once pur- chased of the Selkirk estate, and fitted up for the use of the society. The building of the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling Railroad, cut off an acre and a half of tlieir grounds, and, in 1877, A. I. Root, desiring a place to put his growing buginess, made over- tures to the society, and bought their land at SlOO per acre. The society at once secured 21 acres of land, a little southwest, paying the same price per acre. The society has had a ^'igorous growth, and is in prosperous circum- stances. A large frame building combines the accommodations, sometimes divided among several halls. Accommodations for stock, in the way of sheds, stalls and pens, are abundant, and an eating-hall provides means for the refreshment of the society's guests and mem- bers. The track is a half-mile circle, which was constructed at a cost of .filfOOO, and is com- manded bj- a comfortabl}' arranged grand stand. One of the most unique premiums offered by this society was a small flag, made of cotton cloth thirty-three by flft3'-.six inches, painted with the usual number of stripes and stars, em- blazoned with a device consisting of a Jolly- looking human face with thumb on nose, which, as interpreted, meant, " Take me if you can." This was offered to the county wliich would bring in the largest delegation to the county fair of 1878, and was awarded to the Summit County delegation. The origin and historic value of this flag is connected with one of the greatest sleighrides ever known in Medina, and one to which the older people of the county revert with unusual satisfaction. In 1856, there was an unprece- dented amount of sleighing, and sometime in February of that j'ear, the people of Solon Township, Cuyahoga County, got up a sleigh- ing partj' consisting of seven four-horse teams, and among other decorations carrying the flag in question. The people of Twinsburg, Summit County, through which the Solon party passed, made up their minds to go to Solon and take the flag. They harnessed up fourteen four- horse teams, went to Solon, and brought the flag home. Royalton, Cuyahoga County, then rallied thirty-eiglit four-horse teams, and took back the flag ; and thus, like the knight-errants of old, it traveled from one township to an- other, with an increased number of four-horse teams each time. It soon became a county matter — Cuj-ahoga, Medina and Summit Coun- ties were to try their strength, and the county mustering the largest number of four-horse teams was to bear away the flag. On the 14th of March, the parties met tit West Richfield, with all the teams they could muster. Medina Count}' had 140 four-horse sleighs, Cuyahoga had 151 four-horse teams, and Summit, 171, a total of 462 four-horse sleighs — each sleigh containing an average of fourteen persons — 1,848 horses, 6,468 persons, besides a large number of one and two horse sleighs. Summit Countj', of course, took the flag. The Medina delegation, on their return home, immediatelj' called a meeting to make arrange- ments for another trial. It came off on the 1 8th, at Akron, The procession was fitted out with devices, banners, bands of music, etc., and -'f ^'- l>t. 212 HISTORY OF MEDIISrA COUNTY. entered Akron about noon, amid the firing of cannon, the ringing of bells, and the shonts of the people, who extended to them a most hearty welcome. The teams were counted, and Me- dina rolled up 182 four-horse teams, besides one four-mule team, hitched up with ropes, which was thrown out by the committee, be- cause not horses. The teams filed through the city, and the result was telegraphed from one to the other with shouts of victory — the citi- zens of Akron joining heartil3' in the same — until the whole city was in one deafening roar. President Pierce of Hudson College presented the flag to the county of Medina, with some ap- propriate remarks, which were responded to by Charles E. Bostwick, Chief Marshal of the Me- dina delegation ; after which, two songs were sung, composed for the occasion. After re- freshments, the Medina delegation returned home with the flag, the happiest company-, doubtless, that were ever brought together. Another fair association exists in the county known as the "District Agricultural Society of Wayne and Medina Counties, Ohio." This grew out of a desire to aid in building up the village of Seville, where the fairs are held, and some little dissatisfaction with the county asso- ciation. A mfeeting of the citizens of Seville and vicinity was called for the 5th of June, 1860. There was a good attendance, a general expression of opinion was had, and committees appointed to forward the project. On the 11th of the same month, another meeting was held, and subsequently an association was formed with the following officers : S. G. Foote, Presi- dent ; D. D. Dowd, Vice President ; J. A. Bell, Secretary; Cornelius Welsh, Treasurer ; Charles Eddj^, 0. S. Owen, John Coolman, Jacob Knuflf, Joseph McGlennen, J. C. Johnson and J. T. McDowell, Directors. Twelve acres just north of Seville was leased of L. A. Parker, fenced, necessary buildings erected, a one-third-of-a- mile track laid out and graded, and the first exhibition held on the 11th, 12th and 13th of October, 1860. The enterprise proved highly successful for several j'ears in succession ; the grounds were enlarged, more commodious buildings were erected, and a good half mile track constructed. The fair is still liberally patronized, and bids fair to be one of the insti- tutions of the county for years to come. CHAPTER II. PEE-HISTORIC EACES — EEMAINS OF MOUND BUILDERS— INDIAN DOMINATION— COMING OP THE WHITES— ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY— CIVIL DIVISIONS AND CENSUS— PUBLIC BUILDINGS— POLITICAL. rnpHE earliest history of Medina County, in -L common with that of the State, is veiled in mystery, and what share it had in the pre- historic times can be only guessed. It is the opinion of antiquarians that three distinct races had inhabited North America prior to the coming of the present inhabitants. Of these, the builders of those magnificent cities the ruins of which strew for miles the plains of Central America, were the first. " The mind is startled," says an eminent writer on this sub- ject, " at the remoteness of their antiquitj'j when we consider the vast sweep of time necessary to erect such colossal structures of solid ma- sonry, and afterward convert them into the present utter wreck. Comparing their com- plete desolation with the ruins of Baalbec, Palmyra, Thebes and Memphis, they must have been old when the latter were being built." Of this race, no trace has been found within the »j^l (I •^ ^ ^r^ <2 S.^ fk, HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 213 limits of this country, and whether Ohio ever shook under the step of their marching, or its wilds ever echoed to their cries, is still an open question. " The second race," continues the same writer, " as determined bj' the character of their civilization, were the Mound-Builders, the remains of whose works constitute the most interesting class of antiquities found within the limits of the United States. Like the ruins of Central America, they antedate the most ancient records ; tradition can furnish no account of them, and their character can onlj- be partiallj- gleaned from the internal evidences which they themselves afford. They consist of the remains of what were, apparentl}', villages, altars, tem- ples, idols, cemeteries, monuments, camps, for- tifications, etc. The farthest relic of this kind, discovered in a northeastern direction, was near Black River, on uhe south side of Lake Ontario. Thence tney extend in a southwestern direction by way of the Ohio, the Mississippi, Mexican Gulf, Texas, New Mexico and Yucatan, into South America." Some of the most interesting and extensive of these works are found in Ohio. At the mouth of the Jluskingum, on Licking- River, near Newark, at Circleville on the Sciot(^, and on Paint Creek, near Chillicothe, are found some of the most elaborate of these mounds, stored with some of the most important relics ever discovered. But, with all the discoveries and investigations made thus far, but little progress has been made toward a knowledge of their ori- gin, civilization or destiny. They existed here, and built the works over which the archsologists spend their efforts in vain, but what was the nature of their stay here, or the character of their civilization, is as far from comprehension as ever. Col. Whittlesey, writing of this race, says : " There is no evidence that they had alphabetical characters, picture writing or hie- roglyphics, though they must have had some mode of recording events. Neither is there any proof that they used domestic animals for tilling the soil, or for the purpose of erecting the imposing earthworks they have left. A very coarse cloth of hemp, flax or nettles, has been found on their burial hearths, and around skeletons not consumed by fire." The more important of these mounds are found in the southern part of the State, and it is conjectured that the remains found in the northern part may have been built by portions of the race not contemporary with the builders of the southern structures. The difference in the ex- tent and importance of these northern structures seems to indicate a people far less in numbers as well as industrj', and whose principal occu- pation was to war among themselves or against their neighbors. Along the watershed in this State, which lies along the southern line of Wyandot and Crawford Counties, extending irregularly east and west, there is a space where but few of these ancient earthworks appear. It is conjectured, therefore, that this space was the " debatable ground " of the warlike tribes of the Mound Builders, and that the works that are found on eithei side of this line were the outposts of opposing forces. Whatever the truth may be in regard to these fanciful theo- ries, the fact that Medina County was the scene of the busj^ activities of this strange peo- ple, is beyond question. The traces of their occupation are abundant in all sections of the county, important earthworks appearing in the townships of Granger, Medina, Montville, Guil- ford and Harrisville, for a description of which we are indebted to the State Geological Report. In Guilford, an ancient fort, now quite oblit- erated, once stood on land one mile north and one-half mile east of Seville. In Granger, a similar earthwork stood on land one-half mile east of Grangersburg, the remains of which are but an indistinct remnant of the original fortification. It once consisted of a circular trench with embankment, and was, perhaps, ten rods across, the northern extremity lieing now cut off by the public road. A perpetual spring fed a small stream which flowed along V 314 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. the base of the wall. On Mr. John Archer's land, in Montville, known as the Philip King farm, two miles southeast of Medina village, is found a well-doflned monnd, which has never been developed. It is nearly midway between Rocky Kiver and Champion Brook, and per- haps fifty rods above their junction. The mound is now some ten feet high and seventy" feet in diameter, though centuries of wash- ing and years of plowing have extended its Ijorders and rounded its outlines. The soil of the mound is different from that of the " bot- tom land " on which it is built. The nearest ridge or bank is about thirty rods distant. Flint arrow-heads abound on the surface about the mound. Near the village of Weymouth, in M;^cliaa Township, is the most important forti- fiitatiou in the county. It is located just south of the business houses of the village, and is one of the best preserved and most interesting of its kind which can be seen in this region. Like other such evidences of the old power and importance of the race known as M(jund Build- ers, this fortification is popularly called an In- dian fort. The oldest Indian traditions, how- ever, know nothing of the building of these mounds, and the growth of trees upon them places the date of their erection from six to ten centuries ago. The fort is an entrenched pro- jection of land, which has abrupt, blufl' outlines, excepting at its rear connection with the main- land. The river having made an abrupt turn back upon itself, there was formed a peninsular- like projection of land, having shale bluffs over fifty feet high. The defense of this point was easj' a fter trenches had been cut across the neck. Three such trenches are now plainly discernible, and thej^ bear on the surface evi- dence of the former greatness of the work. The trenches are 210 feet long, the width of the point of land ; the inner trench is 360 feet back from the end of the point ; the middle trench is 41 feet from the inner one ; and the outer trench is 49 feet from tl)e middle one, or 450 feet from the end of the point. The trenches run east and west, the point of land being a south- ward projection. Even now, after many centuries of change, the average depth of the trenches is three feet, while in some places it is five to six feet, the embankment projecting above the gen- eral level of the land about two feet, making the bottoms of the trenches below the tops of the embankments five feet, and in places seven feet. Early settlers of the townsliip thought this high point of land, this old fortification, a superior place for a burying-ground, and it was used for this purpose for some j'ears ; a few of the brown- stone slabs still stand as reminders of the pio- neer whites who dispossessed the red man of this territor3- which had once supported the semi-civilized Mound Builders. To get at this cemetery, a road was cut through the center of the three embankments. The Clinton Line Railroad, which was never built, was to have passed just in the rear of the other Irench, and some excavation was done toward cutting a roadway across the point. Fortunately, that work was not carried far before it was aban- doned, leaving this old relic of a departed race but little defaced. In Harrisville, just south of the public green in Lodi, is located a mound of considerable importance. Upon this mound Judge Harris erected a dwelling about 1830, and made some valuable discoveries in the course of his opera- tions. The elevation of the mound above the general level of the land upon which it stands is twelve feet. The outlines are yet quite dis- tinct, though the grading of the yard has some- what changed the original appearance. When the first settlers came, the mound was covered with large trees, among them several black walnuts which were over two feet in diameter. The longest measurement of the mound is 160 feet — this is from north to south. The east- and-west measurement is 135 feet. Upon this large mound, were formerly two knolls 40 feet apart. Each was about two feet high and ten i \ A: -1 9 K HISTORY 01' MEDINA COUNTY. 215 across, with a distinct ditcli around it. One knoll was upon the east side, the other on the west, the house resting upon the edge of both knolls. In digging the cellar of the house, nine hu- man skeletons were found, and, like such speci- mens from other ancient mounds of the countrj-, thej' showed that the Mound Builders were men of large stature. The skeletons were not found Ij'ing in such a manner as would indicate any arrangement of the bodies on the part of the entombers. In describing the tomb, Mr. Al- bert Harris said : " It looked as if the bodies had been dumped into a ditch. Some of them were buried deeper than others, the lower one being about seven feet below the surface. When the skeletons were found, Mr. Harris was twenty years of age, yet he states that he could put one of the skulls over his head, and let it rest upon his shoulders, while wearing a fur cap at the same time. The large size of all the bones was remarked, and the teeth were described as "double all the way round." They were kept for a time, and then again buried by Judge Har- ris. At the center of the mound, and some nine feet below the surface, was found a small monu- ment of cobble-stones. The stoues, or bowlders^ composing this were regularl3' arranged in round layers, the monument being topped off with a single stone. There were about two bushels in measure of these small bowlders, and mixed with them was a quantity of char- coal. The cobble-stones, chai-coal and skele- tons were the only things noticed at the tims of digging the cellar, in 18.30. Mslyij years later, in 1869, as digging was being done to lay stone steps at the front of the house (the north side), two other and smaller skeletons were found only three feet below the surface. The interment of these two bodies was proba- bly much more recent than that of those found deeper down, and a different race of men may have put them there. Doubtless there are other skeletons in the mound at present, as the digging referred to was done solely for the pur- pose mentioned, and not for the sake of learn- ing anything concerning these relics, and no care was taken to fully investigate this very in- teresting matter. Nr. Harris thinks that the ground in front of the house, if dug over would afford many valuable relics. This mound may possibljr go back in history to the time when the Harrisville swamp was a lake, and the region about good hunting territory. Great quanti- ties of flint arrow-heads and stone axes have been found about the marshes. There arc large numbers of these stone relics to be found in other parts of the county, but they have long ago lost their attraction save for the few to whom they speak a "various language.'' Among the relics of this class to be found here are many of the Indian tribes, who, if the more modern theories are to be accepted, are a far more ancient people. But, whether we consider the red Indian the orighial possessor of this land, or the natural successor of the Mound Builders, his early history is equally obscure. The Indians were found in full possession of the whole country so far as the earliest white explorers could determine, but the character of their customs and habits of life, and the uncer- tainty of their vague traditions, have left but little material for the use of the historian. The earliest pioneers found this State inhabited by Iroquois, Delawares, Shawanoes, Bliamis, Wy- andots and Ottawas. These nations were all subject to the warlike Iroquois or Five Na- tions, and occupied their respective lands sub- ject to the pleasure of their conquerors. The first of these tribes occupied that part of the State east of the Cuj'ahoga River, and a line drawn irregularly south from the source of that river to the Ohio. The Wyandots and Ottawas occupied a strip of country forty miles, lying along the south and west shores of Lake Erie, west of the Cuyahoga River. The rest of the State was divided in latitudinal sections, occu- pied by the Delawares, Shawanoes and Miamis, vs rr ^ 216 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. proceeding west of the Iroquois territory in the order named. In 1684 and 1726, the dom- inant nation ceded to the English all their claims west of Lake Erie, and sixty miles in width along the south shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, from the Cuj'ahoga to the Oswego River. In 1774, the same nation ceded to the Americans all the country claimed bj' that tribe west of Pennsjdvania, and on January 21, in the following j'ear, a treaty with the Wyan- dot, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa nations, the former subjects of the Iroquois, a new boundary was fixed. In the transactions with the English, the Iroquois lost their hold on the subject nations of Ohio, and the Delawares, upon whom had been heaped the greatest in- dignities by their savage conquerors, suddenly assumed their former warlike prowess, and be- came the most powerful enemies of the whites. During the Revolutionary war as the allies of the British, and at the head of the Northwestern Confederacy of Indians to oppose the cessions made b};' the Iroquois, they became the terror of the whites, and defeated some of the best Generals of colonial times. In the spring of 1794, an effort on the part of the State was made to retrieve the disasters in the Northwest, and Gen. Wayne, with about three thousand five hundred troops, assembled at Greenville, to subjugate the Delawares and their allies. In August of that year, the hostile forces encountered each other at the foot of the rapids in Maumee, when, after a short but deadly conflict, the Indians were completel3- de- feated. They were not conquered, however, and it was not until their whole countrj' had been overrun, their cornfields destroyed, and forts erected in the very heart of their domain, that they would sue for peace. On August 3, 1795, a grand council was held at Greenville, with representatives of eleven of the most pow- erful tribes of the Northwest. In this council, by far the larger representation was from the tribe of the Delawares, numbering 381 braves. The treaty concluded at Port Mcintosh fixed the line of boundary, beginning " at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, and to extend up said river to the portage, between that and Tusca- rawas branch of the Muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing-place above Fort Laurens, then westerlj' to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood which was taken by the French, 1752 ; then along said portage to the Great Miami, or Omee River, a id down the south side of the same to its mouth ; then along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of Cuyahoga River, where it began." At Greenville, this boundary line was confirmed, and extended westward from Lora- mie's to Fort Defiance, and thence southward to the mouth of the Kentucky River. This territory thus set off was given to the Delawares and Wy- andots. In 1805, the different tribes relinquished their claims on all lands west of the Cu3'ahoga, as far west as the western line of the Reserve, and south of the line, from Fort Laurens to Lora- mie's Fort. At the close of the treaty at Greenville, Buckongehelas, a Delaware chief, addressed Gen. Wayne as follows : " Father, your children all well understand the sense of the treaty which is now concluded. We experience daily proofs of your increasing kindness. I hope we may all have sense enough to enjoj' our dawning happiness. Many of your people are yet among us. I trust the}' will be immediatel}' restored. Last winter, our king came forward to j-ou with two, and, when he returned with your speech to us, we immediatelj' prepared to come forward with the remainder, which we delivered at Fort Defiance. All who know me know me to be a man and a warrior, and I now declare that I will, for the future, be as steady and true a friend to the United States as I have, hereto- fore, been an active enenw.'' The promise of the warrior thus voluntarily given was faithfully maintained by the people. They resisted all IV ^1 -14V HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 317 the solicitations of Teeumseli's agents, and tlii'ougla the war of 1812 remained the stanch friends of the Americans, and frequently ren- dering valuable service as scouts and sharp- shooters. The territory now comprised within the lim- its of Medina County was thus early taken from the control of the original savage possess- ors. The treaties, however, only extinguished the right of the savages to retard immigration, and did not necessarily remove them from this tract of land until forced off by the growth of settlements. It was not until the general paci- fication of the Indians, in 1817, that the Re- serve could be said to be free to white settle- ment, though, as a matter of fact, the}' had some years before abandoned this locality, save a few straggling bands near Wooster, at the mouth of Portage River, in Trumbull County, and near Chippewa Lake. There is no evi- dence that the savages ever had a permanent residence in Medina, and it is probable, that, for j-ears before the coming of the whites, this locality was simply visited by hunting parties in quest of the game which once filled the for- est. Up to the war of 1812, it was the custom of the Indians to meet every fall at Cleveland in great numbers, and pile up their canoes at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. From this point, they scattered into the interior, and passed the winter in hunting. In the spring, they returned, disposed of their furs to traders, and, launching their bark canoes upon the lake, returned to their towns in the region of the Sandusky and Maumee, where they remained until the succeeding fall, to raise their crops. Others came by land, a trail leading from San- dusky to the Tuscarawas River, passing very near the residence of Mr. Harris. It was a narrow, hard-trodden bridle-path. In the fall, the Indians came upon it from the west to this region, remained through the winter to hunt, and returned in the spring, their horses laden with furs, jerked venison and bear's oil, the lat- ter being an extensive article of trade. The horses were loose, and followed in single file. It was no uncommon sight to see a single hunter returning with as vaany as twenty po- nies laden with his winter's work, and usually accompanied with his squaw and papooses, all mounted. The Indians often built their wigwams in this vicinity, generally near Chip- pewa Lake, but frequentl}- within a few rods of the cabins of the settlers in Harrisville. They were seen but very little, however, after the close of the war of 1812, though it is said that the wigwams of the Wyandots could be seen occasionally along Center Creek, in Litchfield Township, as late as 1822. The earliest set- tlers found them friendly, though having but little occasion to have dealings with them. The first survey of this part of the "Western Reserve was made in 1796, and settlements followed at Cleveland in the same year, in Trumbull County in 1798, in Portage County in 1799, in Summit in 1800, in Medina in 1811, and in Lorain in 1817. It will be observed that settlements on the Reserve followed the retreat of the savages at a much greater dis- tance than in most parts of the State. Some of these lands were sold as early as 1786, and, in May, 1795, the whole of the Western Re- serve, save the "Fire Lands," was disposed of by the State of Connecticut to a land company formed there. The members of this company were generally persons of wealth, who bought the land for the purpose of speculation, and frequently held the tracts falling to their pos- session out of the market for years. Another obstacle was found in the fact that the lands were much of them held at a price considera- bly higher than that asked for Government land, and tracts early disposed of were sold through personal friendship and influence or from ignorance of cheaper lands, and not be- cause they were better or cheaper. There were some advantages, however, accruing to settlers on the Reserve that may have been taken into ^' ^f^ ^ 218 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. consideration, and may have had considei'able weiglit in making up the decision of the pur- chaser. The hind was all taxable, and public improvements were not laid solely upon the few pioneers that had taken up their homes in a township. In many cases, the lands of the original proprietor were made to bear the brunt of the expense of sohoolhouses and roads, and frequently secured a church or two by simply doing the work after material had been provided by the land speculator. These considerations, to the thrifty New Englander, who knew the value of church and school, were undoubtedly made to outweigh the disad- vantages of the situation. In later years, when the public lands of Oliio were pretty generally taken up, these advantages, in connection with land at no higher rates than were demanded elsewhere, made the Reserve a very desirable location. The earliest trace of the white man in Medi- na County was found in Wadsworth Township. Here, on the west bank of Holmes' Brook, near the north side of the road, stood a large beech- tree, which bore on its north faci>, the letters distorted by its growth, the legend, " Philip Ward, 1797," and beneath it, in the follo\rn.g descending order, "T. D., R. C, W. V." Who Philip Ward and his three companions were, or what errand brought them here, is an unsolved problem. The date is of the year following the first landing of immigrants and surveyors at Gonneaut, but no such name appears in the published list of those persons. It is probable that these mementoes were cut into the tree by adventurous hunters who had pushed their way into the wilds of Ohio from some of the front- ier settlements of Pennsylvania or New York. The silent witness of their presence has long since been removed, it having been cut down in 1834, when the road was straightened. The first white man to come with a view of making a settlement was Judge Joseph Htirris, then a young married man, a native of Connecticut, and a resident of Randolph, in Portage County Ohio. In 1807, the Connecticut Land Company had made a division of their lands west of the Cuy- ahoga River, and Township 1, in Range 16, togetlier with 2,000 acres in Township 1, Range 15, as a compensation for swamp land in the former, was drawn by the Torringford Com- pany, an organization that had been formed to take a share in the great land company. The members of this organization were Nehemiah Gaj'lord, John and Jabez Gillett, Solomon Rock- well and brothers, Hezekiah Huntington, Will- iam Battell, Russell Burr, heirs of Job Curtis, Thomas Huntington, Roy Tyler, Wright & Sut- leff, Joseph Haines, Martin Kellogg, Burr and Loomis, Joseph Battell and Eliphalet Austin. In 1810, this propertj^, known now as Harris- ville Township, and a part of Westfield, was snr\'eyed into lots of 100 acres each, and Mr. Harris secured as agent for the sale of the land. He was given a share in the lands of the Torringford company, and the privilege of se- lecting 200 acres as location for a pioneer set- tlement, to be deducted from his undivided portion. Mr. Harris at once made a visit to the new country, and, selecting a site for his cabin, went home, to return in the following j-ear with his family and effects. He was joined in his nev/ home, in June of 1811, by (Seorge and Russell Burr, members of the Torringford company, with their wives, and, a little later, by Calvin and Lyman Corbin, from Boston, Mass. Mr. Justus Warner had been in Liver- pool Township, during the winter of 1810, to inspect the situation, and, being pleased with the outlook, and having corresponded with a Mr. Coit, the proprietor of the township, he bought land, and, in the same year that marked the date of settlement in Harrisville, ^Ir. Warner, accompanied by Alpheus Warner and his wife, and Moses Demmiug, made a settlement in Liverpool. Hardly had those firmilies settled down to their now life when the startling news •?1® i) \ A! HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 219 of Hull's surrender and the landing of British troops at Huron was brought to their ears. Both settlements repaired at once to a place of greater safet}' ; but, learning the nature of the reports, and finding that no immediate danger impended, they retarued. The news of the dis- aster in the Northwest was more effective in re- straining immigration, and it was 1814 before the nest settlers came into the county. In this year, the Harrisville community received large accessions, and new settlements were made in Medina and Wadsworth Townships. The latter township had been previously di- vided into nine tracts and apportioned to the various proprietors. Number 1 belonged to Elijah Wadsworth, then a resident of Canfield Township, in Midioning Countjr, and Daniel Dean and Oliver Durham, coming to that town and becoming acquainted with 31r. Wadsworth, finally purchased land in his tract, and, coming here, settled in that part of the county ]March 17, 1814. On October 3 of the same year, Ze- nas Hamilton, a native of Danbury, Conn., set- tled in Medina. A small clearing of some three acres had been made, soma time before this, by a Mr. Hiir^aan and brothers, of Aurora, but, after putting up a cabin and accomplishing this little, they left, and never returned. It was in this deserted cabin that Mr. Hamilton moved, with his family of seven or eight children, in the fall of 1814. The line of travel toward the new settlements was by the way of Cleveland. Persons from East found it most convenient to take the established lines of travel to Erie or Buffalo, and then, shipping by the lake, to land at Cleveland. The first road toward the south was from Cleveland to Wooster, passing through the very central portion of the undeveloped countrv. The older settlements at Wooster at- tracted many persons, who came to visit friends and those prospecting for land were naturally drawn to this locality by acquaintances there. All this travel passed through Medina, and Mr. Boardman, the principal proprietor of Medina Township, alive to the advantages of the situa- tion, secured Rufus Ferris as an agent for the sale of his land, and, placing him in Medina with abundant means, set about utilizing the advantages offered by the location of his lands. Mr. Ferris kept open house and devoted him- self to the entertainment of strangers who were likely to buy land, and at the same time pushed the work of clearing and improving the place with all the means at his command. From this time forward, the Sledina community was the principal point from which the settlement of the county was- directed. In the meantime, Brunswick had been settled in 1815 ; in the following year a settlement was made in Shar- on, in Westfleld, Guilford and Granger in 1817, and in Chatham, jMontville and Hineklc}- in 1819. The settlement of Bledina County was not the result of a regular advance of the line of pio- neer colonies from the East. Tliis overflow population had found a barrier about the " Re- serve," and, passing into the public lands lying adjacent on the south, had built up thriving centers before the wilderness of this section was invaded by the white man. There were none of the regular class of squatters in this county. There were no natural or Indian clear- ings, and the certainty of being obliged to soon surrender any improvements that might be made, deterred this class of emigrants from locating. Others who came were brought here often by becoming heir to propeivty located in the new country, or through the influence of neighbors who had become owners of lands. Agents for the different original proprietors, were numerous and were eager to interest per- sons likely to need cheap land for a home. The settlements were thus irregularly made in the count}-. Instead of proceeding from some base of supply along one edge of the wilder- ness and passing to the interior as their acces- sions increased, the first settlers established ^1^ 230 HISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. themselves in the very heart of the county. " Many openings were made at a distance of many miles from each other, necessitating jour- neys of ten or fifteen miles for the sole pur- pose of getting some mechanical job done. In getting to and from mill, days were spent ; and for many years the nearest post office was at Cleveland, to which place a man would spend two days in going and returning, for sake of a single letter. On such journeys the ax, blanket and bell were the pioneer's outfit, and with these he cut out his road, protected him- self from the rigors of the climate, and recov- ered his oxen, turned out to graze at night. Where he tarried at night an unbroken wilder- ness was his inn, and the howling wolf his only companion."* Of the life of this class of pio- neers, an English traveler gives a vivid picture, in a series of letters written from this country in 1818. Comparing them with the class of squatters, he says : " The next class of settlers differs from the former, in having considerable less dependence on the killing of game, in re- maining in the midst of a growing population, and in devoting themselves more to agriculture. A man of this class proceeds on small capital ; he either enlarges the clearings begun in the woods by his backwoodsman predecessor, or establishes himself on a new site. On his ar- rival in a settlement, the neighbors unite in assisting him to erect a cabin for the reception of his family ; some of them cut down the trees, others drag them to the spot with oxen, and the rest Uuild up the logs. In this Yfny, a house is commonly reared in one day. For this well-timed assistance, no immediate pay- ment is made, and he acquits himself by work- ing for his neighbors. It is not in his power to hire laborers, and he must depend, there- fore, upon his own exertions. If his family is numerous and industrious, his progress is greatly accelerated. He does not clear away the forests by dint of labor, but girdles the * Nortbrop's "History of Medina County." trees. By the second summer after this opera- tion is performed, the foliage is completely destroyed, and his crops are not injured by the shade. He plants an orchard which thrives abundantly under every sort of neglect. His live-stock soon becomes much more numerous than that of his backwoods predecessor ; but, as his cattle have to shift for themselves in the woods where grass is scanty, they are small and lean. He does not sow grass seed, to suc- ceed his crops ; so that his land, which ought to be pasturage, is overgrown with weeds. The neglect of sowing grass seed deprives him of hay, and he has no fodder laid up except the blades of Indian corn, which are much withered and do not appear to be nutritious food. The poor animals are forced to range the forests in winter, where they can scarcely procure any- thing which is green, except the buds of the underwood, on which they browse. Trees are sometimes cut down that the cattle may eat the buds. Want of shelter completes the sum of misery. Hogs sufler famine during the drought of summer and the frosts and snows of winter, but they become fat bj- feeding on the acorns and beechnuts which strew the ground in au- tumn. Horses are not exempt from their share in these common sufferings, with the addition of labor, which most of them are not able to undergo. * * * rphe utensils used in agriculture are not numerous. The plow is short, clumsy, and is not calculated to make either deep or neat furrows. The harrow is triangular, and is yoked with one of its angles forward, that it may be less apt to take hold of stumps of trees in its way. Light articles are carried on horseback, heavy ones by a coarse sledge, by a cart or by a wagon. The smaller implements are the ax, the pick-ax, and the cradle-scythe — by far the most commendable of backwoods apparatus. * * * r£Q_ day, I have seen a number of young women on horseback with packages of wool, going to or returning from the carding machine. At some ^! S^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. of the houses, the loom stands under a small porch by the door." The political organization of the " Reserve," largely influenced bj' the private enterprise which had purchased this vast tract, was more methodical than that of the larger parts of the State. This territory was surveyed in town- ships five miles square, upon a plan which con- templated the convenience and success of the people who should develop the country. The township lines of the survej* were always iden- tical with the line of political division, and, though it was often found necessary to attach an unsettled township to one more developed, for judicial purposes, it never lost its identit}^, and was known upon the tax-list and in popular parlance by the name of the original purchaser or by its township and range number in the original survey. In the formation of counties the same rule has been observed, and town- ships have been transferred from one county organization to another, but never divided among several. The first survey of this vast wilderness known as the '■ Western Reserve " was made in 179G, and immigration invited to that portion which lay east of the Cuyahoga River. In 1800, Trumbull, the eighth county in the State, was formed by the Territorial Gov- ernment, embracing within its limits the whole "Reserve." In 1805, Geauga was formed, and on June 7, 1807, the counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga and Portage, were erected. The lat- ter included the territory that has since been formed into the counties of Portage, Summit and Medina, with the county seat at Ravenna. On February 18, 1812, Medina was erected " from that part of the Reserve west of the 11th Range, south of the numbers live and east of the 20th Range, and attached to Portage County until organized." At that time there was but a single settlement, and that but four days old. The eastern tier of townships which have since been taken off, had enough settlements which warranted this action on the part of the Legis- lature. In 1818, the county of Medina was or- ganized as an independent subdivision of the State. The county was then composed of eight- een townships — Norton, Coplej', Bath, Rich- field, Wadsworth, Granger, Hinckley, Guilford, Montville, Medina, Brunswick, Westfield, Liver- pool, Harrisville, Grafton, Sullivan, Penfleld and Huntingdon. December 26, 1822, Lorain County was formed from Huron, Cuyahoga and Medina, taking from the latter all the townships in Ranges 19, 18 and 17 below num- ber five, and Township 4 in the 16th Range. On March 3, 1840, Summit Count}' was formed from Portage, Stark and Medina, the latter con- tributing the townships of Norton, Copley, Ba*h and Richfield, in Range 12, and receiving from Lorain the townships Homer and Spencer in the 17thRange, leaving the present arrangementof townships. The population of the county at the time of its first organization was probably not far from two thousand persons, though it is arrived at bj' simply guessing. Mr. Northrop, in his his- tory of Medina County, gives an estimate of the population in 1818, of the various townships now in the county, which foot up to 2,469. Comparing this estimate with the census of 1820, and it shows only a little larger yearly increase than is shown in the decade from 1820 to 1830, which was very probably the case. But, while the aggregate seems probable, the distribution as given below from Jlr. Northrop's work seems quite the reverse. In this, seven townships which were not organized till after 1830, are credited with a population of 467. This number ought probably to be referred to the whole territory' Ij'ing west of Range 15. The early settlement was principally drawn from Connecticut, though there were large ac- cessions from New England families that had moved to New York, Pennsylvania and other parts of Ohio previous to their coming here. In Homer and Spencer Townships, however, the original settlement was made considerably HISTORY OF MEDIXA COUNTY. ^ later and b}' Germans generall3' from Penns^'l- vauia. In the southeastern and eastern parts of the county, the original stock of New En- glanders has been supplanted b}' a thriftj- class of Germans, who, by their persevering industry, have added largely to the resources of the count3r. The inQux of population up to 1850 "was regular and rapid, the population increas- ing from 2,4G9in 1818, to 3,090 in 1820, 7,500 in 1830, 18,360 in 18-10, and 21,441 in 1850. Since then, however, there has been a gradual falling-off in the census returns of about two thousand each decade. The reason for this retrograde movement in population is not well elefined. It is probably due to the fact that many have gone further West, where cheaper lands may be secured, and to the general fact shown in the census of the State at large, that many of the youth have been called in various ways to the cities. The census of the townships and villages for the last five decades, are as fol- lows : CENSUS. Brunswick. , Chjitham Gr.ingcr Giii forj IliuTisville llinrkley ni.mer La Fiivette l.iiihlield Liverpool Medina MonUillo Sharon Spencer Wa-iswnrth Wcstlicld Torlt Village of Medina Village of Seville Village of Wadaworth.. Totals 1818 1840 ISiO 1800 1870 1880 107 107 184 200 2.il 118 72 91 00 210 103 87 96 si 227 79 124 1,11 6.55 9-4 1,411.1 1,2 6 1,287 (iCO 938 787 1,S02 1,433 015 1,314 651 1,481 1,031 782 lis 1,.|17 1,167 1,317 1,80U 1,477 1,410 1,102 1,312 1,312 2,20: 2,011 1,077 1,619 1,330 1,022 1,122 1,211 1,(109 1,200 1,100 1,025 1,820 1,220 1,239 993 1,325 1,118 1,807 2,189 957 1,313 1,082 1,703 1,122 1,009 1,234 080 981) 987 1,809 1,182 972 880 1,109 8 CO 1,425 1,553 1,097 1,131 929 2,283 1,023 886 1,159 607 949 945 1,000 998 1,872 1,381 902 805 1,097 851 1,339 700 829 1,197 808 2,S37 1,048 1,01)1 1,438 1,217 2.469| 18,3G0! 24,441 ! 22„517; 20.092' 21,447 Investigations into the earlier records of the Commissioners' Court is met, at the outset, by the following ominous entry on the first page of the Commissioners' Record: "Whereas, a certain book called the ' Commissioners' Rec- ords,' in which were all the records of the county since its organization, was feloniously stolen from the Commissioners' office, on the night of the eighth of December, instant, to- gether with certain petitions, road reports, and bonds on petitions, with the minutes of the proceedings of the regular December session ; therefore, resolved that the following orders be entered in a book, to be provided as a Com- missioners' Record, etc.'' The serious loss thus indicated makes the history of the first sis years, among the most important in the historj^ of a county, rest largely upon tradition. There are other sources of partial information, and this loss has been remedied to a considerable extent through the patient research instituted and placed on record by Hon. F. R. Loomis, then one of the editors of the Medina Gazette. The first election held in accordance with the requirements of the act organizing the county, resulted in the choice of Abraham Freese as Auditor, Lathrop Sej'mour as SheriflT, and John Freese as Recorder. The Commissioners were then appointed by the Court of Common Pleas, the members of which were elected b}^ the joint ballot 'of the Legislature. The first court was composed of George Tod, of Warren, Trumbull County, as President Judge, and Joseph Har- ris, of Harrisville, Isaac Welton, of Richfield, Frederick Brown, of Wadsworth, as Associate Judges. In April, 1818, this court appointed Jliles Clark, of -, Timothy Doan, of Wey- mouth, and Andrew Deming, of Brunswick, as County Commissioners. The countj' seat had been fixed hy the special Commissioners at Medina Village. As an inducement to this end, Elijah Boardman, the original owner of Medina Township, had offered to the county a plat of ground containing some 300 acres more or less. This gift was subject to the condition of locat- ing the seat of justice thereon, and was made before the county was organized. Lathrop Seymour was made "Director of Lands" to re- ceive the gift for the county, and when the condition had been fulfilled, and the property passed into the control of the Commissioners, the "Director of Lands " was empowered to ^F -'(— -i HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 223 dispose of this propertj' for the benefit of the county. Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, facing the public square on the west, were reserved for the site of the public buildings, and what is now the public square was set apart for that purpose, and a contract entered into with Austin Badger to clear it. Improvements were carried forwai'd on the property remaining in the hands of the county until all were sold. Among the first actions of the Board of Commissioners, was the appointment of Rufus Ferris as Treasurer, and the providing of a place for the first session of the court. But little improvement had been made in the village, as the property had not been offered for sale. Mr. Ferris had a cabin which was fully occupied by his family, but a frame barn which had recently been erected a little northeast of the public square, offered accommodations which were secured by the Commissioners. This sufficed for the first term of court, when the upper part of a double log house, which had been reared on the site of the Barnard BIocIj, by Hickox and Badger, was secLiriid. Here the court held its sessions until the mors imposing structure was erected across the street. Of the present tov/nships, five were erected before the date of the organization of the county. Of these, Medina, Wadsworth and Brunswick were erected in the same year, by the Commissioners of Portage County. The balance, save Homer and Spencer, erected by the authorities of Lorain County, were organized under the authority of Medina officials. There has been no occasion to change the boundary lines, though for temporary purposes, the pres- ent township of Sharon was attached to Gran- ger, La Fayette to Westfield, York to Medina, Chatham to Harrisville, Litchfield to Grafton and afterward to Liverpool, Homer to Sullivan and Spencer to Penfield. The townships as they now stand, with their villages and post offices, with the dates of origin, will be found in the accompanying table : TOWNSHIPS. Brunswick.. Chatham Granger.. Guilford . IlarrisTille.. Hinckley... Homer La Fayette.. Litchfield ... Liverpool ... Medina jMontville ... *Sharon Spencer Wadsworth. Westfield . Tork . "When Organized 1818 1833 1820 1819 1817 182.5 1833 1832 1831 1816 1818 1820 1830 1832 1818 1820 1832 Villages. Seville.. Lodi Liverpool., .Medina .... Wadsworth . Le Roy York Wlien Laid Out. 1828. No plat.. 18-1 .1. 1818. jfNo plat.. 1826 No plat.. Lrunswick Chatham [ l\emson's Corners.. \ Granger j lUver Styx IfSeviUe ) Pawnee 1. jLodi / Bennett's Corners \ Hinckley Homerville f JChippewa Lake... \ Whittlesey f Erhart l\ Litchfield Liverpool Medina Poe f IJSmith's Road \ Sharon Center Spencer Wadsworth J Friendsville ■ ILeRoy ( Abbeyville 1 Mallet Creek When Established. .March 15, 1820. .June 20, 1837, March 14, 1855. March 31, 1828. February 11, 1828. August 6, 1825. .January 21, 1879. Januirry 21, 1829. December 31, 1863 April 2, 1825. October 25, 1844. February 13, 1873. October 4, 1850. March 13, 1873. March 12, 1832. April 24, 1819. March 12, 1860. July 8, 1850. May 27, 1833. .January £2, 1834.- Pebruary24,1823. February 7, 1867. April 5, 1825. June 25, 1833. July 20,1837. ^Organized as Ga.-ik. fFurmerly Guilford, corporated 1866. ^Formerly Karrisonville Reserve. ^Formerly Marr. ||Formerly Coddingville. lyln- 1 SJl 224 HISTOBY or MEDINA COUNTY. Apropos of this table, it may be said that there are now three money-order offices in this county, Medina, Seville and Wadsworth. The rates of postage that proved so great a burden to the early pioneers, were, according to the acts of March 1825 and 1827, then in force, "on a letter composed of ejie piece of paper" for &ay distance not exceeding 30 miles, 6 cents ; over 30 miles and not exceeding 80 miles, 10 •cents ; over 80 miles and not exceeding 150 miles, 12|- cents; over 150 miles and not ex- ceeding 400 miles, 18J cents ; over 400 miles, 25 cents. "A letter composed of tzuo pieces of paper was charged with double these rates ; of three pieces, with triple, and of four pieces, with quadruple. One or more pieces of paper, mailed as a letter, and weigh- ing an ounce, shall be charged with quadruple postage ; and at the same rate should the weight be greater." The contrast between that day and this needs no learned homily to set it forth. The first sessions of the Commissioners were held in the cabin of Ms. Ferris, as that was the only cabin in the corporation at that time. During the next year, two double log houses were erected, which were opened to " entertain man and beast." These were the resort of the county officials, until more suitable quarters were provided. For some years the officers did not reside at the seat of justice, but came up at stated periods, as did most of the citizens of the count}', to transact such business as demanded attention. The contract for the first court house was let to Benjamin Lindslej', late in 1818, or early in the following year. It was to be a rectangular brick, two stories high, sur- mounted b}' the inevitable cupola of that time, and was to be situated on the southwest corner .of Liberty and Court Streets. The brick was burned that year, in the vicinity of the village, but for some reason, the contractor failed, after carrying on the work for a while, to complete it. At any rate, on the 19 th of August, 1821, the commissioners, John Bigelow, Ebenezer Harris, and Stephen Siblej', made a new contract with John Freese and Timothy Doane, to finish the structure. What it was to be, is best set forth in the following article of agreement : This article of agreement, entered into this 19th day of August, 1821, between John Bigelow, Ebenezer Har- ris and Stephen Sibley, as Commissioners of Medina County, on the first part, and John Freese and Timothy Doane on the second part — witnesseth: That the party of the first part have contracted with the party of the second part, to complete for said county of Medina, the court house now building, agreeably to the following plan, viz.: In the southwest corner, a room is to be done oflf by lathing and plastering ; the plastering is to be put on with one good, substantial scratch coat, one good and handsome overcoat, the whole to be white- washed ; the windows to be cased, and supplied with window springs ; wash-board around the room ; a door to be made, and cased with one and one-half inch board or plank. In the northeast corner of said building, there is a room to be done off in a similar manner. The northwest corner room to be done in a similar manner, and a ceiling of two-inch boards, well planed and grooved, run seven feet from the northeast corner of the room seven feet west, then to angle behind the stairs, until it comes to the wall. The two halls on the lower floor to be lathed and plastered in like manner with the northeast and southwest rooms, and a seat joining on the division of each room. The windows in the southeast room to be cased with double architraves, which are to extend from the top of the windows to the ground floor. There are to be panels under each window ; the room to be lathed and plastered like the other. There is to be one panel door in each apartment, the whole to be made of one and one-half inch black wal- nut, or butternut, and well cased. There is to be a good, decent, substantial railing on the outside of the stairs, and the whole of the windows in the building are to be well cased and supplied wilh springs. The whole of the upper story of said building is to be lathed and plastered, and have wash-boards as below. There is to be a handsome circular molding struck in the wall over the center of the court room, three feet in diameter, the center of which is to project and contain a hook of suitable strength to support a large chandelier, when deemed expedient ; there are also to be additional hooks to support the requisite number of stove-pipes. There are to be two rooms partitioned off from a wall which is to be run across the landing east and west, near the head of the stairs ; there is to be a double panel door ^^ »[>?• HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 227 in this partition. The two rooms are to be partitioned off east of the stairs, and the east room is to contain two-thirds of the space. These division walls arc to be lathed and plastered on both sides, and there is to be a row of seats around each of these i-ooms. The lalhing of these divisions must be on good and substantial uds. There is to be a hatchway left over .,ne of these small rooms as an accommodation in case of tire. There is to be a good latch, catch, etc., on each door, of brass or wrought iron, and also a bolt of the same material. For other work to be done in the upper or court room, reference is had to the plan hereunto annexed, with this understanding, that said circular table is to be made of bUck walnut, butternut or cherry, supported on !??■=. tueleaf lobe covered with green baize, to cover er thi edge of the table, and secured by a molding igether with small brass nails in sufficient quantity for durability and ornament. The circle in front of the bar and back of the jury seats to be of long panels, two feet and eighi inches high, and capped with a decent and substantial molding. The front of the Judge's seat and Clerk's seat to be of panel work in a similar manner; the molding on the top, however, to be broad and answer as a kind of table for writing, etc. The Sheriff and prisoner's box also to be of panel. The other work in the upper story to be done in a plain, good and substantial manner. All the doors are to be supplied with Ijcks and keys, to be well hung and com- pleted; and finally, the whole building is |to be com- pleted in the above manner and style, so that the build- ing, when complete^ shall not be wanting in any of those small conveniences or ornaments so necessary in public building. For, and in consideration of the abo^ e, the party of the first part agree to pay unto the party of the second part, the sum of f 1,500 on the Ist day of December, 1822, provided, the said house is completed in manner and form as above written, by Ihe party of the second part, by said 1st day of Decem- ber, 1822. The above-mentioned sum of $1,600 to be paid from notes in the hands of the Director of Public Lands against the proprietors of the public lands ; and for the faithful performance of the foregoing agreements, we do hereby bind ourselves, heirs and assigns. In teE'imony whereof we hereunto set our hands and seals the day and year first above written. John Bigelow. [seal]. In presence of Ebenezer Harris, [seal]. Benjamin LiNDSLET, Stephen Sibley, [seal]. Eela B. Clark. John Freese. [seal]. TisiOTHY Doane. [seal]. It may be well to add that the building fronted to the east, and that the plan shows the location of the stairs in the northwest corner of the building. A partition running east and west cut off the court-room from the stairway and left space east of the stairway that was de- voted to counsel and jury rooms, as noted above. The Judge's bench was in the south part of the room, immediately in front of which was the Clerk's desk, and in front of this was the circular counsel table referred to above. Back of this and in the line of the railing which divided the bar from the audience, were the sheriff and criminal boxes side by side. On either side of the counsel table, were long benches for the grand and petit juries. The rest of the space was furnished with seats for the accommodation of spectators. In the lower floor, the main entrance was on Court street, from which, a large hall led back through the center of the building between the offices de- scribed above. The northwest corner was thrown into the hall and formed a sort of an ante-room, which opened on to Liberty street by a side door near the foot of the stairs. When this building was fully completed, it is impossible to discover. As late as 182G, the records show that the Commissioners ordered a purchase of 100 feet of 10x12 glass, some iron scrapers for the steps, and some fire fenders for the offices, and at the same time ordered the laying of some stone door-steps for the court house. This was probably the finishing stroke, and were things not contemplated in the con- tract. Before the court house was completed, however, the Commissioners had caused a loo- jail to be erected on a site about midway of the block that faces the public square on the west. But little can be ascertained in regard to this pioneer institution. It was built of hewed logs, the corners being dovetailed to- gether. Who had the contract, or what the further character of the building was, cannot now be ascertained ; though one of the work- v l>t. 328 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. men, BIr. Badger, is still living, lie does not re- member anj^ of its characteristics. In 1829, the public square, which was nearly all that re- mained to the county of its "public lands" at that time, was inclosed by a fence. The " Di- rector of Public Lands " had contracted with Austin Badger to clear it, and it had subse- quently been sowed to oats and seeded down, and, the 3-ear mentioned, the Commissioners contracted with Benjamin Lindslej' to construct a fence about it at $2.50 per rod, the fence to be completed by the 25th of Slay. The contractor seems to have been one of those unfortunate people who are always "behind- hand " in life, and the date set for the comple- tion of the contract was extended to the 16th of July, and it was finished then only through the Commissioners threatening to have it done at the contractor's expense. In later j-cars, the fence was taken away, and the square made a public common. A picture of the village in 18-10, which is pronounced by old citizens to be accurate, shows but two trees and a flagstaff standing on this ground. Since then, the pres- ent grove has been added, and proves a useful as well as ornamental feature of the county seat. On March 15, 1830, an advertisement was inserted in the Cleveland Herahl, then the only paper in this vicinit^^, calling for sealed propo- sals for the erection of a fire-proof building, 18x40 feet, one story high, suitable for the pub- lic offices. In the following December, the Commissioners entered into a contract with Messrs. Oviatt & Bronson, for $690, to erect this edifice. It was eventually built two stories high, with four offices. Two were entered from the front street, and, in the middle, an entrance and hall led to the two situated in the rear part of the building. Two windows furnished the light for the offices, and an arched brick ceiling encouraged the belief that they were fire- proof. The upper rooms, save the southwest one, were rented for offices to the various law- yers, Judge Samuel McClure having an office there at one time. On Januar}' 3, 1833, a con- tract was entered into by the Commissioners with Stephen N. Sargent and Uriah H. Peak, for the construction of a brick jail on the rear of Lot No. 1. The conditions of the contract are not fully set forth in the records, but, from other evidence, it is understood that the con- sideration was Lot No. 2, valued at $425, and $1,500 in cash. This sufficed the purposes of justice until 1851, though not without some risk of the escape of prisoners, which now and then occurred. On July 19 of this year, the Commissioners bought of George Anson 102|- feet from the east side of Lot No. 75, for $358.75, and at once invited proposals for the building of a new jail, to be placed upon this site. Six proposals, varying from $6,400 to $10,075 were received, and, on the 2d of December, 1851, a contract was entered into with Harris & Varnim to build the jail for $7,000. The cells were constructed of stone, all " grouted," and the balance of the structure of brick, and is still serving the county. The old jail was sold a little later, to Barton Green, for $900. In 1840, the Commissioners began to feel that a new court house was demanded. At this time the stone of the foundation, which was got out of Champion Creek, had begun to crum- ble and the brick to fall out of place, and the Commissioners began to look about for a new site for the court house which should succeed it. Lot No. 80 was bought in March of this year for $1,200, and, in the following Septem- ber, the following entry was made upon their records : " The Commissioners, after examining the different proposals presented to them, and, after mature deliberation, have agreed to ac- cept the proposal of D. H. Weed, which said proposal is in substance as follows, to wit; Said Weed agrees to build a new court house for the old court house and public offices and the ground on which said buildings stand, and the land adjoining belonging to the county, ex- vi; M'. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 339 cept the ground reserved by the county for the jail, which said ground so reserved by the county for the jail, commences at a stake stuck by the said county commissioners, west from the northwest corner of the public offices, and to run north and west from said stake, parallel with the lines of said lot or lots, hereby intend- ing to reserve all the ground on which the jail now stands, and southeast of the jail to the lines running north and ,west from said stake ; and, also, said Weed is to have the additional sum of 13,100. Said Weed is not to have pos- session of the court house and public offices until the new court house is finished." The contractor went to work in the following year, and, by August, had completed the foundation. The building was placed on the site where it still stands, and was completed that year. It was surmounted by a cupola which was fin- nished with a " gilt ball sixteen inches in diam- eter." Later, the Commissioners directed that the building should be painted with " red lead and Spanish brown, for which Weed shall be allowed $50, but," the record naively adds, " if he won't paint it for that, the Auditor may make the best bargain possible." The natural growth of business soon made the court house too small to accommodate it, and an agitation was begun with a view to secure greater facili- ties. The object was generally approved, bat, upon the means to accomplish this end, there was not the same unanimity. It was finally decided by the Commissioners to make addi- tions to the old structure, and the result has been, while the general appearance of the out- side has been greatly improved, an examina- tion exhibits the old-time folly of " putting new cloth into old garments." After considerable deliberation, the nature of the work not de- manding a vote of approval from the people, the Commissioners gave notice of their inten- tion to make additions to the court house on March 30, 1872. In the following July, the contract was let to W. a. Tilley, for $17,300. The improvements added two large rooms on the first and on the second floors, that were greatly needed. These are situated one on either side, the intervening space serving be- low as a re-entrant vestibule, and above as a covered balcony. The whole is surmounted by an ornamental belfrj', provided with a dial for the purpose of a tower clock. A bell of about 1,000 pounds' weight has been hung in the tower, and a fine vault constructed for the records and moneys of the countj^ The whole cost is set forth in the following final statement of the contractor : To amount due under contract $ 17,300 00 To extra stone work for foundation 491 75 To extra galvanized iron, work and mate- rial ordered 950 16 To extra plastering, work and material or- dered 558 60 To extra brickwork, work and material or- dered 2SI6 54 To extra framing, finishing and carpenter work, court room, halls, and material... 1,320 80 To extra painting and graining 310 00 To extra lumber for framing, sheathing old roof, etc 908 23 To extra labor on same 800 00 To drafting details of work 100 00 Total $ 23,036,07 To this there was an addition of $72.60 for furniture for the various offices bj- the contract- or, besides the expense of superintending the building, which formed something of an item. The subject of an infirmary was broached as early as 1836, but the project was not favorably received, and it lay dormant until 1854. In this year, a farm was bought in La Fayette Township, of John S. Jones, which, together with more recent additions, now reaches to 273 acres. In June, the Board of County Commis- sioners, consisting of Carr G-. Hounds, J. M. Henderson and James S. Eedfield, contracted with William Hickox & Brother to build a brick County Infirmary building, 29x59 feet, for the sum of $2,200. The work was com- pleted in the following December, and accepted and paid for by the Commissioners in January. Early in 1864, this building was destroyed by ® L ;^ iL^ 230 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. fire, caused, it is supposed, by the act of some of the insane inmates ; the building proved a complete loss, save an insurance of some $1,700. On May 18, 1864, the Board of Commissioners contracted with William Hickox for the erection of the present structure for $8,900. In 1861, a two-story brick building, 30x41 feet, was erect- ed by William Hickox, just southeast of the old Infirmarj' building. The contract was let by the Commissioners on the 5th of February, at a cost of $1,800. The farm is supplied with good outbuildings, including a brick wash- house, laundry and bakery combined, 20x33 feet, an ice-house and milk-room, a smoke- house, coal-house, etc. The farm is nearly all under cultivation ; a portion of it which was swamp land has been thoroughly drained, and has been cultivated for some years. A large part of the support of the institution is raised on the farm, but there is an average draft on the county of about $4,000. The first person admitted to the infirmary, was Charles Olcott, of Bledina Village, who was admitted February 5, 1855, at the age of sixty- one years. Mr. Olcott had a fine education, was a member of the bar, and had served as Prosecuting Attorney of the countjr ; he had filled various offices of trust, and, for many years before his misfortunes, had been a promi- inent citizen. At his death the court adjourned and the bar passed the usual resolutions and attended the funeral. There were forty-three applicants for admission on the first day that the institution was fairly opened, and during the j-ear the total number of applicants was sixty-five. The average each year since has not varied materially from that number ; usu- ally varying at each annual report somewhere between fifty and sixty inmates. William F. Nye, appointed from Westfield in 1874, is still in charge of the institution, and is remarkably successful in his management. Politically, Medina Countx' is not conspicu- ous. Like eddies in a stream, it circles about its own center, receiving an impulse from the national political current, but is situated just beyond the broad sweep of its power. Political preferment during the first twenty-five years of the history of the county was looked upon as an expensive honor of doubtful value. The great majority of the people had come from the middle class of society in the " Land of Steady Habits," whose ambition had never soared to a loftier flight than to the time-honored position of Justice of the Peace, Supervisor, etc. The change of residence to a new country, where the necessities of the situation tasked their en- ergies to the utmost simply to gain a subsis- tence, had not shown a tendency to stimulate their aspirations for public honors. In fact, the office sought the man, frequently " going a begging," and it was not an infrequent thing for a man to decline a profiered nomination simply because he could not afiTord to give his time. Nominations were made through the nearest newspaper, the Cleveland Herald act- ing for years in that capacity for Medina, or by personal announcements and solicitation of friends of the candidate. Up to 1830, the party lines of the two great political organizations had not been verj' rigidly drawn, in fact, had been scarcely drawn at all, and a candidate trusted for his election far more to his personal popularity than to the allegiance of his party adherents. The abduction of Morgan in 1827, which formed so powerful a weapon in the politics of New York and in many parts of Ohio, had its eflFect upon society in Medina, but it cannot properly be said to have efi'ected the political situation here. A paper published at Eavenna in the anti-Masonic interest, found a very large support here, but this sentiment was not hedged in by any party lines. Democrats and their opponents, whether by the name of Federalist or Whig, subscribed to both sides of the ques- tion, and it was never brought forward publicly as a text. In 1833, when Gen. Duthan North- *^ (6~ 3 \ , 4* — - 4 /L HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 231 rup was a candidate for Representative to tlie General Assembly, his friends who urged his cause, described him to the opponents of the order as " not a JIason," and to its friends as " not an Anti-Mason,'' and he was elected. At tliis time, the old parties had become dis- integrated in this countj', and had not as j^et become fixed in the partj' crystallization which succeeded. The question of internal improve- ments by the General Government, introduced by Henry Clay, awaliened a livelj' interest at that time among the people living in a half- subdued wilderness. Prosperous growth in Medina County had long been delaj'ed by the lack of waj-s and means of transportation, and this question impressed the average mind as a practical issue, and it proved the entering- wedge which has since wrought such a marked division of political sentiment. The great tariff agitation which succeeded, changed the places of some who had taken the Whig side of the first issue, so that, while it strengthened the line of separation, it made a nearlj' equal division of the political forces in the county. In 1834, John Newton, of Kichfield, then in Medina County, was the first candidate elected in the county, distinctively as a Whig. He was succeeded in the following year, as Repre- sentative to the General Assembly, by Philo Welton, a Democrat, who, in turn, gave way in 1836 to Mr. Newton, who was re-elected. In 1835, James S. Carpenter, a young unmarried man from New York, established a Whig paper in Medina, and through his efforts gave the preponderance of power to the part3' with which he was aflBliated, so that the successful candidates for the succeeding seven years were chosen from the Whig party. In the meanwhile, just as parties seemed to have settled down to a placid state of routine existence, another disturbing element was brought into the political arena, and rapidly acquired a commanding influence. Anti-slavery sentiments were cherished by the adherents of both parties, but, though cherislicd to a greater or less extent since the date of the Missouri Compromise, they had been kept in abeyance, and all political action based on them was strongly deprecated by all alike. But tlie specter would not down at such bidding. Soon after the founding of the Western Reserve Col- lege at Hudson, in 1828, the Ohio Observer was established as tlie organ of the Presbyterian Church, and brought its weeldy discussions of colonization and emancipation before its numer- ous readers in this countj'. In 1833, Oberlin College was established in Lorain County, and its radical attitude in relation to the crime of slavery kindled the flame that faintly burned into a conflagration. An anti-slavciy societj', few in numbers but powerful in influence, was estalilished in Medina about the same time. Among its members was Timotliy Hudson, a man of considerable propcrt\-, and popular throughout the county, who published a small paper devoted to the dissemination of anti- slavery literature. To the sum of these influ- ences should be added The Constitutionalist, the paper established by Judge Carpenter, which had taken advance grounds on tlie ques- tion of slaverj' from the very first. With such influences at worli among a people of Puritanic convictions, it was impossible to keep the ques- tion in political subjection. In the local campaigns of 1837 and 1838, there were evidences of a near uprisal of the anti-slavery sentiment, which finally came in 1839. At the Whig convention that year, a disposition was manifested on the part of some of tlie more conservative members of the partj' to rebuke the radical wing for their outspolsen utterances. The challenge thus thrown down was readily accepted by the anti-slavery lead- ers, who declared in op.'jn convention, that no nominee of that body could be elected, who did not sutecribe to anti-slavery sentiments. The practice then was to hold two conventions on the same dtxy — a delegate convention, in which d^- 'k 233 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. the nominations of the party were made and a ticket arranged, and a mass convention, to which the action of delegates was reported. This accomplished, the presiding officer of the dele- gate bod^- repaired to the mass convention, where he submitted the ticket prepared for the indorse- ment of the larger assemblj'. The result of the deliberations of the delegate convention, after the bold utterance of the anti-slavery leaders, was the nomination of Mr. Carpenter. When his name was announced to the mass convention, it was his first intimation of the honor that had fallen on him, and he hastened at once to call the attention of that body to his position on the anti-slavery question, and to warn none to indorse him under any misappre- hension of the facts. To crown the confusion of the conservative leaders, Blr. Carpenter was heartily indorsed, and elected by a handsome majority. In the succeeding jxar, the Whigs nominated Albert A. Bliss, of Elyria, another pronounced anti-slavery man, and elected him, Birnej' getting in Medina County in the same year, eleven votes for President. In 1841, Mr. Bliss was re-elected from Lorain, and Lorenzo Warner from Medina, both pronounced anti- slavery men. In the succeeding year, however the Democrats succeeded in electing their can- didate, Richard Warner, of Sharon, without any concessions to the anti-slavery element. There were several causes contributing to this result, though it in no sense indicated a change in public sentiment. In 1828, Lorain County had been associated with Medina in a Joint-State Representative District. In the former county the influence of Oberlin had been very effective in molding the sentiment of the home societj', and so long as the relation of these counties remained un- disturbed, the anti-slavery branch of the Whigs controlled the party organization. In 1842. under the new census, the Whigs of Medina were thrown upon their own resources, and the more radical members of the party, distrusting the majority, withdrew and voted with the "Liberty party,'' or refrained from voting at all. About this time, also, the controversial war waged against the theological andi^rpolitical dogmas of Oberlin had reached its culminating point, many of its enemies advocating and hoping for the rescinding of the college char- ter by the Legislature, and many of the Whigs voted for the opposition candidate to express their dissent from its theological tenets. It was freely charged by the Whigs that Warner would vote to rescind the charter with the hope of tlius forcing their recalcitrant members to support the regular party candidate. The re- sult, however, was rather to lose votes for their candidate as indicated above, but, to his honor be it said, Mr. Warner indignantly denied the imputation, and, when the matter came up in the legislature, worked and voted against the measure. Mr. Warner was re-elected to the Forty-second Assembly, and in 1844, Earle Moulton was elected by the Whigs. He was elected for a second term and was succeeded bj' Mr. H. G-. Blake, who served two terms. Both of these gentlemen were Anti-slavery Whigs. In the meantime, the Free-Soil party had absorbed the " Libertj- men,'' and, having secured the balance of power, received over- tures from the Democrats. Without anj' dis- tinct coalition, however, James C. Johnson was elected in 1848, by the Democratic organi- zation, though many of the younger members were Free-Soil in sentiment. Early in the fol- lowing year, Aaron Pardee, of Wadsworth, after consultation with many of the Free-Soil leaders in the county, issued a call for a convention of all persons opposed to slavery, making the ground of union so broad that large accessions were received from both of the dominant par- ties. There was at least one bond of union between the Free-Soil and Democratic organiza- tions in their hostility to the Whigs, and, the younger Democrats gaining control of the ma- chinery of their party, the convention resulted s 'y A« :liL HISTORY OF JIEDINA COUNTY. 233 in another, a little later, in which the Demo- crats and Free-Soilers formed a coalition and nominated for Representative to the Legisla- ture Philip Thomson, an old " Libert}- man " and one of " the seven thousand" who voted forBirnej^ in 1840. There was no little dissat- isfaction expressed at this arrangement by the older members of the Democratic party, but they were eventually wheedled or forced into a support of the ticket. The Whigs, recogniz- ing the power behind the throne, nominated Hal- sey Hulburt, another Birnej' man, but the die was cast that doomed them to defeat. Jlr. Thom- son could have been re-elected, but, declining the honor, and the older members of the Dem- ocratic organization resuming power, the coali- tion fell to piece.?, and Mr. James C. Johnson was elected by the Democratic organization in 1850, and re-elected in 1852. In 1853, the Whigs achieved a final victorj'. In this 3'ear they nominated Dr. Edwin H. Sible^^, an anti- slavery man, who was opposed by Francis D. Kimball as the regular candidate of the Dem- ocratic party. The latter organization was not heartily unanimous in the nomination of its candidate. He was an earnest temperance man and strongly imbued with anti-slavery sentiments. This nomination was loolted upon as due to the prevailing influence of the younger portion of the party, and many of the older members felt greatly dissatisfied. The result was that E. A. Warner was announced as an independent candidate, and divided the strength of the Democratic party. Barnej^ Prentice represented the Free-Soilers and received a con- siderable vote. The passage of the " Nebraska Bill " in the winter of 1853-54 heated the political elements of Medina to the fusing point, and early in the following spring a convention was called to protest against this extension of slavery. This call brought members of all parties together at the court house, and, though disagreeing as to the means to be employed to rid the land of the cur.;c of slavery, they were thoroughly united against its further extension. The result of this gathering was a call for a delegate conven- tion, a little later, to put a ticket in the field which should exi.ress the sentiment of the combined anti-slavery forces. Among the representative men of the different political ele- ments in the later convention, were W. H. Can- field and M. C. Hills, Whigs ; P. D. Kimball, Democrat ; Timothy Burr and Nathan Nettle- ton, of the Liberty party. After an interchange of views and a formulation of their purposes, the following ticket was nominated and subse- quently elected : For Probate Judge, Dr. Henry Warner (Democrat); for Auditor, G-. W. Tyler (Liberty) ; for Sheriff, John Bounds (Whig) ; for Recorder, S. J. Hayslip (Whig) ; for Clerk, O. S. Codding (Whig) ; for Commissioner, Will- iam Crane (Democrat). Since then the Repub- lican organization has been uniformly success- ful bv a majority ranging from 500 to 1,200 votes. Up to 182-t, this Representative District included Portage and Medina, from which two members were sent after 1819. Daring the four years previous to 1828, Medina was alone, when Lorain, then newly organized, was joined with this countj' for representation until 1841 ; since then Medina alone has constituted a representative district. The State Senatorial District has been subject to little change since tlie organization of the county. " After the or- ganization of Portage County (of which Jledina was a part), in 1808, David Abbott was elected Senator in October of that year to represent the counties of Geauga and Portage in the Senate of the Eighth General Assemblj', held at Chillicothe, and in the Ninth, which convened at Zanesville, the first Monday in December, 1810, he represented Geauga, Cuyahoga and Portage. He also represented the same constituencj' in the Tenth General Assembly, held at the same place. In October, 1812, Peter Hitchcock, of Geauga County, was elected Senator to repre- sent the counties of Geauga, Cuj-ahoga, Portage '^^ .u 234 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. and Ashtabula in the Eleventh General Assem- bly, and took his seat in that body on the 7th of December, 1812, the session convening at Chillicothe again. He continued to repre- S3iit the same counties as Senator during the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth General A?3omb'io3, and was elected Speaker of the Fourteenth. In October, 181G, Aaron Wheeler anil Abnju Rnggle? were elected Senators from Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Huron and Por- tage Counties. They took their seats in the Fiftejuth General Assembly, which convened in Columbus on Slonday, December 2, 181G, and were both continued in the Sixteenth Gen- eral Assembly. In the Seventeenth, Aaron Wheeler and John Campbell were the Senators, and in the Eighteenth John Campbell and Al- mou Ruggles represented the same territory which now included Medina County as an or- ganization."* From this point Portage and Medina Counties were associated together as a Senatorial District, until 1828, when Cuyahoga, Medina and Lorain were formed into a district. This arrangement continued until 1836, when Medina and Lorain Counties were constituted a Senatorial District, a union which has contin- ued to the present, and is known as the Twen- ty-seventh Senatorial District of Ohio. Under the apportionment of 1871, a full ratio for rep- resentation in the State Senate was fixed at 76,14G inhabitants. The Twenty-seventh Dis- trict, comprising the counties of Medina and Lorain, had a total population of but 50,400 ; the Twenty-ninth District, comprising the counties of Ashland and Richland, had a total population of 54,449. The two districts not having, separately, population enough to entitle them to a Senator, were, therefore, consolidated under the title of Joint District No. 27 and 29, whose joint population entitled them to six Sen- ators in ten years. The apportionment com- mittee assigned one Senator as the quota for the first four terms, and two for the fifth. The Sen- « Medina Gcadle, January 3, 1879. ators elected to represent this district have been James A. Bell, of Medina, for the first term ; Andrew M. Burns, of Mansfield, for the second and third terms ; Thomas M. Beer, of Ashland, for the fourth term, and Mr. Beer and R. A. Ilorr, of Lorain, for the fifth term. The Congressional District, of which Medina County was a part, changed so often, and Me- dina's share in its history was for many j'ears so unimportant, that it may properly be sum- marized in a few words. Suffice it to say that, among the more important members of Con- gress, in which Medina has been most interested, were Elisha Whittlesey, John W. Allen, Sherlock J. Andrews, N. S. Townsend, Philemon Bliss, H G. Blake, Judge Welker and James Monroe. Of these, the onlj^ citizen of Medina County was II. G. Blake, and him the people delighted to honor. Coming to the countj' when a mere lad, he rose, by his own unaided efforts, from a farmer's boy to the positions of clerk, mer- chant, lawj^er and statesman. Cordial, sympa- thetic and generous in his social intercourse, active and self-reliant in his business, conscien- tious and liberal minded in his political career, he won the loving esteem of his friends, and commanded the respect of his foes. April 8, 1876, he was attacked with the congestion of the lungs, which ultimatelj' developed into pneumonia, and, notwithstanding the best med- ical aid, he died, on Sunday, the 16th inst., in the fifty-seventh year of his age. We take the following sketch of his life from the Medina Gnzettc of April 21, 1876 : " Har- rison Gray Blake was born March 17, 1819, at New Fane, Windham Co., Vt. His parents were also natives of that State, and had four children, Mr. Blake being next to the youngest. The melancholj- and yet heroic death of his mother has become historical, and been cele- brated in the literature of the century. In De- cember, 1821, Blr. Blake's father and mother started from their home in a sleigh to visit friends, their journey leading over the Gieen IS, - ^5 ^ -fe HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 335 Mountains. The mother had an infant of a few months' age with her, who is still living, and from whose lips onh- j'esterda}' we heard the storj^ repeated — Mrs. Rebecca De Groat. The party was caught in a snow-storm ; the road became impassable for their sleigh, and they abandoned it, unhitching the horse and pro- ceeding on horseback. The cold was intense, and their sufferings were severe. Night was coming on, and the father, leaving his wife and child with the horse, hastened on foot to seek assistance. His cries were heard at a house in the mountains, but, owing to a misapprehension on the part of the family that it was another person, whom they knew to be out, and who did not need their help, they did not respond. In the morning, Mr. and Mrs. Blake were found. He was lying in the snow but a few hundred yards from his wife, his feet frozen, and so nearly unconscious that he could only hold up his hand, with two fingers opened out, to indi- cate that there were other sufferers. Mrs. Blake was found totally unconscious and frozen in every limb ; but the child was alive, and sleeping, wrapped in the clothing which its mother had taken from her own body to pre- serve its life. They were carried to the nearest house, and restoratives applied. The mother gasped once after being taken into the warm room, but she died without showing any other sign that she lived through the horrors of the night. It may be mentioned, in this connec- tion, that, in one of his campaign tours, while H. G-. Blake was speaking in Holmes County, a couple of old men introduced themselves to him as members of the party who rescued his parents in the mountains. "The family was broken up by this event, and H. G-. Blake was taken by Mr. Jesse Rhoades to raise. They lived in Salem, Wash- ington Co., N. Y., until 1830, when Mr. Rhoades removed to Guilford, this countj^ There young Blake, a lad of eleven years, worked on a farm, clearing up new land, for several years — study- ing, as he had opportunity, by the fire-light, lamps and candles being an expensive luxury. During his boj'hood, he at times was sent to school in the winter, but he never had the ad- vantages of academy or college training. Mrs. Blake met him the first day he came to Guil- ford, and their childhood was passed together, as near neighbors. For one year in Seville he studied medicine with Dr. Mills, and there is no doubt, if he had adopted that profession, he would have become an eminently successful ph3'sician. "In 1836, became to ^Icdina and went into the store of Durham & Woodward as clerk, at the same time turning his attention to the study of the law, and afterward reading under the super- vision of Judge J. S. Carpenter. The store was kept on the corner where the Phcenix Block now stands, and it is worth mentioning that from that time to his death, as clerk, merchant, attorney and banker, Mr. Blake was always in business on that corner. As a boy, he was bright and active, always able to " hoe his own row,'' and helpful to his mates. He wa? a reader of solid books, having little or no taste for fiction or poetry. " Several years after he entered the store, Mr. Woodward retired from the firm, and young Blake "was taken as partner, and, later, be- came sole proprietor. For many years ho con- tinued in business as a country merchant, being associated at different times with Messrs. Chappell, G. W. Tyler, George Munson, C. J. Warner, Charles Booth, Chester Colburn and others. " The law firm of Blake & Woodward was es- tablished about 1859. It has been, successively, Blake & Woodward ; Blake, Woodward & Cod- ding ; Blake, Woodward & Lewis ; and, at the time of his death, was once more Blake & Woodward. As a business man, Mr, Blake was energetic, punctual in all his appointments, and liberal in all his dealings. His off-hand, ready wit ; his fine conversational powers ; his -^ PV !L^ 236 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COFNTY. reliability ; and Ms democratic tastes and habits, made him a great favorite — everybody knew him and liked him. After retiring from the mercantile trade, and ceasing to take the active interest in politics which distinguished his earlier life, he established the Phoenix Bank, first as a private bank, and later as a Na- tional bank. He was cashier of the institution, a large stockholder, and gave to its manage- ment his best efforts. Twice during his active life, his business property was destroyed by fire — first, in 1848, and again in 1870. Each time the block on Phoenix corner was swept away, and each time it was rebuilt larger and better than before. His will was indomitable, and adversity seemed only to incite him to greater endeavor. To his counsels, encouragement and example, as much as to any other cause, Me- dina is to-day a pleasant, substantial town, in- stead of a mass of ruins and rookeries. We have not allowed space to fully speak of his ability and characteristics as a lawyer. He was one of the oldest and most-sought-for at- tornej's of the county. "From a very early period of his life, Mr. Blake took an interest, and, for the most part, a very active interest, in politics. He was a stump-speaker when a mere boy, and is said to have been a good one. In 1836, when Harrison was first run bj' the Whigs for Presi- dent, Mr. Blake took an active part in the cam- paign, advocating Harrison's election from the stump. Again, in 1840, he was a host in that memorable campaign — rousing that enthusiasm which bore ' Old Tippecanoe ' on a ground swell into the White House. From that time forward, he was thoroughlj' identified with the Whig party, and afterward with the Republican party. He was a popular and an effective speaker. Few could arouse the enthusiasm of a crowd equal to Blake ; yet he never con- sciously used the tricks of oratory to provoke applause, or shammed a sentiment he did not feel. The secret of his influence as a speaker was alone in his intense earnestness and sin- cerity. , " Mr. Blake, with a single exception, was uni- formly successful in his political career. In 1846, he was elected to the Lower House of the State Legislature, and re-elected in 1847, the terms of service being one year under the old Constitution. After that, he was twice elected to the State Senate, at the last session being chosen Speaker, there being no such office then as Lieutenant Governor. The contest over the election of Speaker was protracted and bitter. The Free-Soil party was then coming on the stage, and held the balance of power in the Sen- ate. The Whigs and Free-Soilers finally coal- esced and elected Blake Speaker on the three hundred and first ballot. The balloting had been going on from the 13th to the 28th of December. The ill-feeling engendered during this pro- tracted struggle did not end with the conflict, but it rankled in the defeated party to such an extent that intimations and threats of resorting to force to oust the new Speaker were freely and openly made ; for daj's the Speaker carried defensive weapons to the chair, resolved to maintain at all hazards the authority with which he was intrusted. In 1848, Mr. Blake's support was early enlisted in favor of Mr. Van Buren, the Free-Soil candidate for President, and, although he voted for him, the campaign had not progressed far before his preferences were transferred to ' Old Zach Taylor,' and he was afterward an ardent supporter of his ad- ministration. " Mr. Blake began his legislative work on the day he first took his seat in the Legislature by introducing a bill to repeal the infamous ' Black Laws ' which then disgraced our stat- ute books. The measure was opposed by Val- landigham and his party, who succeeded in deferring the reform until years afterward. Mr. Blake served two terms in Congress. In 1858, Mr. Spink, who had been elected from this district to the Thirty-sixth Congress, died I* D \ ' ^' S * .. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. _> S' 237 k before that body met, and Mr. Blake was elect- ed in his place, serving his first term under Buchanan's administration. In 18S0, Mr. Blake was re-elected, serving through the Thir- ty-seventh Congress under Lincoln's adminis- tration. In this term, he was on the Commit- tee on Post Offices, and, in that capacity, originated, reported and secured the passage of the bill which gave to the country' the present post office money -order system. This measure of itself is sufficient to place his name honora- blj" in histor}- so long as this piece of legisla- tion is remembered. He bore a conspicuous part in the financial legislation of this period, and proved a practical and influential member in these most important Congresses. Of late 3'ears, he declined to do much speaking, and seldom could be prevailed upon to go outside of the county in a political campaign. We could count on him for two or three speeches in ordinary campaigns, at several points in the countj', but even then he would insist that he was ' only an exhorter,' and not down for a set speech. He never carried his political prejudices and antipathies into social or private life. Some of his warmest peisonal friends were of opposite political opinions. "During Lincoln's administiation, Mr. Blake was offered the governorship of one of the Territories, but declined it. He was in the military service as Colonel of the One Hun- dred and Sixty-sixth Regiment, serving in de- fense at Washington, in I8G4. He was at one time Deputy United States Collector for this district, and for -many years was successively chosen Mayor of this village by the almost unanimous vote of the people. " After a period of sickness, in 1872, it was the hope of his friends that he would cease his unremitting application to business and in- dulge in the recreation of travel ; and his warm personal friend, Hon. James Monroe, without his knowledge, secured for him the appointment from the State Department as Consul General at Palermo, Sicily, the oldest historical town in the world, filled with works of art, and in a climate absolutely perfect. A year's residence there would have been a lease of life for a quarter of a century. The temp- tation was great, and the solicitations of his friends were urgent, but his devotion to bus- iness and his disinclination to go abroad pre- vailed, and he declined the offer. His name was promineutlj' and generally mentioned in the fall of 1875 in connection with the Repub- lican nomination for Grovernor, but he positive- ly declined to permit his friends to canvass for him, his choice being Gov. Hayes. The Re- publican State Convention of 1876 placed him upon the ticket as Presidential Elector for the Eighteenth District, a distinction which gave him unalloyed pleasure. " We must not omit in this connection, while our columns are in mourning for our fellow- towixsman who bore so distinguished a part in wider fields of action, to mention that, in his busy life, he found time to undertake the oner- ous cares and labors of the journalist. The files of the Gazette bear his honored name as editor. We have looked them over with pecu- liar interest, and find the impress of his char- acter on every page. He slighted nothing. The planting of a tree on the village green ; the election of a Constable in the woodiest township of the county ; the dissection of the latest tariff measure, or the polic}' of the Ad- ministration, each received due attention. He had the versatilit}' and readiness of the born newspaper man, and he never enjoyed himself anywhere as he did in the sanctum or printing office, tumbling over the exchanges and gossip- ping about the ' busy world, its fiuctuations and vast concerns.' " He was married, January 1, 1840, to the daughter of William Bell, of Seville, the little girl who met him the day he first came to town. They had six children, only two of whom are living." 9 \> 238 HISTOEY OIT MEDINA COUNTY. We append a complete list of the gentlemen who have served the county in the various posi- tions of Senators and Representatives in the State Legislature, Judges of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, Judges of the Probate Court, and in the -i-arious official positions of county respon- sibility, for which the writer is indebted to the painstaking researches of Hon. P. R. Loomis. The list also includes the residence, when elected, the year of taking office, and the term of service. It will be observed, that from 1803 until 1851, the members of the General As- sembly were elected under the old constitution for a term of one year. Under the present con- stitution, adopted in 1850, the members are elected biennially. SENATOKS. 1. David Abbott, Portage County, 1808, 4 years. 2. Peter Hitcbcock, Geauga County, 1812, 4 years. 3. Aaron Wheeler, Ashtabula County, 1810, 3 years. 4. AlmonRuggles, Cuyahoga County, 1816, 3 years. 5. John Campbell, County, 1818, 2 years. 6. Jonathan Foster, Portage County, 1820, 2 years. 7. Jonathan Sloan, Portage County, 1822-27, 4 years. 8. Aaron Norton, Portage County, 1824, 1 year 9. Elkanah Richardson, Portage County, 182-5, 1 year. 10. Reuben Wood, Cuyahoga County, 182S, 2 years. 11. John W. Willey, Cuyahoga County, 1830, 3 years. 12. Frederick Whittlesey, Lorain County, 1833, 2 years. 13. John W. Allen, Cuyahoga County, 1835, 1 year. 14. James Moore, Medina County, 1836, 2 years. 15. Herman Birch, Lorain County, 1838, 2 years. 16. James S. Carpenter, Medina County, 1840, 2 years. 17. Josiah Harris, Lorain County, 1842, 2 years. 18. John Codding, Medina County, 1844, 2 years. 19. Nathan P. Johnson, Lorain County, 1846, 2 years. 20. Harrison G. Blake, Medina County, 1848, 2 years. 21. Aaron Pardee, Medina County, 1850, 3 years. 22. Norton S. Towushend, Lorain County, 1853, 2 years. 23. Herm.an Canfield, Medina County, 1855, 4 years. 24. James Monroe, Lorain County, 1859, 8 years. 25. Samuel Humphreyille, Medina County, 1862, 3 years. 26. L. D. Griswold, Lorain County, 1865, 4 years. 27. James A. Bell, Medina County, 1869, 4 years. 28. Andrew M. Burns, Richland County, 1873, 4 years. 29. Thomas M. Beer, Ashland County, 1877, 4 years. 30. Rollin A. Horr, Lorain County, 1879. KEPEESENTATIVES. Abel Sabin, Portage County, 1808, 1 year. Benjamin Wheadon, Portage County, 1809, 1 year. Elias Harman, Portage County, 1810, 2 years. Real McArthur, Portage County, 1812, 3 years. Moses Adams, Portage County, 1815, 1 year. Darius Lyman, Portage County, 1816, 2 years. Jonathan Foster, Portage County, 1818, 2 years. Jonathan Sloan, Portage County, 1820, 2 years. James Moore, Medina County, 1820-27, 5 years. Geo. B. Depeyster, Portage County, 1822, 2 years. Joseph Harris, Medina County, 1822. 1 year. Jacob Ward, Medina County, 1824, 1 year. Philo Welton, Medina County, 1826-35, 2 years. Josiah Harris, Lorain County, 1828-30, 2 years. 'William Eyles, Medina County, iy2'J-31, 2 years. Duthan Northrup, Medina County, 1832, 2 years. John Newton, Medina County, 1834-36, 2 years. John Codding, Medina County, 1837, 2 years. James S. Carpenter, Medina County, 1839, 1 year. Albert A. Bliss, Lorain County, 1840, 2 years. Lorenzo Warner, Brunswick,* 1841, 1 year. Richard Warner, Sharon, 1842, 2 years. Earle Moulton, La Fayette, 1814, 2 years. Harrison G. Blake, Medina, 1846, 2 years. .James C. Johnson, Seville, 1848-51, 4 years. Philip Thomson, Montville, 1819, 1 year. Edwin H. Sibley, Harrisville, 1833, 2 years. James A. Bell, Seville, 1855, 4 years. John Sears, Litchfield, 1859, 2 years. Myron C. Hills, Granger, 1859, 4 years. James A. Root, Brunswick, 1863, 2 years. Hiram Bronson, Medina, 1865, 4 years. Albert Munson, River Styx, 18G9, 4 years. Finney R. Loomis, Harrisville, 1873, 2 years. E. Smith Perkins, Weymouth, 1875, 4 years. Alvan D. Licey, River Styx, 1879. Under the Constitution of 1802, the Judges of Common Pleas Court in each county con- sisted of a President Judge, whose jurisdiction extended over a defined circuit, including a certain number of counties, and three Associ- ate Judges, who were to be residents of the county in which they held court, and had juris- diction. These Judges were each elected for a term of seven years, by a joint ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly, *From this date Medina constituted a district alone. ^1 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ^ s 239 ^ PRESIDENT JUDGES. 1. George Tod, Warren, Ohio, 1816, 14 years. 2. Reuben Wood, Rookport, Ohio, 18S0, 3 years. 3. Matthew Burchard, Warren, Ohio, 1833, 1 year. 4. Ezra Dean, Wooster, Ohio, 1834, 7 years. 5. Jacob Parlcer, Mansfield, Ohio, 1841, 7 years. 6. Levi Cox, Wooster, Ohio, 1848, 4 years. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. ASSOCIATE JUDGES. Joseph Harris, Lodi, 1818, 5 years. Isaac Welton, Richfield, 1818, 7 years. Fredericlt Brown, Wadsworth, 1818, 14 years. Noah M. Bronson, Medina, 1823, 7 years. John Freese, Brunswick, 1825, 7 years. Reuben Smith, Medina, 1830, 6 years. John Newton, Richfield, 1832, 2 years. Allen Pardee, Wadsworth, 1832, 14 years. Orson M. Oviatt, Richfield, 1834, 6 years. Benjamin Lindsley, Medina, 1835, 1 year. Philo Welton, Montville, 1837, 3 years. Stephen N. Sargent, Medina, 1839, 7 years. William Eyies, Wadsworth, 1840, 7 years. Charles Castle, Medina, 1846, 6 years. Henry Hosmer, Seville, 1847, 5 years. Josiah Piper, Hinckley, 1847, 5 years. JUDGES UNDER CONSTITUTION OP 1851. 1. Samuel Humphreville, Medina, Ohio, 1852, 5 years. 2. James S. Carpenter, Akron, Ohio, 1857, 5 years. 3. W. H. Canfield, Medina, Ohio, 1860, 5 years. 4. Stephen Burke, Elyria, Ohio, 1862, 6 years. 6. W. W. Boynfon, Elyria, Ohio, 1868, 9 years. 6. Samuel W. McClure, Akron, Ohio, 1870, 5 J years. 7. Newell D. Tibbals, Akron, Ohio, 1876, present in- cumbent. 8. John C. Hale, Elyria, Ohio, 1877, present incum- bent. PROBATE JUDGES. This ofHce was not known in this State until the adoption of the Constitution of 1850, and, in October of the following year, the first Pro- bate Judge of Medina County was elected. 1. Calvin B. Prentiss, Medina, 1852, 3 years. 2. Henry Warner, Spencer, 1855, 6 years. 3. Samuel G. Barnard, Medina, 1861, 6 yeara. 4. George W. Lewis, Medina, 1867, 6 years. 5. Charles G. Codding, Medina, 1873, 6 years. 6. Albert Munson, River Styx, 1879. CLERKS OP THE COURT. Tlie provision of the Constitution of 1802, was as follows : Section 9. Each court shall appoint its own Clerli for the term of seven years ; but no person shall be appointed Clerl-J, except pro tempore, who shall not produce to the court appointing him, a certificate from a majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court that they judge him to be well qualified to exe- cute the duties of the office of Clerk to any court of the same dignity with that for which he offers himself Th?y shall be removable for breach of good behavior, at any time, by the Judges of the respective courts. 1. John Freese, Brunswick, 1818, 5 years. 2. Timothy Hudson, Wadsworth, 1823, 14^^ years. 3. William N. Pardee, Wadsworth, 1837, 7 years. 4. Edward L. Warner, Medina, 1842, 7 years. 5. Herman Canfield, Medina, 1849, 21 years. 6. John B. Young, Medina, 1852, 3 years. 7. Oscar S. Codding, Granger, 1855, 6 years. 8. Asaph Severance, Jr., Hinckley, 1861, 3 years ; re-elected in 1868, but died just before entering upon his second term. 9. W. H. Hayslip, Medina, 1864, 7 years. 10. Joseph Andrew, Medina, 1871, 6 years. 11. George Hayden, Sharon, 1877, present incumbent. PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS. 1. Luther Blodget, , 1819, 6 months. 2. Reuben Wood, Rocky River, 1820, 6 months. 3. Booz M. Atherton, Medina, 1820, 4J years. 4. Jonathan Sloan, Ravenna, 1825, 1 month. 5. Charles Oloott, Medina, 1825, 5 years; and 1833, 4 years. 6. Edward Avery, Wooster, 1829, 6 months. 7. George Tod, Warren, 1830, 1 year. 8. William H. Canfield, Medina, 1831, 3 years. 9. Israel Camp, Medina, 1837, 6 years. 10. Samuel Humphreville, Medina, served by appoint- ment, for a term or two during Mr. Camp's illness. 11. Whitman Mead, Medina, 1843, 2 years. 12. Chester T. Hills, Medina, 1845, 4 years; 1869, 1 year. 13. Francis D. Kimball, Medina, 1849, 4 years. 14. Henry MoElheiney, Medina, 1853, 2 years. 15. Charles Castle, Medina, 1855, 2 years. 5 >> 240 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 16. Nallianiel li. Boalwiok, Medina, 1857, 4 years. 17. Steplien B. Woodwii-d, Medina, 1861, 4 years; 1879, present incumbent. 18. Charles G. Codding, Medina, 1885, 4 years ; 1870, 1 year. 19. William W. Pancoast, Medina, 1871, 2 yeira. 20. Edmur, 1 B. King, MontviUe, 1873, 2 years. 21. J. Thurman Graves, SeyiUe, 1875, 4 years. TREASURERS. The first record in regard to the Treas- urers is the recorded bond of Rufiis Ferris, in the sum of $3,000, dated June 7, 1821. In the absence of further data, it is presumed that previous to this time Mr. Ferris acted in a semi- official capacity. 1. Rufas Ferris, Medina, 1818, 14 years. 2. Gustavus v. Willard, Medina, 1832, 7 years. 3. Isaac R. Henry, Medina, 1839, IJ years. 4. James W. Weld, Richfield, 1840, IJ years. 5. Charles Castle, York, 1842, 2 years. 6. Abraham Morton, Medina, 1844, 2 years. 7. Eli Baldwin, Westfield, 1846, 2 years. 8. William Root, Brunswick, 1848, 1 year 10 months. 9. Josiah B. Beckwith, York, 1850, 2 years 2 months. 10. Robert Carr, Liverpool, 1852, 4 years. 11. Barney Daniels, Chatham, 1856, 2 years. 12. Samuel B. Curtiss, Lafayette, 1858, 4 years. 1.3. William Shakespeare, Medina, 1862, 4 years. 14. Joseph Andrew, Hinckley, 1866, 4 years. 15. Samuel J. Hayslip, Medina, 1871'), 4 years. 16. Hosea P. Foskett, Jledina, 1874, 4 years. 17. Francis B. Clark, Medina, 1878, present incumbent. AUDITORS. 1. Abraham Freese, Hinckley, 1822, 2 years. 2. Peter Berdan, Brunswick, 1 824, 9 years. 3. W. H. Canfield, Medina, 1833, 8 years. 4. Isaac R. Henry, Medina, 1841, 2 years. 5. Charles Lum, Medina, 1843, 2 years. 6. W. H. Alden, Seville, 1845, 4 years. 7. Samuel H. Bradley, Medina, 1849, 4 years. 8. George A. L. Boult, Medina, 1853, 2 years. 9. Gideon W. Tyler, Granger, 1855, 4 years. 10. John B. Stebbins, Medina, 1859, 4 years. 11. Alexander R. Whitesides, Seville, 1863, 4 years. 12. Thomas S. Shaw, Chatham, 1867, 4 years. 13. Henry C. Pardee, Wadsworth, 1871, 4 years. 14. SUepard L. Dyer, Ilarrisville, 1875, 4 years. 15. Chas. J. Chase, Westfield, 1880, present incumbent. SHERIFFS. Lathrop Seymour, Weymouth, 1818, 6 years. Samuel Y. Potter, Weymouth, 1824, 1 year ; died in office. Gustavus V. Wiilard, Medina, 1825, 3 years. Hiram Bronson, Medina, 1828, " years. Stephen N. Sargent, Medina, 1830, 4 years. William Root, Medina, 1834, 2 years. John L. Clark, Medina, 1836, 4 years; 1844, 2 years. William H. Alden, Seville, 1840, 2 years. William T. Welling, Brunswick, 1842, 2 years. Allen B. Burr, Harrisville, 1846, 4 years. George W. Jordan, Medina, 1850, 4 years. John Rounds, Medina, 1854, 4 years and 2 months. Morgan Andrews, Hinckley, 1859, 4 years. Jesse Seeley, York, 1863, 2 years. Lucius C. Sturges, Litchfield, 1865, 4 years. Nelson W. Piper, Medina, 1869, 4 years. Oscar P. Phillips, La Fayette, 1873, 2 years. Samuel Scott, Medina, 1875, 2 years. Charles E. Parmelee, Liverpool, 1877, present in- cumbent. RECORDERS. John Freese, Brunswick, 1818, 5 years. Timothy Hudson, Wadsworth,- 1823, 13 years. Oviatt Cole, Litchfield, 1836, 6 years. David B. Simmons, Medina, 1842, 6 years. Samuel J. Hayslip, Brunswick, 1848, 9 years. Earle Moulton, La Fayette, 1857, 6 years. Ashael Beswick, Medina, 1863, 6 years. M. Irvine Nash, York, 1869, 6 years. Franklin R. Mantz, Chatham, 1875, present incum- bent. CORONERS. Moses Doming, Brunswick, 1818,'4 years. John Hickox, Medina, 1822, 4 years. Henry Hosmer, Seville, 1 826, 6 years. W. R. Chid ester, Medina, 1832, 2 years, ('34 1 year) '38, '40, '42, 9 years. William Paull, Granger, 1834, 2 years. Jonathan Deming, Brunswick, 1836, 2 years. Ransom Clark, Medina, 1844, 2 years. Lewis C. Chatfield, Sharon, 1846, 4 years. Joseph Whitmore, Medina, 1850, 2 years. Addison Olcott, Medina, 1852, 4 years. Morgan Andrews, Hinckley, 1856, 4 years 2 months. Josiah B. Beckwith, Medina, 1861, 4 years. William II. Alden, Medina, 1865, 2 years. John McCormick, Medina, 1867, 4 years. ■ el ^ 6 "V ^ HISTORY OF MEDINxV COUNTY. 241 15. Wm. H. Bradway, Jledina, 1871, 2 years 4 months. 16. Alexander Whitesidcs, Medina, 1 year 8 montlis. 17. Hiram Goodwin, Medina, 1875, present incumbent. COMMISSIONERS. 1. Miles Clark, , 1818, 1 year and 7 months. 2. Timothy Doan, Weymouth, 1818, 2 years. 8. Andrew Deming, Brunswick, 1818, 2 years and 7 months. 4. John Bigelow, Eichfield, 1819, 3 years. 5. Stephen Sibley, Grafton, 1820, 4 years. 6. Ebenezer Harris, HarrisTille, 1820, 3 years. 7. William Eyles, Wadsworth, 1822, 6 years. 8. Wiley Hamilton, Westfield, 1823, 3 years. 9. John Codding, Granger, 1824, 6 years. 10. Seth Warden, Liverpool, 182G, 3 years. 11. Rufus Vaughn, Westfield, 1823, 6 years. 12. John Newton, Eichfield, 1829, 3 years. 13. Jonathan Starr, Copley, 1830, 6 years. 14. Samuel Stoddard, Medina, 1832, 3 years. 1.5. Alexander Forbes, York, 1834, 3 years ; and Litch- field, 1840, 3 years. 16. Henry Hosmer, Serille, 1835, 3 years. 17. James F. Leonard,. ■ , 1836, 3 years. 18. Curtiss BuUard, Hinckley, 1837, 3 years. 19. Elisha Hiasdale, Norton, 1838, 1 year and 3 months. 20. Timothy Burr, Harrisville, 1839, 3 years. 21. Richard Warner, Sharon, 1840, 8 mouths. 22. Sheldon AV. Johnson, Sharon, 1840, 4 years. 23. John Tanner, Homer, 1842, 3 years. 24. Jabish Castle, Brunswick, 1843, 3 years. 25. Sherman Loomis, Wadsworth, 1844, 3 years. 26. William Packard, Chatham, 1845, 3 years. 27. Lucius Warner, Liverpool, 1846, 3 years. 28. Joseph Overholt, Guilford, 1847, 8 years. 29. Francis Young, Granger, 1848, 3 years. 30. Solomon Halliday, Litchfield, 1849, 3 years. 31. Jonathan Simmons, Westfield, 1850, 8 years. 32. Carr G. Rounds, La Fayette, 1851, 8 years. 33. James M. Henderson, Hinckley, 1852, 8 years. 34. James S. Redfield, Harrisville, 1853, 3 years. 35. William Crane 2d, Sharon, 1854, 8 years. 36. Thomas S. Seeley, Litchfield, 1855, 8 years. 37. Samuel Miller, Guilford, 1856, 8 years. 38. Jacob H. Weloher, Spencer, 1857, 8 years. 39." Arza Pearson, York, 1858, 3 years. 40. John W. Stowe, Brunswick, 1859, 3 years. 41. George W. Wise, Wadsworth, 1860, 3 years. 42. Russell B. Smith, Chatham, 1861, never qualified. 43. Joshua Bernard, Chatham, 1862, 8 months. 44. Wilson Mahan, Homer, 1862, 8 years. 45. Joseph Fitch, Madina, 1862, 1 year ; died in office. 46. E. A. Tillotson, Liverpool, 1863, 6 years. 47. L. J. Parker, Hinckley, 1863, 2 years and 6 months. 48. Nathan W. Whedon, Hinckley, 1866, 2 years and 6 months. 49. Joseph S Boise, Westfield, 1868, 6 years. 50. Joseph P. Wyman, Brunswick, 1869, 8 months; died in office. 51. Alexander R. Whitesides, Medina, 1870, 4 montlis. 52. William Kennedy, Brunswick, 1870, 8 years. 53. Benjamin Burt, Granger, 1870, 6 years. 54. F. M. Asliley, Litchfield, 1874, 6 years. 55. Spencer F. Codding, Hinckley, 1876, present in- cumbent. 56. Frank Mills, Wadsworth, 1878, present incumbent. 57. Sherman B. Rogers, Harrisville, 1880, present in- cumbent. SimVEYORS. 1. James Moore, Medina, 1820, 5i years. 2. Nathaniel Bell, Guilford, 1826, 11 years. 3. Whitman Mead, Medina, 1837, 1 year 3 months. 4. Abel Dickinson, Wadsworth, 1838, 4 months. 5. Abraham Freese, Brunswick, 1838, 6 years. 6. William F. Moore, Lafayette, 1844, 6 years. 7. Zachery Deam, Weymouth, 1850, 6 years. 8. Alonzo Beebe, Granger, 1856, 6 years. 9. William P. Clark, Montviile, 1862, 6 years. 10. Flavins J. Wheatley, Granger, 1868, 6 years. 11. Amos D. Sheldon, Lafayette, 1874, present incum- bent. INFIRMARY DIRECTORS. 1. E. A. Warner, Medina, 1854, 6 months. 2. Henry H. Hibbard, Medina, 1854, 1 year. 8. Hcsea Foskett, La Fayette, 1854, 1 year. 4. John Albro, Medina, 18o5, 6 months. 5. Joshua Bernard, Chatham, 1855, 4 years. 6. Garrett Spitzer, La Fayette, 1855, 5 years. 7. Pemberton Randall, La Fayette, 1855, 6 years. 8. James R. Newton, Westfield, 1859, 3 years. 9. Charles Eddy, Montviile, 1860, 6 years. 10. William D. Prouty, La Fayette, 1861, 3 years. 11. Henry K. Noble, Litchfield, 1862, 3 years. 12. Roswell Williams, La Fayette, 1864, 6 years 13. Albert Rounds, La Fayette, 1865, 9 years. 14. Lyman Pritchard, Medina, 1866, 6 years. 15. S. H. Pomroy, Westfield, 1870, 6 years. 10. J. B. Chase, La Fayette, 1872, present incumbent. 17. Abraham Depew, York, 1874, 3 years. D "'y t^ 3-12 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. iln 18. Sam'l B. Cui-tiss, Medina, 1870, present incumbent. 10. Amos Gardner, York, 1877, present incumbent. SUPERINTKN'DENTS. 1. George W. Jordan, Medina, 1854, IJ years. 2. Abel Eostwick, La Fayette, 1855, 6 months. 3. William Stowell, Cliatham, 1856, 3 years. 4. John Rounds, Medina, 1859, 3 years. 5. S. H. Pomeroy, Westfield, 1862, 7 years,, 6. Merit Nichols, Weymouth, 1869, 5 years. 7. ■ftilliam F. Nye, Westfield, 1874, present incum- bent. HISTORY OP THE TIONS- * Contributed Hard. CHAPTER 111.=" PROFESSIONS— THE BENCH AND BAR UNDER THE OLD AND NEW CONSTITU- -MEMBEUS OF THE MEDINA ("OUNTY BAR— THE MEDICAL FRATER- NITY—EARLY EPIDEMICS — MEDICAL SOCIETY- MEMBERS OF THE PROFESSION. of its size and population. Land titles have, as a general tiling, been indisputably good, consequently there have been few " land cases," and, as the people liave been honest and law- abiding, there have been comparatively few criminal cases in the courts. Under the Constitution of 1802, the Judges of ^11 the courts wel'e elected by the General Assembl3' for seven j'ears each, and the Judges of the Supreme Court, four in number, were, as a general rule, selected from the best men in the State for that important position. For the Supreme Court in the several counties, holden by two Judges, the State was divided into two circuits or divisions, two Judges taking each circuit. The first Supreme Court in Medina County was held in September, 1820, by the Hon. Calvin Pease and the Hon. Peter Hitchcock, who ap- pear to have been among the earliest Judges in the State. Judge Hitchcock was a very able and upright Judge, always at the place of duty, which dutj^ he discharged to the general satis- faction. The first case tried to a jury in the Supreme Court of Medina was that of Daniel Bronson against Justus Warner, Moses Demiog, Aaron Warner and Truman Walker, in an action on the case for a conspiracy. This case had been tried in the Court of Common Pleas, and the THE historj' of the bench and bar of Medina County is jirobalsly not materially difierent from that of other rural counties in this part of the State, except in the names of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas and of the lawj'ers practicing in the courts. The names of all the Judges and lawyers practicing at the bar of this county, with a full biography of each, would occupy more space than can properlj' be devoted to that subject, and would be more than the author of this brief " History of the Bench and Bar of Medina County " is capable of giving, for want of the necessary informa- tion. It has been said by those capable of judging, that the bar of Medina County would compare favorably with that of any county in this part of the State, and we certainly have had as able and upright Judges as any other county. The writer came to this county to live on the 10th day of June, 1834, and has lived here ever since, and from personal observation, and from information of others of the names and charac- ters of those before his time, he has no doubt of the truth of the above statement. The people of this count}' have, in the main, been peaceable and quiet, and there has probably been less litigation here than in most counties by Judge Samuel Humphreville and Dr. E. G. ^ « -/ h4J- ±=!k^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 345 plaintiff had recovered a judgment for but the defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, and there the plaintiff was defeated with costs. The Judges who attended the Supreme Court in Medina were Calvin Pease, Peter Hitchcock, John McLane, Jacob Burnet, Charles K Sherman, Joshua Collett, Henry Brush, Ebenezor Lane, John C. Wright, Eeuben AVood, Matthew Birchard, Edward Avery and perhaps others. This court held but one term in the year, usuallj' in September. The business of the court generally pro- gressed in the usual humdrum manner of most courts, but occasionally an incident would oc- cur worth relating. The Hon. Judge Collett was an honest, simple-minded, incorruptible Judge. At one term of the court when he was on the bench, a case was called for trial, wherein the surnames of plaintiff and defendant were alike. George W. Willey, an eccentric, waggish attorney, represented the plaintiff. When the case was called, Judge Collett said : "Mr. Willey, what relation do these parties bear to each other?" Mr. Willey replied, " Your honor they bear the relation of plaintiff and defendant." The Judge then said, " Do they bear any other relation to each other? " Mr. Willey, who could no longer evade the question, replied, that the plaintiff was a son of the defendant." The Judge straightened him- self up in his chair, apparently in great sur- prise and said, " What, a son sue Ms father! I never heard of such a thing.^' After waiting awhile, he turned to Mr. Willey, and, in a peculiar tone, said : " Well, Mr. Willey, you may go on, if you think best." But Mr. Willey, under the circumstances, did not think best " to go on," and discontinued his action, to the great amusement of the bar and the spectators in court. The Supreme Court, as thus constituted, continued to be holden until the adoption of the constitution of 1851, when it was super- seded by the " District Court " as provided for by that constitution. The constitution of 1851 provides that the District Court of the several counties shall be holden by one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and the Judges of the Ccurt of Common Pleas of the district, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum. At the election for Supreme Judges in 1861, the Judges elected were William B. Caldwell, Thomas W. Bartley, John A. Corwin, Allen G. Thurman and Rufus P. Ranney. The first District Court for Medina County was holden in 1852, the Hon. Thomas W. Bart- ley, Supreme Judge, presiding, and Lucius B. Otis, Samuel Starkweather and Samuel Hum- phreville. Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in the several subdivisions of the Fourth Judicial District. At the election in 1851, Hon. Lucius B. Otis was elected Common Pleas Judge in the First Subdivision, Samuel Hum- phreville in the Second, and Samuel Stark- weather, in the Third Subdivision. The Fourth District contains nine counties. The counties of Lucas, Sandusky, Ottawa, Erie and Huron, constitute the First ; the counties of Lorain, Medina and Summit, the Second, and the county of Cuyahoga, the Third Subdivision of the Fourth Judicial District. At the first election, under the present constitution, only one Judge was elected in and for each subdivision of the district, but now the business of the courts has increased to such an extent that it has been necessary to increase their number, so that there are in the First Subdivision, five Judges, in the Second, two, and in the Third, six Judges, making in all, thirteen Judges to do the busi- ness which, in 1852, was easily done by three. The business of the District Court continued for several years to be done by one Supreme Judge, and three Judges of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, until the business of the Supreme Court became so great that the General Assem- bly passed a law to relieve the Supreme Judges from Circuit or District Court duty, since which time the District Court has been holden by the Vi^ r ,. •V"^ :£kL 246 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas in the district. This court has not given general satisfaction, and there is great anxietj' for some reform in our judiciarj' system, so as to relieve the busi- ness of the county from the incubus of the "District Court." The Judges are usually away from home and are so anxious to get through with the business of the court, that they seldom take sufficient time to give the eases submitted to them that tliorough examina- tion and consideration which their merits, and frequently their intricacy, requires. Their de- cisions are frequently reversed by the Supreme Court, and often the decision of the District Court is reversed, and that of Common Pleas in the same case, affirmed. All this is calcu- lated to bring the District Court into merited disrepute, and it puts litigants to great and often unnecessarj"- delay and expense. It is believed the District Court in and for Medina County is not, in these respects, materially different from that of other counties in the State, judging from the reports of the Supreme Court. The first Court of Common Pleas held in Bledina County was on the 8th day of April, 1818 ; present as Judges, Frederick Brown, Senior Associate Judg>3, Isaac Welton and Joseph Harris, Associates. This court was held for the purpose of organization and ap- pointment of a Clerk. John Preese was ap- pointed Clerk, pro tern., and also Kecorder for the county. Some other business was trans- acted not directly connected with the law business of the court. On the 7th day of Julj', another term of this court was held by the same Judges, and Luther Blodget was ap- pointed Prosecuting Attorney, and John Preese was re-appointed Clerk pro tem. At this term, two civil actions were commenced. The first was Daniel Bronson against Alpheus War- ner, and the second was the same Daniel Bron- son against Justus Warner, Moses Deming Aaron Warner and Truman Walker, for a con- spiracy. In each of these cases, Isaac B. Lee was attorney for the plaintiff, and Luther Blodget for the defendants. The Judges of this court, from the organiza- tion of the county, in 1818, up to the time of the adoption of the present constitution, in 1851, were as follows : AVhen the county was organized, in 1818, Hon. George Tod was Pres- ident Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, his office expiring in 1823, when he was re-elected by the General Assembly for seven years. He served in that capacity until 1830, when Reu- ben Wood was elected in his place for seven j-ears, but Judge Wood was elected Supreme Judge, and, in 1833, Matthew Birchard was elected President Judge for the Third Circuit. He presided in the court until 1834, when the General Assembl}' detached Medina County from the Third Circuit and attached it to the Eleventh Circuit, and elected Ezra Dean Presi- dent Judge, who served until 1841, when Jacob Parker was elected in his place, who served until 1848, when Levi Cox was elected. He served until 1852, when the then new consti- tution legislated him out of office. The Associate Judges under the constitution of 1802 were as follows : The Judges first elected for Medina County were Frederick Brown, Senior Associate Judge, and Isaac Welton and Joseph Harris, Associates. They all served until 1823, when Noah M. Bronson was elected in place of Joseph Harris. In 1825, John Freeze was elected Judge in place of Isaac Welton. In 1830, Reuben Smith was elected Judge. In 1832, Allen Pardee was elected Judge in place of Frederick Brown, who, it seems, served for fourteen years. In 1832, John Newton was elected Judge in place of Noah M. Bronson. In 1835, Orson M. Ovi- att was elected Judge in place of John New- ton. In 1836, Benjamin Lindsley was appoint- ed Judge to fill out the unexpired term of Reuben Smith, but the General Assembly in i> y^ '-^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 247 1837 elected Philo Welton Judge, so that Judge Lindsley was only present at two terms of court. In 1839, Stephen N. Sargent was elected Judge in place of Allen Pardee. In 1840, Allen Pardee was re-elected, and also William Eyles was elected Judge. These were elected in place of Isaac Welton and Orson M. Oviatt, who both lived in the township of Richfield, which was set off in 1840 to the county of Summit, a new county, thereby leav- ing two vacancies on the bench. In 1847, Henry Hosmer and Josiah Piper were elected Judges. In 1848, Charles Castle was elected Judge. These last served until February 9 1852, when they went out of office by virtue of the provisions of tlie constitution of 1851. All the Judges who were elected by the Gen- eral Assembly were men of high standing in the communities in which they lived ; were learned in the law, or, at least, the Supreme and President Judges of the Court of Common Pleas ; were men of fine talents and abiHt3', and they discharged their duties to the gen- eral satisfaction of the bar and of the peo- ple of the count}'. It might be invidious for me to single out any one whose merits might excel. The first Associate Judges of Medina County were Frederick Brown, of Wadsworbh. He was a farmer, and stood high as a citizen. Isaac Welton was a farmer of Richfield, one of the early settlers, and a mo ': respected citizen. Joseph Harris was the flt-.o settler in Harris- ville, having moved th^re in 1811 with his familj-. He was a man of great energj', and accumulated a 1 1 'ge fortune. At the Febru- ary term, 1823, George Tod had been re-elected President Judge. Noah JI. Bronson was elect- ed Associate in place of Judge Harris, who resigned. Judge Bronson was a wealthy farm- er, one of the early settlers of Medina Town- ship. February term, 1825, John Freese was Associate Judge in place of Isaac Welton, whose term had expired. At this term, Charles Olcott was appointed Prosecuting Attorney, with a salary of $50, with an addition of $25 if he had any business in the Supreme Court. March term, 1832, Allen Pardee, of Wads- worth, was elected Associate in place of Judge Brown, who had served fourteen years, or two terms, with honor. Judge Pardee was a suc- cessful merchant. He was born about 1791, in Skaneateles, Onondaga Co., N. Y. He settled in Wadsworth in 1818 or 1819, where he has ever since lived, and is now an honored and respected citizen of that place. In 1830, Reu- ben Smith, a merchant of Medina, was elected Judge in place of John Freese. He served acceptablj' for seven j-ears, after which he re- moved to Wisconsin, where he died a few years ago, in a good old age, highly respected. In 1835, Orson M. Oviatt was elected Judge in place of John Newton. Judge Oviatt was a wealthy farmer and merchant of Richfield, who served until 1840, when Richfield was set off to Summit Count}^ In 1836, Benj. Lindsley served by appointment of the Governor for two terms onl^r, when Philo Welton, a farmer of Montville, and afterward of Wadsworth, was elected in his place. In 1839, Stephen N. Sar- gent was elected Judge, in place of Allen Par- dee. Judge Sargent was born in Massachusetts and came to Medina in 1818. He was a suc- cessful merchant, and in 1858, he removed to Iowa, where he died in 1860. In 1840, Allen Par- dee was re-elected Judge, and at the same time, William E3'les, a farmer of Wadsworth, was elected one of the Associate Judges. Judge Eyles was a man of sterling integrity, of un- doubted abilitj', and discharged the duties of Judge to the entire satisfaction of all. In 1840, Charles Castle, a lawyer of Medina, was elected an Associate Judge, and after his elec- tion he frequently presided in court, in the ab- sence of the President Judge, and always gave good satisfaction. In 1847, Henry Hosmer, a farmer of Guilford, was elected Judge in place of Allen Pardee, and Josiah Piper, a farmer of Hinckley, was elected Judge in place of Will- ,k 248 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. iam Eyles. These last Judges all served until February 9, 1852, when bj' the provisions of the constitution of 1851, they ceased to be Judges. The first election under the new constitution was held at the October election in 1851, when Samuel Humphreville, a lawyer of Medina, was elected Judge in and for the counties of Lorain, Medina and Summit, composing the Second Sub- division of the Fourth Judicial District. He served for five years, holding most of the courts in the three counties, besides sitting in the Dis- trict Courts once a year, in the nine counties composing the Fourth District. In October 1856, James S. Carpenter, a lawyer of Akron, Summit County, was elected Judge. He served five years, when Stevenson Burke, a lawyer of Elj'ria, Lorain County, was elected in his place. In 1866, Judge Burke was re-elected Judge, and he served until 1868, when he resigned, and Washington W. Boynton was appointed Judge until the next election, when he was elected Judge by the people. In 1876, Judge Boynton was elected Supreme Judge, and John C. Hale, a lawj'er of Elyria, was elected Judge, and he is still on the bench. In 1859, the General Assembly provided for an additional Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Second Subdivision, and William H. Canfield, a lawyer of Medina, was elected to fill the place. He served five years until 1864, when the office of extra Judge was abolished. In 1872, the General Assembly again provided for another additional Judge for the Second Subdivision, and Samuel W. McClure, a lawyer of Akron, was elected to the judgeship. He served for five }'ears, when he was succeeded , by Newell D. Tibbals, a lawyer of Akron, who served five years, and was re-elected in 1880 for another five years. The scenes in court were sometimes amusing and occasionally laughable, especially under the administration of J udge Dean. He often took the "bit in his teeth," and ran the machine to suit himself. Atone time a witness was called to the stand, who had an infirmity, which, al- though it did not affect his mind or memory, yet made him appear as if intoxicated. Judge Dean, although the matter was explained to him, refused to let him testify and ordered him to leave the stand. At another time a larceny had b3cn committed in Medina, and Joseph Reno, a colored man, had ferreted out the thief and arrested him, and, fearing he might not be allowed to testify on account of his color, so induced the criminal to confess in the presence of a white witness as to effect his conviction. Reno was ofi'ered as a witness, and the State offered to show that he was more than half white, but Judge Dean would not hear any such proof and decided that, by '' inspection," Reno was a " negro," and refused to allow him to testif}'. At that time, b}' the laws of Ohio, "negroes and mulattoes" were not competent witnesses where a white man was a party. On another occasion, a small boy had been con- victed of petit larceny, and, as the court-room was crowded, especiallj- within the bar, the lad was made to stand on a chair to receive ad- monition and sentence, so he could be seen by the Judge. Judge Dean began to talk to the bey about the heinousness of his oflfense, and to suggest measures of reform. Among othen things, he said : " It would be for your interest to put you on a man-of-war, or to send j'ou on a whaling voyage." Sherlock J. Andrews, a waggish lawyer from Cleveland, immediately spoke up so as to be heard by all present and said : " Yes, I think a whaling would do him good." Judge Dean gruffly cried out, "Silence in the Court !" which caused considerable mer- riment all over the court-room. The law business of the county, in the early years of the practice, was chiefly done by foreign attorneys, that is, by lawyers residing out of the county. The attorneys who first settled in Medina were Booz M. Atherton and Charles Olcott. The exact date when they s^ IS- ^r^ Ml ^bv HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUN^TY. 249 came, or which came first, is not now known. They were both here in 1820 or 1821. Ather- ton stayed here but a few years, when he re- moved to Illinois, where he was living at our latest information. Charles Oloott was a genius. He was born in Connecticut on the 3d day of April, 1793, and was educated there. He was a graduate of Yale College, and was probably the best-learned man in the profes- sion in the county. He was well learned in the law, but he seemed to lack judgment to applj' his knowledge to the successful practice of the law. He was a consistent Abolitionist, and wrote several tracts against the evil, and espe- ciallj' a book which he called " A Blow at Slavery," which had a wide circulation. He was several times elected Prosecuting Attor- ney of the county and discharged his duties well. He was undoubtedly the inventor of " iron ships." He actually made the invention while in college, but he did not at that time so perfect it as to procure a patent. In 1835, he went to Washington with his models and speci- fications and procured a patent for the inven- tion. He endeavored to have the Government adopt his plan of ship-building, and to that end he wrote to the " Naval Board," consisting of three retired naval officers, at the head of which board was old Commodore Barron. They wrote to Olcott that they had taken his application under consideration, and had come to the deliberate conclusion that iron ships were entirely impracticable. In a j-ear or two the Government was building iron ships on Olcott's plan. He could never get any allowance from the Government for the use of his invention. He was never very successful in making monej'. He was stricken with paralysis and finally died in the County Infirmary, several years ago. William H. Canfield came to Medhia about the year 1830, from Trumbull County. He studied law with Whittlesey & Newton, and was admitted to the bar about 1829 or 1830 ; he held the office of County Auditor for many years, in connection with the practice of the law. He was supposed to be a good lawyer, and either alone or in connection with his part- ners he had an extensive practice. In 1850, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for five years, soon after which he re- moved to Kansas, where he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in which capac- ity he served until his death in or about 1862 or 1863. Samuel Humphreville was born in Berkshire County, Mass., February 7, 1808, where he re- ceived an academic education, and where he studied law with George N. Briggs, then a member of Congress and afterward Governor of the State. He came to Oliio in 1832, and studied with Humphrey & Hall, in Hudson, un- til October, 1 833, when he was admitted to the bar in Zanesville. He came to Medina June 10, 1834, and commenced the practice of the law. He has resided in Medina ever since. He has held several oflSces by election of the peo- ple. In 1849, he was elected a delegate to the convention that framed the present constitu- tion. In 1851, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which oflSce he held for five years. He was a member of the Sen- ate of the State in 1863, 1864 and 1865, during the most trying scenes of the war of the rebel- lion. In 1873, he was elected as a member of the third constitutional convention of the State of Ohio, which after great labor in ]874. sub- mitted a constitution to the people of the State, which they rejected by a large majoritj'. Since that time, he has retired from public life, and almost entirely from the practice of the law. Hiram W. Floj-d came to Medina in August, 1834, and engaged in the practice of the law and he is still in active practice. Israel Camp was born in Sharon, Conn., and came to Medina the latter part of 1834, and went into partnership with William H. Canfield in the practice of the law. He was a good law_ yer and an honest man and had the confidence ;^ !k> 350 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. and good will of all who knew him. He died of consumptiDn about 1840 or 1841. Eugene Pardee was born in Wadsworth about 1813. He studied law with Humphrej' ' & Hall, ia Hudson, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. He practiced law in Wadsworth : a few years, when he went to Wooster, Waj-ne Co., where he practiced law for many years. He held the office of Prosecuting Attorney for several j'ears. He afterward went to Madison, " Wis., where he slayed some years. About two ' or three years ago he returned to Ohio, and is now again in Wooster. Aaron Pardee was born in Skaneateles, On- ondaga Co., N. Y. He came to Ohio in 1824, and settled in Wadsworth. He was admitted to the bar in 1838, and has practiced law ever since, and is now one of the active practitioners in the county. He has held some important offices, among which was that of Senator in the ■ State General Assemblj'. George K. Pardee, a son of Aaron Pardee, was admitted to the bar in 18G6. He soon went to Akron, where he is now in full practice. Don A. Pardee, also a son of Aaron Pardee, was admitted to the bar about 1866 or 1867, and practiced in Medina until the war of the rebellion broke out, when he entered the service of the Union as Lieutenant Colonel of the Fortj^- second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served with distinction, rising in rank to that of Brigadier General. At the close of the war, he settled in New Orleans, where, after practicing law ibr a few years, he was elected a Judge of the District Court, which office he now holds. Pulaski C. Hard was born in Medina County about 1827 or 1828. He was admitted to the bar about 1859, and practiced law in Wads- worth until the rebellion broke out, when he went into the service of the Union as Captain in the Twenty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. At the close of the war, he resumed the prac- tice of the law in Wadsworth, where he still is, one of the principal lawyers in the county. Henry C. Pardee, another son of Aaron Par-' dee, was admitted to the bar and soon went West, where he remained several j'ears, when he returned to Medina County. He settled in Wadsworth, where he held the office of Post- master until about 1870, when he was elected Auditor of Medina Count}', which office he dis- charged acceptably for two terms, when he re- sumed the active practice of the law. James C. Johnson was born in Guilford, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He has been several times elested a Representative in the General Assembl}', and has been a candidate for several other offices. He has alwaj's made Seville his home, where he has his law office and where he is now in the full practice of his profession. George W. Chapman, about 1840, was ad- mitted to the bar, and practiced in Medina a few years, when he went West, and the last heard of him he was in Milwaukee, Wis. Charles Lum was admitted to the bar in 1838, and practiced in Medina a few j'ears. He served one term as Count}' Auditor. He re- moved to Wisconsin, wliere he engaged in farm- ing, and where he has held several important offices, among them Count}' Clerk of Dane County and Representative in the Legislature. Chester T. Hills was admitted to the bar in 1838 or 1839. He was several times elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county, and he was a very successful lawyer. He was an honest man and a high-minded, influential citizen. He died in 1870, aged sixty -two years, lamented by all who knew him. Harrison G. Blake was a successful mer- chant, but he studied law and was admitted to the bar about 1847 or 1848. He was an im- petuous, off-hand lawyer, very successful in his practice, always fair and obliging to his oppo- nents. He was honored and respected by all. He was several times elected to the General Assembly ; was Speaker of the Senate under the old constitution. He was several times -*< ^\h '-hL^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 251 elected to Congress, and took high rank among the members. He died in May, 1876, full of honors, and universally lamented. William S. M. Abbott was admitted to the bar in 1844, and practiced in Medina a few j'ears, when he went West, and is now in Min- neapolis, Minn, Abraham Morton was admitted to the bar in 1840, and practiced in Medina several years. He was elected Treasurer of the county, and served one term. He moved to Wisconsin, where he has been ever since and now is. Calvin B. Prentiss came to IMedina from Massachusetts. He was elected Probate Judge in 1851, and served one term. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and was a very successful lawyer. He died about 1868. Herman Canfield was a practicing lawyer in Medma when the war of the rebellion broke out, and he entered the service in 1861 as Lieu- tenant Colonel of the Seventy-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served with distinc- tion, and was killed at the battle of Pittsburg Landing on the first day of that memorable fight. He had held the office of Clerk of the Courts in Medina, and other important trusts. Moses Wright was one of the early lawyers in Medina, but he ran away about 1S30 or 1831, and has not been heard of since. John B. Young was born June 20, 1828, in Bloomsburg, Columbia Co., Penn. He came to Ohio with his father in 1831. He was elected Clerk of the Courts in 1851, and served one term of three years. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1856, and is still in practice of the law in Medina. Charles Gr. Codding was born in Granger, Medina Co., Ohio, in 1829. He was admitted to the bar in 1860. He was elected Prosecut- ing Attorney in 1865, and served two terms. In 1872, he was elected Probate Judge, and served two terms. He is now in full practice of the law in Medina. Joseph Andrew, while at college, enlisted in the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Garfield's regiment), in 1861. In a battle in the rear of Vicksburg, May 22, 1863, ho lost his right arm, in consequence of which he was dis- charged from the service. In 1865, he was elected Treasurer of the County of Medina, in which capacity he served two terms. In 1870, he was elected Clerk of the Courts, and served two terms. He was admitted to the bar in 1871, and is now in full practice in Medina. Stephen B. Woodward was born in North- ampton, now in Summit County, in 1820. He was admitted to the bar in 1859. He has fre- quently been elected Prosecuting Attorney, and now holds that office. He is now in full prac- tice in Medina. Nathaniel H. Bostwick was born in Bloom- field, Ontario Co., N. ¥., June 20, 1828. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, and is now here in fuK practice. Samuel G. Barnard was born in 1828, and was admitted to the bar in 1852, and is in prac- tice in Medina. He held the office of Probate Judge two terms. William F. Moore and Robert English prac- ticed law to some extent. English is dead, and Moore went West some j'ears ago, where he is supposed to be now living. Isaac R. Henry practiced law many years ago. He left here j'ears ago, and it is not known where he is at this time. Judson D. Benedict also practiced here some time. He went to the State of New York, where be was at last accounts. William W. Pancoast was admitted to the bar and had some practice. He was elected Prose- cuting Attorney and served one term, and finally ran a,way about 1874, and his where- abouts is not known. Koswell C. Curtis was born in this county in 1837. He was admitted to the bar in 1865, and is now in practice here. Alvan D. Licey, a resident of Guilford, has ^7= ;^ 253 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. been admitted to the bar, and is now in practice. He is now a Representative in the General As- sembly. John T. Graves was admitted six or seven j-ears ago. He was elected Prosecuting Attor- nej' in 1876, and served two terms with credit. He is now in full practice in Seville, in this county. Albert Munson was admitted to the bar in 1873, but, before he had entered upon the prac- tice, he was elected Probate Judge, which office he now holds. Frank Heath was admitted in 1880, and is now in practice here. George A. Kichard was admitted to the bar in 1879, and has hung out his shingle for busi- ness here. George W. Lewis entered the service of his countrj' in 1862, as a Captain in the One Hun- dred and Twenty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infan- try. He lost his left arm at the battle of Nash- ville, December 22, 1864. He was promoted to Major for bravery on the battle-field. He contin- ued in the service, notwithstanding the loss of his arm, and was afterward commissioned as Lieu- tenant Colonel of the same regiment. He came to Medina in October, 1865, and was elected Judge of Probate in 1866, and served two terms. He was admitted to the bar January 30, 1872, and has ever since been in practice in Medina. Charles J. Mesmer, Fremont 0. Phillips and others have been admitted lately, but as yet have not entered into practice. Whitman Jlead came to Medina in 1834, as a merchant, and studied law, and was admitted to the bar about 1843. He was elected Prose- cuting Attorney, and served one term. He finallj' left the practice and went to farming. He died several years since, leaving three sons, all in the ministry. The foreign lawyers who have practiced here are legion, but, as they belong to other coun- ties, no account of them is given here. MEDICAL PROFESSION. Three-fourths of a century ago, the foot of the white man had scarcely fallen upon the soil within the limits of the county whereof we write. The wild animals of the forests and the scarcely less wild red man held undisturbed dominion. Then the sun's rays but seldom penetrated the unbroken forest shade, while the mocn's silver beams and the bright shining stars struggled in vain to light up the gloom of night. The song of birds, the hum of bees, the rippling of the waters, the wild cry of beasts of prey, and stealthy footfall of the Indian hunter, year succeeding j'ear, aye ! for centuries and ages, fell upon no appreciative ear. The wild winds sported for ages among the forest trees, and the music of the rustling leaves sang responsive to the music of the stars, but no heart was there to be made glad ; nature in her beauty and symmetry was here waiting the onward tread of the white man, when he should step in and partake of the rich treasures garnered in her bosom for his coming. Civili- zation, education, the arts and sciences, follow in his pathway, and the w'lderness is made to blossom as the rose. The sound of the ax and of the anvil are harbingers of schools and churches, temples of architecture and the thun- dering of the railway train ; but alas for hu- man hopes and happiness ! sickness and death follow in the train, a sad comment upon the superiority of civilized life. The need of the physician is made manifest, and must keep pace with the first advance of civilization. The sup- ply table of the pioneer emigrant would be sadly defective without a list of well-known household remedies from which to draw for help, should there be " no physician there." The earliest mention of medical administra- tion in Medina County is of Aunt Chloe, wife of Judge Brown, of Wadsworth, in 1816, she having a small chest of remedies, which, it is said, were of great value to the early pioneers. When any of them were taken sick "Aunt «i4(s — ir- iiT it^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 253 Chloe " would he sent for, and would deal out such remedies as her ripened judgment might direct. She, perhaps, was the first practitioner of the county. It is said that Eve in the Garden of Eden, through transgression, entailed upon posterity the seeds of disease and death " and all our woe." But " Aunt Chloe," in the wilderness of America, with sympathetic heart and extended hand, afforded relief to many a suffering mortal, as if, in part, to atone for the stain upon her sex through the " fall." This county has been remarkably exempt from diseases of local character or origin, mala- rious diseases being to a great degree confined to the locality of Chippewa Lake, and the stream of same name flowing through the town of Se- ville. Ver}' little of ague or intermittent fever has originated outside of these influences in the county, and within its present limits. Bilious remittents have had a wider range, and no por- tions have been exempt, especially in the earlier periods, and, while the lands were being newlj- cultivated, continued fevers and the typhus of earlier daj's have been here from its earliest history, and later the typhoid fever of the French schools has been a constant visitor in all locali- ties. The early practitioners were doubtless much at fault in treating typhus and typhoid fevers, as the lancet and heroic treatment gen- erallj', has — through some sad experience — been abandoned for an opposite, and it is hoped a better line, of medication. In 183.3-34, a few cases of Asiatic cholera occurred at Medina Village. Among the deaths reported are David Barnhart and a Sir. Fuller, a stage driver in 1833, also a daughter of Dr. Hanson in 1834. Kufus Ferris, Sr., died of cholera in 1833, at a place near Wooster. He had been to Columbus with a cholera specific, and volun- teered his services to treat cholera, then prevail- ing among the penitentiary convicts ; not being retained there, he returned homeward, dying, as before stated, and was brought home to Medina in a Pennsylvania covered wagon. No other deaths are reported as having occurred from cholera in the county. About 1839^0, dysentery prevailed in va- rious sections of the county of a malignant type and with great fatality, and again in 1853-54, and occasionally in later years in some certain locality. Since 1860, but little dysentery has been observed. In the year 1852, an outbreak of small-pox occurred in Sharon Township, at which time perhaps fifty cases of that and va- rioloid occurred in the practice of Drs. Hard & Willey. One young lady — a school-teacher — died during this outbreak. In 1855, Mr. Frank Kimball, while stumping the State with William Gibson, contracted varioloid and returned home to Medina, where some ten or twelve cases of that and small-pox broke in upon the monotony of the town for a season. During the winter of 1843-44, and the succeed- ing spring and summer, occurred atWadsworth and vicinity the great epidemic of malignant erysipelas, very severe in its character and at- tended with great fatality, its victims being usually of adult age and mostly females. Dur- ing this epidemic, about twenty-five cases proved fatal. Again, in 1848, the disease re- appeared, but spreading through Montville and Guilford and Wadsworth, with an increased mortality. Since 1848, it has not appeared in an epidemic form. About the year 1859, diphtheria first appeared in an epidemic and malignant form. Up to this time, it had hardly been recognized as a disease sui generis, and its advent was an oc- casion of sorrow and mourning to many a household. Being little understood by the pro- fession, it held almost undisputed sway, and bid defiance to medical skill. It prevailed through- out the county, with favorite localities, in which to exhibit its malignant enmity toward the human race. It delighted in laying waste the little ones of the family circle, and was at times insatiable, until all had been laid in the grave. >|^ 254 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. It vied with scarlatina in its work of destruc- tion, and oftsn called to its aid the latter, as if to make the fatal blow more effective. Thus for a series of years, it fed on death, when, seem- ingl3' exhausted with rioting, it became less malignant and less fatal, and for several years last past, it has afforded but little anxiety com- paratively with former periods. Cerebro-spinal mjningitis, in tha winter of 1863-64, appeared in the village of Medina, and, having seized upon two persons for its victims, as suddenly disappeared, when the people hoped it had gone forever, but in the succeeding win- ter, 1864-65, it returned at Poe, in the familj- of BIr. Frank Hunter ; two of the three attacked, died. Ca?e3 then osourred in other parts of Montville and in Medina Village. Nearly all proved fatal. It had no favorite locality, but would suddenl}'- attaak an individual at a dis- tance from others, to appear again unexpectedlj' somewhere else. Cliddren and adults were alike susceptible. Since 1805, it has occasion- ally been observed sporadicall3r, as a single case, perhaps, in one township, and then, after months, found in an adjoining town, etc. These cases almost invariably prove fatal. It is yet unsettled how to treat it best. The Medina County Medical Lyceum was or- ganized Ootobsr 9, ISao. On motion, Elijah DeWitt was called to the chair, and Henry Ormsby appointed Secretary. A draft of a con- stitution, prepared by Urs. DiWitt and George W. Howe, was read by tiie S3:;retary and adopted. By-laws read and adopted. Balloting for officers to se;-ve until the annual mseting in February, 18.34, resulted as follows : For Presi- dent, BelaB. Clark ; Vice President, George K. Pardee; Corresponding Secretary, Elijah De- Witt ; Kecording Secretary, 0. S. St John ; Treasurer, Jesse C. Mills. Censors — E. DeWitt, George K. Pardee and 0. S. St John. On motion, Thomis Riwe was appointed to wait upon the Commissioners, and obtain if possible, a remittance of the tax assessed against the ph3-sicians of the county. Henry Ormsby, T. Rowe and George W. Howe were appointed a Committee to petition the Legislature for an act of incorporation. On motion, the Corresponding Secretary was instructed to notify each member of the late Nineteenth Medical District, residing in Medina County, of the proceedings of this m3eting. February 6, 1834, the Lj'ceum convened at the Mansion House of William R. Chidester, and organized under an act of incorporation by the Legislature. It being the annual meeting, the foregoing officers were re-elected for the year. Dr. Mills read an essay on '• Congestion,'' and George W. Howe was appointed to reply at next meeting. On motion, Resolved, That no person shall be admitted to this society, who is in the habitual use of in- toxicating spirits. Henry Ormsby was fined $2 for non-attend- ance. Resolved, That the proceedings of this meet- ing be published in the Ohio Free Press. The following clauses appear in the Consti- tution : 12th — Admission fee — $1, and annual tax of $1. 15th — Penalty for non-attendance — $1. 16th — Penalty for failing to deliver disserta- tion when appointed — $3. 17th — The price of this society for granting diplomas shall be $5. At the second annual meeting, in 1835, Drs. Bela B. Clark and E. DeWitt were appointed delegates to the W. R. Bledical Convention, at Cleveland, in May, to consider the establishing of a medical college on the Reserve. The society at this time numbered ten mem- bers, viz., Bela B. Clark, T. Rowe, George K. Pardee, Elijah DeWitt, George W. Howe, J. C. Mills, S. Rawson, J. S. Ross, Lorenzo Warner and William S. H. AVelton. In 1836, Dr. J. G. Morse became a member and was appointed s ^ Al' •k HISTORY OF MEDmA COUNTY. 255 Secretar_y. In 1S37, Drs. J. Sawtell and J. Goodwin were received into membership ; in 1839, Drs. Eastman, I. B. Beach and L. D. Tolman, also Amos Witter and Abel A. Clark. The following was discussed : " Is tartrate of antimony admissible as a remedy in general practice ; " Drs. L. Warner, A. Witter, N. East- man and J. Gr. Morse, disputants. A case of operation for inguinal hernia, by Dr. Morse, re- ported, patient recovered. In 1840, P. E. Mun- ger, Drs. Hopkins and Rockwell became mem- bers. Cases reported : 1 — Case of fistula in ano, with operation, by Dr. L. Warner, recovery. 2 — Scarlet fever, by Dr. Rowe, with treatment. 3 — Pneumonia, by Dr. L. Warner, recovery. 4 — Amputation of arm, by Dr. Warner, re- cover^'. 5 — Dropsy, ascites, operation by Dr. Ormsby, death. G— Inflammation of kidneys, by Dr. Clark, death. 7 — Injury, by Dr. Tolman, recovery. Valedictory address. Dr. B. B. Clark. August 6, 1840 — Society met in court house. Essays — 1. Dr. B. B. Clark, on " Medical Juris- prudence." 2. " Fever," by P. E. Munger. 3. On the "Effects of Quinine," Ormsby and War- ner. Cases reported — Puerperal Convulsions, Dr. Rowe ; Diabetes, Dr. Eastman ; Hydro- thorax, Dr. Clark ; Ascites, Dr. Tolman. November 5, 1840 — Samuel Humphreville read a paper on "Medical Evidence;" Dr. Welton on "Blood Letting;" Dr. Warner on "Habit; " Dr. Clark on "Puerperal Fever." February, 1841 — Dr. Munger read a paper on " Mercury ; " Dr. Tolman on " Diseases of the Liver." Several cases reported ; one of malig- nant fever, by Dr. L. Warner. August 1841 — Prof H. A. Acldey addressed the society on "Diseases of the Mucous Mem- branes ; " Dr. Ormsby read a paper on " Tea and Tobacco ; " Hon, Charles Alcott addressed the society. A premium was offered for the best dissertation on the pathology and treat- ment of dysentery. The society voted its sup- port to the WiUoughby Bledical College. This brief sketch includes the period of time in which the older members officiated, and to follow up in detail would require more space and time than the plan of this work will permit, it being only desired in this article to briefly mention the original members, and a little of the old regime, as being of special interest. This society has continued in existence up to 1872, with intervals of decline and periods of activity. It has numbered on its list of mem- b3r3 the best and a graat majority of the phy- sicians who have practiced in the county. Most of the early members are gone hence, never to to return. A few survive. Dr. Ormsby now lives in Bledina Village ; Dr. DeWitt at Elyria, eighty years of age ; Dr. 0. S. St. John, at Lin- coln, Nebraska. In mentioning those who have been members of the medical fraternity of this county, refer- ence has been had somewhat to chronological order. Among the earliest practitioners in the county was Dr. Amos Warner. He came to Ohio and Wadsworth with his father from Fairfield, Vt., in 1815, and entered Dr. Fisher's office in 1837, as a student of med- icine. He was a careful, earnest student, and made haste slowly with his books, choosing rather to learn little day by day, and learn that little well. He graduated in Medina, after attending two courses of lectures at WiUoughby in the year 1840, and entered into partnership with his preceptor, becoming a successful phj-si- cian and a useful man in society. About the year 1848, he removed to Garnavillo, Clayton Co., Iowa, \vhere he enjoyed the full confidence of the peopt*', and had an extensive ride. Returning from a visit among the sick, his horses ran away, and he was thrown from the carriage and killed. Dr. Harlow Hard, son of Lysander Hard, came with his father to Ohio in 1816, then about N^ ik^ 256 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ten years of age. He went to school at the first schoolhouse built in Wadsworth Township, one mile east of the present village. His father was an unsettled sojourner among men, and devoted his energies to preaching the Gospel, and inherited all the poverty that an unsuccess- ful Methodist preacher is entitled to possess. He wandered up and down, into Pennsylvania and New York and Eastern Ohio, and finally returned to Wadsworth, about 1840. Mean- while, Harlow had maiiaged, by streaks of luck, to get an education, and study medicine and attend lectures. Settling in Trumbull County about 1835, he came to Wadsworth, where he practiced for several years. He then moved to Plymouth, Ind. Remained at Plymouth some ten j'ears, and went to Illinois, where he died. Dr. John Smith was the first physician who located in Wadsworth, and perhaps the first in the county. He came from the State of New York in 1817, and boarded with Moody Weeks for a time. Here it was that occurred the inci- dent mentioned by N. B. Northrop in his his- tory, of giving so many pills to a sick man, when Blrs. Weeks discovered the pills to be black pepper, unground, rolled in flour. August, 1818, the doctor was called in attendance at the birth of Dr. M. K. Hard, now of Wooster, Ohio. Abram Hard, Jr., was the messenger on the occasion, and, riding along by night through the woods, his hat was brushed off bv a hano-jno- limb, and he was compelled to go on bareheaded, it being so dark he could not And the hat. That fall the doctor moved to the west part of the town, and lived with Luther Heminway until he put up a log house, afterward owned by He- man Hanchett. Here the doctor had an exten- sive ride, through Wadsworth into Chippewa, and through Guilford and Montville. In 1820, he was elected Justice of the Peace, having six votes, all others three. Northrop says of him : " He was in the habit of sending his boy to A. & J. Pardee's store for whisk3'." The following is an exact copy of twenty or more orders sent by him all exactly alike. Messrs. A. & J. Pardee. Gents : Give the boy two jugs of whisky. Stop the jugs tight. Help the boy on the horse. John S.«ith, Physician, Dr. Smith was an ardent admirer of Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, and was often heard ex- tolling the skill and worth of that eminent physician, and named one of his ooys " Rush," after him. He returned to New York about 1828 or 1830. Dr. William Barnes came to Lodi in 1817, and was the first physician there. But little is learned of him professionally. He built the first grist-mill in the township, and probably the first in the county. He was also a preacher of the Gospel, preaching the first funeral sermon in Harrisville, in 1817, it being at the burial of a child of George Burr. Dr. Seth Blood came to Brunswick in 1817 ; built a log house one-eighth of a mile south of the center. Dr. Blood was a Surgeon of the war of 1812, and was appointed Surgeon of an Ohio regiment of State militia in 1822. He would appear on parade at general muster with the uniform, holsters and pistols which he wore during the war, and would soon get filled with military ardor, and be liable to feel insulted if addressed improperly, sometimes flourishing his pistols with much prowess when offended. He was somewhat given to the fatal bowl, and died early in life, in the year 1826. Dr. Stacey Hills, of Granger, was born in Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., October 19, 1814. With his parents and family of ten children, he, the youngest, came into Granger the fall of 1818. He commenced very young goino' to school, attending diligently the short terms of those early wilderness times. When old enough to render a boy's help at home, his school days were limited to the inevitable three months' winter school. He read medicine under the instruction of Dr. John Cleveland, then of .1^ i^ HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 257 Granger, and gi-aduated at Willoughby Medical College, February, 1843. To the study and practice of medicine, he gave his utmost ener- gies, until obliged to succumb, through the breaking-np of a remarkably vigorous mental and physical constitution. He practiced first at Bristol, Wayne Co., two years, then at Cop- lejf, in company with Dr. Chapman, and for the greater part of his life at Grangerburgh, this county'. Dr. Bela B. Clark came to Medina Count}- with his father in April, 1818, from Waterbury, Conn., and commenced the practice of medi- cine immediately at Medina Village. The first call on record for him professionally, was to the victims of that famous first session of the Court of Common Pleas at the " barn " of Squire Ferris, who had so fondly imbibed of the good old-fashioned whisky — as old settlers call it. Dr. Clark, it is said, prescribed homeopathically ; that is, the hair of the dog to cure the bite. Dr. Clark was one of the eight members of the Medina County Medical Lyceum at its organi- zation in 1833, and previously was one of the censors appointed by act of Legislature for the medical district. He also was the first Presi- dent of the Medina Medical Lyceum, and was one of the committee of three to consider the establishing of a medical college on the Re- serve. In those days, the doctor of a neigh- borhood was generall}' characterized and known by the saddle-bags thrown across the saddle on which he rode, and the leggings about his legs to keep off the mud, and brass spurs on his boots. A buggy or carriage of any kind was unknown. After many years, a sulky or gig was instituted. Dr. Clark rode a little pony, a hard}' and courageous little fellow as ever was known. But one night as the Doctor was riding homeward, along the bridle-path through the woods, a fearful scream of a wild animal burst upon his ears, and the pony, with instinct- ive fear, started at break-neck speed to the Doctor's great satisfaction, for the animal, sup- posed to have been a panther, came bounding after, its screams " making the night air hid- eous," and filling horse and rider with alarm. But, alas for them both, a tree-top had fallen into the path, and into this plunged horse and rider, pell-mell into confusion and darkness, and then one unearthly yell from the Doctor's throat broke in upon that tragic scene. It penetrated the deep recesses of the forest shade. It reverberated from earth to cloud, and, as it died away in the distance, a painful silence ensued, broken only by the night bird's plaintive song. That panther never got there, and the Doctor, leisurelj' gathering himself up, extricated the horse, and, picking up his pill bags, re-mounted and jogged homeward. At another time he was wending his way home, carrying some fresh meat which a patron had presented him, this being tied behind him on the horse ; riding through the woods, and doubtless contemplating a sumptuous meal from the bundle at his back, suddenly a pack of hungry wolves, having snufl"ed the savory deli- cacy afar, came rushing on hie pathway ; again the little horse cut loose, and the fun began. He had not thought of danger, but in a mo- ment the blood was curdling in each vein. His fiery little courser sped away like an arrow from the bended bow, but in vain ! the yells of the demons on his track grew nearer and more near, when his horse jumped a log, across the path, and the package was lost off by the sudden motion. This diverted the wolves from further pursuit, and the Doctor escaped, minus that supper of venison he so fondly anticipated. In early days the Doctor wore a suit of linsey- ■ woolsey, with buckskin patches on the knees and seat of pants made by his mother, and was heard to say that the day he put them on was among the happiest in his life. Dr. Clark was a member of the Medina Medical Lyceum uip to August, 1841, and his name appears there no more. He was an active, thorough and ^« r '^ 258 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. honorable physician, one of the first in the profession. Every brother of the profession was ready to pay him homage ; friend or friend or foe alilie had respect for his talent ; an ornament in society and leader in every en- terprise for the elevation of mankind, and the advance of education and the profession or for the grov?th of the new country. Dr. Clark moved to Weymouth in 1826, anticipating the removal of the county scat to that place, thence to Rich- field in 1829, thence to Strongsville, again to Brunswick, thence to Columbus and finally to Ashland, where he died. Dr. Jeremiah Clark, ii j'ounger brother of Dr. Bela B. Clark, attended lectures in Cincinnati, and located in Hamilton Township, Franklin Co., Ohio, about 1835. Dr. Abel A. Clark came to Ohio in 1818 with his father ; was brother of Dr. Bela B. Clark. He read medicine with Dr. Wilson at Weymouth about 1830 ; attended medical lec- tures at Cincinnati ; located in practice at Grovesport. on Ohio Canal, near Columbus ; moved to Medina, in 1839, for his wife's health ; joined the Bledina County Medical Society in August, 1839 ; practiced medicine about one j'ear and returned to Grovesport ; subsequently moved to Xenia, where he died, having his old preceptor, Dr. Wilson, for his medical attend- ant. Dr. C. N. Lyman is a native of Wadsworth, born in 1819 ; son of Capt. George Lyman, of pioneer memory. He was in the office of Dr. E. Kendrick one and a half years, when he came under the instruction of Dr. George K. Par- dee in 1840 ; attended two courses of lectures and graduated at Transylvania University in Louisville, Ky., spring of 1843. Formed a partnership with Dr. Pardee same 3'ear, which continued until Dr. Pardee's death. In 1853, moved to Medina Village, going into the drug store with A. Armstrong. Dr. Lj-man joined the Medina County Medical Society Aug. 3, 1843. Aug. 1, 1844, Dr. Lyman read a paper before the society, on ''Epidemic Erysipelas," with reports of cases and mode of treatment ; elected Presi- dent in 1848, of society ; chosen President of Northeastern Ohio Union Medical Association 1878 — thirty years after having presided in the jMedina County Society. Dr. Lj'man is at this time the oldest practitioner of the county, and has performed more labor, professionally', than any physician in the county since its organization, and yet, by virtue of the strict- est habits in every respect, his physical powers show but little of the deca3' which usuallj' suc- ceeds a life of toil, and his mental faculties exhibit no traces of the increase of years. Dr. Henry Spillman, was the son of James Spillman and Nancy O'Brien, who came from Ireland and settled in Wadsworth about 1820. Dr. Spillman studied medicine in the office of Dr. A. Fisher at Western Star ; attended medical lectures at Willoughby, and graduated in 1840. He subsequently attended a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. Before commencing the practice of medicine he read law and was admitted to the bar, but did not practice to an}' extent. Practiced medi- cine at Streetsboro and at Bristol, Wayne County, also at Decatur, Ind. Located at Medina about 1850. Here he had an extended prac- tice, and for several years was thus actively engaged. About 1858, he went into the drug trade at Medina and gave up riding, and' pre- scribing except from his store, until the spring of 1862, when he accepted an appointment as Sur- geon of the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with date of rank March 18, 1862. He was commissioned April 4, 1362 ; was with the regi- ment on the advance from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth, but was taken sick before the evacua- tion and started for home. Got up the river to Evansville, Ind., where, finding he could go no further, he was taken ashore and found friends among the brotherhood of Masons, who did everything possible for him ; but he soon sank and died in May, 1862, having been on duty with ^^ V A ffc^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 259 the regiment but a few weeks. His bodj"- was sent liome and buried in tlie churcliyard at Medina. Dr. Spillman was a man of fine intellectual en- dowment and culture, and possessed a remark- able memory. While a student of medicine, he would take his books and go out under a shade tree and read for two or three hours, and come in and recite the whole, page after page, almost verbatim. His mind was well stored with use- ful information, and he was generally prepared to answer inquiries pertaining to science, litera- ture, law or theology. It is with feelings of sadness that we contemplate the death of Dr. Spillman. Away from the home he had so recentty left in the vigor of health and man- hood, with only the hand of strangers to minis- ter unto him in his last painful, hopeless strcrg- gles for life, even then in the icy embrace of death, no wonder his mind wandered, in fevered dreams, or in death's hallucinations, back to his home and fireside, calling upon friends and familiar faces to lift him up from the pit of despair, or save him from the approaching tem- pest. Hastening homeward, anxious and long- ing — life to him in the balance — his frail bark strands on the shore, and alas ! home for him shall be home no more. Dr. Nathaniel Eastman was the first phj'si- cian at the center of Wadsworth and came from Olean, N. Y., in 1820. During the war of 1812, he went from Erie, Penn., to Put-in Bay to assist in the care of the wounded at Perry's Vic- tory. Dr. Eastman built a log house one-half mile north of the center of Wadworth, and aft- erward built one on the northeast corner lot at the center. Practiced there until 1826, when he removed to Seville and opened up a hotel, which for many years was in his charge, while also attending to his professional calls. He joined the Jledical Society May 7, 1839, and continued an active member until Novem- ber, 1849. The Doctor continued his profes- sional labors while his health permitted, but in the later years was afflicted with diabetes, and was at last obliged to retire from practice and live with one of his children, out of town, where he died at an advanced age. Dr. Samuel Austin came to Western Star in 1823. He was a graduate of the Medical De- partment of Yale College ; was a man of fine education and good address ; a skillful pliysi- cian with a promising future spread out before him. But a habit formed before coming to Ohio he failed to shake off, and drank the fatal cup to its very dregs. He escaped death by a falling tree which killed the horse he had just been riding, and from which he alighted as the tree was falling, only to meet a worse fate soon after. Basworth's distillery, in Copley, was his favor- ite resort, and from a final visit there he never returned. There he drank, was taken sick and died in sight of the murderous still, in the year 1828. Dr. John Harris came to Seville from Steuben County, N. Y., in 1822. He was the first physi- cian in Seville. Remained there until about 1836, and went to Kentucky. Dr. Chapin A. Harris came a year after his brother John. He soon left and went to Balti- more, where he became noted for his dental operations and for a valuable treatise written and published by him on the art of dentistry, it being a text-book in universal use among the profession. Dr. DeVoe came to Seville from Middlebury in 1822, and returned in about one year. Dr. Elijah DeWitt. The following is, by re- quest, from Dr. DeWitt, Elyria, Ohio, Deceml)er 3, 1880 : "Dear Sir— I was born in May, 1800, in Westminster, Vt. ; studied medicine mostly at Keene and Hanover, N. H. ; attended two courses of medical lectures at Hanover, and did most of the dissections for the Professor of Anatomy both terms ; was examined and rec- ommended for a diploma, but failed to get it be- cause of the judicial decision at Washington against the university before the then next com- -_ IS J,i 3 !>• *> 260 HIST OK Y or MEDINA COUNTY. mencement ; afterward received diploma from the medical societj'. I came to Harrisville, Medina Co., Ohio, in December, 1824, where I peddled pills until July, 1835, when I came to Elj-ria." Dr. DeWitt was Chairman of the first meeting of the Medina County IMcdical Lyceum, at its organization October 29, 1833, and at this meeting elected Corresponding Secretary for the year. Re-electedin Feb ruar}-, 1834. InFebruar}', 1835, was chosen delegate to Western Reserve Sledieal Convention, with the view to the con- sideration of establishing a medical college on the Reserve. Dr. George K. Pardee was born in Skaneate- les, Onondaga Co., N. Y., September 23, 1806. Read medicine in his native town with Dr. Evelyn Porter. Having attended lectures at Fairfield, N. Y., and been admitted to prac- tice as a physician, he came to Wadsworth in 1826, where he entered upon the duties of Ms . profession, in which he ever afterward held an advanced position. He was one of the eight who organized the Medina County Medical Lj'ceum, October 29, ] 833, and its first Vice President. He was also appointed one of the censors, whose duties were to examine candi- dates to be admitted to practice and grant di- plomas. In the year 1843, he read a dissertation on the use of calomel, having about that time in some degree changed his views as to its effects in large doses, etc. Dr. Pardee was an ardent student through life, and was especially noted for his persistent anatomical research, and for the more than ordinar}' opportunities afforded to students in his office for studjdng this branch of the science at the dissecting table. This often brought him in conflict with the prejudices of the people, but did not deter him from his purpose in this respect ; and the proper material was obtained as needed. He delivered lectures on chemistry and on temper- ance, with charts of the drunkard's stomach, and gave public demonstrations of anatomy at the dissecting table. In the fall of 1839, he went South for his health, stopping at Lexington, Ky., where he attended medical lectures, re- turning in the spring to resume his labors with renewed ambition. Incipient consumption was marking him for its own, and he was attacked with hemorrhage of the lungs, which was brought on by overdoing and exposure on the 4th day of July, 1849, at Medina. From this attack he but feebly rallied, and with its recurrence sank down and died October 3, 1849. The following is a list of physicians who were under his instruction at various intervals : Dr. Ebenezer Campbell, died in Indiana in 1838. Dr. John Brown, died at Haw Patch, Ind., 1845. Dr. C. N. Lyman, living now at Wadsworth. Dr. Henry Warner, died at Spencer in 1877. Dr. Lucius A. Clark, died near Medina in 1850. Dr. Samuel Wolf, now in Stark County. Dr. Isaac C. Isbell, went to California in 1848. Dr. William Johnston, died in Indiana. Dr. Samuel E. Beach, died in the army in 1864. Dr. Donahue, died at Clinton. Dr. Hanson Hard, now in Philadelphia. Dr. A. Q-. Willey, now in Spencer. Dr. Robert G-ala, now in Fredericksburg. Dr. Fred Wright, in California. Dr. William W. Beach, in Illinois. Sylvanus Butler, died while a student. Dr. Kirby Chamberlain came to Wadsworth in 1826. He practiced in company with Dr. Pardee ; remained in Wadsworth a few years, when he went to Pennsylvania and attended lectures, and afterward settled in Cincinnati. Dr. Secretary Rawson came to Medina County about 1827, and settled at Richfield, then in Medina CountJ^ He joined the medical society in 1834. Practiced there a number of years and moved to Findlay, Hancock Co., where he now resides. Dr. Uriel H. Peak came from Herkimer ^ ^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 263 County, N. Y., to Medina, 1828 ; practiced med- icine for several years ; entered into merchan- dise, in 1833, in company with James Sargeant. lie was Postmaster under Jackson and Van Buren up to 1839, when he resigned in fa\-or of Dr. Henry Ormsby. Moved to Green Bay, Wis., in 1849, where he resided until his death, in 1S77. Dr. E. G. Hard was born in Jliddlcbury, Sum- mit Co., Ohio, in 1826. His mother, Lydia Hart, came to Middlebury, with her father, in 1807 — a time when the Indians would gather around to see the " pale-faces," and the wolf and bear would prowl about the cabin door by night. His father, Cyrus Hard, came to ]\Iid- dlebury in 1815, from Vermont, then nineteen years of age. They married in 1818 — their ages fifteen and twent3'-two years. In 1828, they moved to Wadsworth, Medina Co. — Dr. E. G., the third son, aged two years. Then comes the oft-repeated story of log houses and roughing it in a new country, up to the date of John McGregor's advent into Wadsworth, un- der whose tuition the subject of this sketch im- bibed the little education, and the onlj-, which it was his fortune to obtain. Studying gram- mar, arithmetic, philosophy, chemistry, algebra and survej'ing, with a mixture of French for one term onlj'. At intervals working on the farm, or carding wool in the factorjr, and assisting in dressing cloth, or attending engine in the factor}^, or grist-mill, carried on by his father at Wadsworth. In the spring of 1847, he entered the office of Drs. Fisher & War- ner, and began tlie study of medicine, paj'ing for his board at Dr. Fisher's by taking care of the barn and office, and sleeping in the office. In the fall of 1848, he began his first course of medical lectures at Cleveland, and again in the winter of 1849-50, and graduated in the spring of 1850. Married Miss Frances F. Willey, the same spring, and, with her father's familj', moved to Iowa the following autumn. The winter of 1850-51, he taught school at Big Grove, Johnson Co., Iowa, ten miles north of Iowa City. There the big boys would bring whisky in a jug and hide it in the hazel bushes, and sometimes get so " full " they could not tell when their book was wrong side up. In the spring of 1851, he returned to Inland, Cedar County, and the season following assisted to break prairie with ox-teams, and other farm work, and occasionallj' attending a professional call. But people were scarce, and sick calls far between, and in the fall he returned to Ohio and located at Sharon, Medina Count}', in company with Dr. Willej' ; moved to Seville in the fall of 1852. Stayed there until 1858, when he moved again to Iowa, stopping at Inland. Here he found a fair field opening up for practice ; but, in the spring of 1859, the Pike's Petfk gold fever " struck in " with him, and he joined the in- numerable disappointed throng that " marched up the hill" and then "marched down again." In July, 1859, he joined his family of wife and three children at his father's house at Wads- worth, Ohio, and August 17 located in Medina in company with Dr. A. C. Smith. Here he has continued the practice, with little interrup- tion, until the present time. Dr. Hard was commissioned Ohio State Surgeon in the spring of 1862, and assigned to duty on a hospifal boat, going from Cincinnati to Pittsburg Landing. On the way back from tlie latter place with a boat-load of sick and wounded, from the field of Shiloh, he was taken sick, and was compelled to resign, and came home to undergo a course of typhoid fever. In 1863, he ac- cepted a commission as Assistant Surgeon of the First Ohio Pleavy Artillery, his rank dating August 12, 1863, and his commission dating September 18, 1863 ; resigned by reason of disa- bility, August IS, 1864. While with the regi- ment, he was stationed at Covington, Ky., and at Point Burnside, on the Cumberland Rtver. In February, 1864, he marched to Knoxville, Tenn. In May, he was sent with a portion of the regiment to London, Tenn. He was taken -^yV a ^, 2Ci HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. sick here with camp dj^sentery, and went to hospital at Knoxville, after which ho was una- ble to join the regiment for duty, but came home on leave of absence, and resigned, as above stated. Dr. Wilson settled in Weymonth in 1829 ; lived in the house bnilt by Dr. Bela B. Clark. He was there a number of j'ears, and moved to Xenia, where he now resides. Dr. Piufus Pomcroy settled in Granger, in 1829, being the first physician there. He came from Suffolk Conn.; remained there until the year 1840, when he removed to Trumbull County, Ohio. He is well spolven of by those who knew him in the early daj's, as a man and phj-sieian. Dr. Amos C. Smith, studied medicine vrith Dr. L. D. Tolman ; attended two courses of lect- ures in Cleveland, and graduated in the .spring of 1850. The same spring, he went to La Fay- ette to practice, but, in xiugust, went to Litch- field in company w^lh Dr. Carpenter. Removed to Medina Village in 1851, where he remained until his death. His medical education was equal to others of the ordinary opportnnities, but his judgment and perceptive faculties were of a high order. He sconicd to read a case intu- itivel3^ His mind would strip a case for diag- nosis of all extraneous surroundings, and leave the real thing unmasked before his vision. August 18, 1859, he formed a partnership with Dr. E. G. Hard. That day they visited patients together, and that night he was taken sick and was confined to his bed for two weeks. Soon after getting around, he began to vomit food, and evidences of stricture of the stomach be- came alarmingly manifest, so that in a few months he was a hopeless invalid. The re- mainder of his days were spent in caring for his health. Dr. Whitehill practiced medicine in Litch- field and York in 1848 and 1849. Dr. Thomas Pvowe, Jr., was born at Windsor, Vt., A. D. 1795 ; graduated in medicine at Dartmouth College, In New Hampshire, in 1822 ; diploma signed by Dr. R. D. Mussey, Professor of Surgery and Obstetrics ; Dr. Dan- iel Freeman, Professor of Theory and Practice ; Dr. Jacob Freeman Dana, Professor of Chem- istry and Mineralogy ; Dr. Usher Parsons, Pro- fessor of Anatomy and Physiology ; Dr. Ben- nett Tyler, President ; Matthias Spalding and Asa Crawford, Censors. Dr. Eowe was appointed on the I2th day of August. 1826, bj-- Gov. David Morrill, of New Hampshire, Surgeon's Mate of the Sixth Regi- ment of State Militia, countersigned by Richaid Bartlett, Secretary of State. He married JMiss Emily E. Chapman in 1826 ; moved to Medina Co., Ohio, in October, 1830, and practiced medi- cine at Medina Court House. Here he experi- enced the many privations and difficulties inci- dent to a new country — growing up, as it were, with its growth, and strengthening with its strength. Oftentimes his visits to the sick were made through the pathless forests, guided by "blaze" marks on the trees, and carrying torches at night, to aid in finding the way and to keep off the attacks of wild animals. As will be discovered, he was well prepared by education for his profession, and possessed tact and judgment in making out a diagnosis of disease and prescribing for his patients, ren- dering him a useful member of the profession. He was gentle in his manners, of a quiet de- meanor, careful to give no offense, a lover of good order in society, and happiest at his own fireside. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and always to be seen in his pew on the Sabbath Day, when able to attend divine service. He was one of the eight charter members of the Medina County Medical Lyceum, and one of the committee appointed by said society on October 9, 1833, to petition the Legislature of Ohio for an act of incorporation ; was an act- ive member up to 1843. In the year 1838, he sold his home in Medina ■^T- !l^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 265 '\'illage to Dr. Ross, and moved on the farm now owned by Mr. Ered Smith. Here he ulti- mately gave up his practice and paid attention to farming, and b^' prudence, care and honesty, he secured a competency of this world's goods, and lived to see much of the growth and im- provement in the county of the present day. He died April 11, 1868. Dr. Samuel E. Beach was born in Lenox, Ash- tabula Co., Ohio, February 22, 1822, and, with his father, came to.Wadsworth in 1830, grow- ing up a farmer bo}'. He was a ]3upil under John McGregor, and studied medicine under Dr. George K. Pardee at Wadsworth. He at- tended medical lectures at Cleveland, term of 1846-47, and practiced two years at Sharon, in company with Dr. I. B. Beach ; attended medical lectures and graduated at Cleveland, the term of 1848-49, and, the same j'ear, re- moved to Appleton, Wis. Here he practiced medicine until the year 1856, when he went to Kansas. During the war of the rebellion, he was appointed Surgeon of a Kansas regiment, and was in the Department of Tennessee. He was taken prisoner with his regiment, and him- self compelled to serve as surgeon to the rebel sick and wounded. He was overtasked, and fell sick with pneumonia. The rebel officers then passed him through the Union lines, and he was taken to Nashville, where he died in the hospital, as nearly as can now be learned, about the beginning of the year 1864. Erasmus M. Beach, brother of Dr. S. E. Beach, studied medicine with his brother ; at- tended one course of lectures at Cleveland, in 1848-49 ; went to Appleton, Wis., and died of fever at Dr. S. E. Beach's, in Jlay, 1850. Dr. John Emory came to Wadsworth in 1830, from Geauga County. Practiced there four or five years and moved to the Maumee Swamp. He had a tolerable practice in Wadsworth. Dr. George Emory was the first physician in Spencer, and brother of Dr. John Emory. He lived in Spencer, about 1835, where he re- mained several years, moving later to Illinois, where he now resides. Dr. John Cleveland came to Granger about the year 1834, and practiced until about 1841 or 1842. He was preceptor of Dr. Stacey Hills. Dr. George W. Howe was born at Williams- town, Vt., December 21, 1809. Diploma issued by Washington Jledical College, Baltimore, Md. He came to Medina in the fall of 1831, and re- mained until 1837. Has practiced more or less ever since. Resides now at North Bloom field, Trumbull Co., Ohio. Dr. Howe was one of the original members of the Medina County Medical Lyceum. At its primary meeting he was appointed one of the Committee on Claims, also to draft petition to Legislature, for act of incorporation, Oct. 29, 1833 ; also elected Re- cording Secretary, serving until 1836. Was one of the committee appointed to consider the establishing a medical college on the Western Reserve. Dr. Howe has for many years been in the ministrj', and not fully identified in the medical fraternity. Dr. 0. S. St. John was born at Buffalo, N. Y., May 28, 1810. Attended schools and acad- emy at Buflalo ; studied medicine with Drs. Marshall & Trowbridge of that city ; commenced in spring of 1827 ; attended medical lectures at Fairfield, N. Y., three winter courses, and gradu- ated in February, 1831, the Faculty not knowing that he was not twenty -one years of age at the time. He practiced one year in Buffalo, and came to Ohio in summer of 1832. Journeyed from Cleveland through Brecksville, Richfield to Me- dina, and back to Cleveland via Brunswick, by stage. Returned to Brunswick soon after, and put up bis sign ; resided there about one and one- half years ; practiced into Hinckley, Strongsville, Grafton and Weymouth Village. Moved back to Cleveland in November, 1833, and read law in the office of E. H. Thompson, Esq., Hon. H. B. Payne being a fellow-student. He attended law school at Cincinnati, in the winter of 1833-34 ; had John Ewing, of Cleveland, and Judge Jede- ^fV V» <2 a^ ^k 266 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. diah Hoffman, of Youngstown, for room-mates and fellow-students while there. Was in due time admitted to the bar, but never had a brief. The winter of 1837-38, he reviewed medicine at Pennsj'lvania Universitj- and Jefferson Medical College, Penu. Moved to Willonghbj^ Lake Connt^-, in October, 1839, and practiced medicine a short time. In the winter of 1840-41, deliv- ered a course of lectures at the Willoughby Universitj- of Lake Erie, on " Materia Medica and Bledical Jurisprudence," when the school was removed to Cleveland. The Doctor in a let- ter, saj-s : "As the great game of life is to die rich and leave j-onr gains as best you can, to a wise man or a fool — generally a fool — and as my professions were too slow channels for the ac- cumulation of piropertj-, I soon abandoned them except when called as counsel, at the urgent re- quest of phj'sicians or friends, and then without charge. Outside of professions, I got along better, and have, by much economj^ and brain labor, and night vigils, got enough to die on, and perhaps to curse my children." Dr. St. John was one of the eight to organize the Medina County Medical Lyceum, October 29, 1833, and was appointed Recording Secretary and Censor. His home and address Dec. 10, 1880, was Lin- cola, Neb. Dr. Lorenzo Warner was born in Waterbury, Conn., in August, 1807. Li early years, he worked at the carpenter's trade, but his parents sought to educate him for the ministrj-, and, after coming to Ohio, they moved to Gambier, where he attended college for a short time. The rules and regulations of the school and church there not suiting his more liberal views, he with- drew and attended the " Western Reserve " Col- lege, aided by some "home missionary" work. But, just before completing the literarj' course, he entered the office of Dr. Town, of Hudson, Ohio, and commenced the study of medicine. Subsequently, he attended lectures at the Ohio Medical College, in Cincinnati, a beneficiary under an act of the Legislature, from the Nine- teenth Medical District. Dr. Warner came to the county of Medina about the year 1832 ; locating at Brunswick, he continued in active practice until about 1843, when he entered the ministry in the M. E. Church. Dr. Warner joined the Medina County Medical Society in February, 1835, and was a very active, influen- tial member, until he left the profession in 1843. He was elected Representative to the Fortieth General Assembly of Ohio (session of 1841-42), serving one term. About the year 1844, he left the county and joined the Meth- odist Episcopal Conference, being from that time identified with divine work, serving as Minister or Elder until his death. Dr. Jesse C. Mills came from Congress Town- ship, Waj-ne Co., Ohio, to Seville, in 1832. He taught school there in 1833, in Judge Hosmer's front chamber. Hon. H. G. Blake was one of his pupils at this time ; also Miss Mary Ann Bell, whom the Doctor married in 1834. Dr. Mills was also one of the eight who organized the Medina County Medical Societj^, and the first Treasurer, and one of the first Censors; delivered the first dissertation before the so- cietj', being in February, 1834, on " Congestion." He held the office of Censor until Maj', 1839, when he resigned, and soon after left the State, going to Wisconsin. He died at Neenah, In that State. Dr. Henry Ormsbj- was born at Fairlee, Orange Co., Vt., in 1805. He came to Ohio in 1817, stopping at Middlebury, Summit County. He commenced reading medicine with Dr. Town, of Hudson, in 1828. He attended one course of lectures at the Ohio IMedical College in Cincinnati, as beneficiary from the Nine- teenth Medical District, under the act of the Legislature. He commenced practice at Brook- field, Portage County, in 1832, but came to Medina in the same 3'ear. Dr. Ormsby was one of the eight charter members of the Jle- dina Countj' jMedical Ljxeum, and was chosen Secretary of the primary meeting to organize -.f _d s ^ IIISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. 207 said societ}-, and was appointed on ttie com- mittee to draft a petition to the Legislature for 'an act of incorporation. In 1 S34, Dr. Ormsby went to Cople}-, tlien in ;^Iedina Count}', and soon moved to Do-\-er, in Waj'ne County. He came back to Medina in 1837, and con- tinued the practice of his profession until 1845, when he sold his residence to Dr. L. D. Tol- man, and retired from the further duties of this high calling. After returning from Dover to Sledina, the Doctor again affiliated with the Medical Society, and was an active member until he retired from practice. Among other papers read bj' him, was one on the use of tea and tobacco — but especially tobacco — in 1841, and one in 1843, on " Animal Magnetism." He was appointed Postmaster by Slartin Van Buren, just before the expiration of his term, which position he held through Harrison's and Tyler's official terms, and until the coming in of James K. Polk's administration. Dr Nathan Branch, Jr., was born iu Worth- ington, Hampshire Co., Blass., in the /ear 1776. He studied medicine in the office of Dr. Peter Brj'ant, father of the poet, William Cul- len Bryant, in Cummington, Hampshire Co., Mass. Having prepared himself for the prac- tice of his profession, he emigrated to New York, and settled at Groton, now Delaware County, about the j-ear 1800. There he prac- ticed medicine for nearly thirty-four years. He came to York, in Bledina County, in the year 1834, from Groton, N. Y. Here a large circle of relatives and friends gathered around, and aided largelj' in the settlement and growth of the township of York. The Doctor practiced his profession in York until about 1852, when his years numbered nearly fourscore, and he went to Michigan to live with a daughter, Mrs. Averhill. He died there about the year 185G. Dr. Howard Aklen came to Medina Count}- in 1834, from Suffield, Conn., and located at Seville, in compan}^ with Dr. Mills. From Seville, he moved to Orange, Ashland County, in company with Dr. William Deming. He came back to Westfield in 1840. His father was a physician, with whom he obtained his medical education. He joined the County Medical Societj- November 2, 1843 ; May 1,1845, he was chosen President of the society ; again iu 1846 ; again in 1849 ; and served until 1855. He was chosen again in 1856, and served as such until 18C7, when age and feeble health prevented him from active duties. He died at his home in West- field about the year 1875. Dr. Alexander Fisher came from " the East " to Ohio in 1834. He was a single man, and lo- cated at "\^^esteru Star. He subsequently mar- ried, and immediately took front rank as physi- cian and surgeoH, his ride extending widely throughout Medina, Summit and Wayne Coun- ties. He was universallj' respected by all who formed his acquaintance, not only for his su- periority as physician, but for his generosity, urbauitjf, integrity and unassuming deportment. His highest ambition was to be able to treat diseases suocessfullj', and he made this the prime object of life. He was careful in selecting remedies to avoid harsh or irritating substances, and was among the first to institute the expect- ant and supporting treatment in the typhoid fevers of the localitj'. He moved to Akron in 1850, and thence to Chicago in 1856. As a sur- geon, he performed some important operations, such as amputating the superior maxillary' bone and tying the external iliac artery. He now resides in Chicago, III, aged seventy-seven years, and is still on duty in the line of his i^ro- fession. Dr. J. S. Ross came to Medina in 1834, joined the Medical Society February 5, 1835, was elected Treasurer same year, and served until 1839. He bought Dr. Rowe's place in town in 1836, and practiced medicine until he left in 1839. Dr. J. G. Morse, came to Medina in 1835, and formed copartnership with Dr. Bowe. Joined the Medical Society in 1836. Left this section _ T J. 268 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. of countiy iu 1839, under disapproval of the Medical Societj^ ; vide resolution, Februarj' 5, 1840. Dr. Amos Witter located in Seville as physi- cian about 1837. He read medicine with Dr. DeWitt at Lodi, and attended lectures in Cin- cinnati. Dr. Witter joined the Medina County JMedical Society May 7, 1839 ; elected Presi- dent of same May 2, 1844 ; served one j'ear ; appointed Censor May 1, 1845. Moved to Linn County, Iowa, about 1846. During the war of the rebellion, was commissioned Surgeon of a regiment from Iowa, and died from exposure while in the service. Dr. William S. H. Welton, son of Judge Philo Welton, one of the early settlers of Mont- Yille Township ; studied medicine with Dr. George K. Pardee, and was admitted to mem- bership in the Sledina County Sledical Societ}', and granted diploma Feb. 5, 1835. He located at Medina, and practiced for about thirtj' years with slight interruptions, taking a trip to Cali- fornia about 1854, and at one time practiced at Wadsworth. His health for a number of years was verj^ poor, and he was deprived thereby of many advantages which more fortu- nate competitors enjoyed. About 1865, he went West, and visited relatives in Wisconsin and Iowa. There he submitted to amputation of the leg, for chronic ulceration, and his health since has been so much improved that he has "taken up the cue " and sought to prolong the lives of the " black Kepublicans " of that State. Dr. William Converse, the first phj'sician in Litchfield, studied medicine with Dr. E. DeWitt, at Lodi; being a brother-in-law. While a stu- dent. Converse, Witter, and a tall student, whose name is unknown, went to Slilton to resurrect a bod3^ for dissection, They took up coffin and all. A big dog came upon them while at work, and the tall fellow struck at him with the spade, but missed the dog and knocked Witter down. When they came to open the coffin, they found nothing but old bones in it. They had robbed the wrong grave. Dr. Converse left Litchfield in 1839, going to Lodi, where he prac- ticed until 1844, when he sold to Dr. Iloag, and went to Princeton, III, and thence to Chicago, having become wealthy and retired from busi- ness, and educating a son in the profession. Dr. A. ;\I. Armstrong, born 1808, in Chatham, Columbia Co., N. Y. Studied medicine first at Chatham, in 1828, subsequently at Kinderhook. Attended lectures at Fairfield Medical College, New York, and graduated in 1832. Practiced medicine at Oswego, N. Y., until 1835. Located at Sharon, Medina County, same year, and moved to Doj-lestown in 1837, where he has since re- mained, subject to the labors, hardships and vexations incident to a country doctor's life. Dr. Armstrong was elected, on the Democratic ticket, to the Legislature of Ohio, in the fall of 1879, from Wayne Co., Ohio. Dr. Israel B. Beach, a native of Maine, came to Sharon in the year 1837 ; remained there in active practice until 1850, when he sold to Dr. Willey. He joined the Medina County Jled- ical Society May 7, 1839, and attended a course of medical lectures at the Jeflerson Medical College, in Pennsylvania, term of 1849-50, in company with Dr. A. Fisher ; moved to Cleve- land in 1850. He subsequentlj- went to the State of New York, and again returned to Cleve- land, and died there December 10, 1860. Dr. Elijah Kendrick came to Wadsworth from Middlebury in 1838, and occupied Dr. Pardee's office for one and one-half j-ears. He practiced at Wadsworth about five years, and went to Cincinnati. He was there during the cholera of 1848 ; was appointed Superintend- ent of the Insane Asylum at Columbus about 1850 ; served as such a number of years, and moved to East Cleveland. He finally went to Brighton, Penn., where he died in 1877. Dr. Wilcox settled in Hinckley about 1838, and practiced there some thirty years, and then went West to grow up with the country. He taught school at Cuyahoga Falls in 1827. ;w* ^, HISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. 260 Dr. P. E. Hunger came to the county in 1838 ; settled in Wej^mouth ; subsequently moved to Medina ; joined the medical society in 1840 ; was chosen Secretary and Treasurer in 1843 and 1844. Dr. Munger was an educated man and well posted in the medical literature of his day. Dr. Foster located in Granger about the year 1838. He practiced there until 1845 or 1846, and moved to Bennett's Corners ; was there several years, and moved to Royalton. Kept hotel in Royalton until he died. Dr. Rockwell was a physician at Lodi in 1839. October 28, 1841, he was admitted to membership in the Medina County Medical Society. Dr. Lewis Damon Tolman came to Ohio from Onondaga Co., State of New York, about 1835. He studied medicine with Dr. Bela B. Clark at Brunswick ; attended first course of lectures at Willoughby in 1838-39 ; received diploma from the Medina County Jledical Lyceum May 7, 1839, and paid $5, the usual fee for a diploma, becoming a member thereby. February 5, 1840, he was elected Recording Secretary and Treasurer, and served as such until February 2, 1843, not having been absent from anj^ meet- ing during the four years, and taking an active part in all the proceedings. He located at Litchfield in 1839, where he commenced to practice his profession ; prac- ticed there six years and, in 1845, came to IMe- dina Village. In the winter of 1845-46, he at- tended lectures at Cleveland, and graduated in the spring of 1846. Returning to Medina, he continued the practice with much success, and found friends gathering thickly around him. Slay 3, 1849, he was again elected Secretary of the Medical Society, and served uninterrupt- edly until 1855, his membership continuing until his death in 1859. Dr. James' H. Carpenter came to Ohio in 1838 ; was born in Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1818. He commenced reading medicine with Dr. Tol- man in 1839, at Litchfield ; attended medical lectures at Willoughby, session of 1839-40 ; commenced practice with Dr. Tolman in the spring of 1840. Dr. Tolman, in hiving a swarm of bees, was stung by them, and obliged to keep the house. An important call arriving. Carpen- ter was asked to respond, and he performed the service so well that Dr. Tolman got a pair of pill-bags and put him at work. This was the beginning of his medical career. The copart- nership continued until 1845, when Tolman went to Medina ; meanwhile, Dr. Carpenter's father had died, and the support of the mother and family fell upon him. This and profes- sional cares deprived him of further advantages in attending medical lectures, and yet few prac- titioners have exercised better judgment and adaptation to the ever-changing requirements of professional life. In 1867, Dr. Carpenter moved to Michigan ; but the " fickle goddess " that allured him thither lavished her charms upon " that other man," and he returned to Litchfield in 1877, where he now resides. Dr. A. E. Ewing was born October 25, 1816, near Cobourg, Upper Canada, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. His father was from Blassachusetts, and his mother from Vermont. He entered medical school at Castleton, Vt., early in 1836 ; afterward attended the Medical Department of Dartmouth College, at Hanover, N. H., and graduated in October, 1839. He came to Ohio in 1840, and practiced medicine in Granger and Sharon three years, then at Medina two years. In 1847, he went to Hills- dale, Mich., and edited a Whig newspaper dur- ing the Cass and Taylor campaign, and subse- quently came back to Richfield in 1850, Went to Wisconsin in 1856, and came back to Rich- field in 1863. Lives now at the last-named place. Dr. Ewing joined the Medina County Medical Lyceum February 1, 1844, and served as Censor one year and as Secretary and Treas- urer until he moved, in 1847. liL •370 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Dr. Hopkins came to Seville in 1840, and practiced in companj' with Dr. A. Witter. About 1848, he went to Sharon, and in 1852, went to State of New York. He became a great invalid subsequently, and went to the ^ledical Springs at St. Louis, Michigan, having rheuma- tism so as to be confined to crutches, etc. He was a member of the Bledina iMed'oal Societj-, October 28, 1841. May 3, 1842, chosen one of the Censors of the societj^, and again in 1843. Dr. Henry Warner was born in Sheldon, Genesee Co., N. Y., June 17, 1817. Dr. Warner attended school in Sharon and read medicine with Dr. Pardee, and afterward attended medi- cal lectures at Geneva, N. Y., in 1840-41. He located at Bristol, Wayne County, but in the fall of 1841, he came to Spencer, where he fol- lowed his profession until his death, except when serving in the capacity of Judgo of the Probate Court at Medina, to which ofitice he was elected, commencing in ]S,3.j, and serving six years. He was attacked Avith pneumonia, which terminated in death about 1872. Dr. J. C. Preston, born in Talmadge, Ohio, December 8, 1819. Bead medicine with Dr, Amos Wright of said town ; attended a course of medical lectures at Willoughby, the winter of 1841-42. Practiced with Dr. Jevvitt, at Moga- dore. Summit County, one j'ear ; went to Bruns- wick, Medina County, September, 1843; at- tended course of lectures, and graduated at Cleveland Bledical College, winter of 1862-63; moved to Cleveland, in November, 1869. Dr. Preston wag appointed Assistant Surgeon, Seventy-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Date of rank, March 19, 1863. Date of commission, Blareh 30, 1863; was promoted to Surgeon, February 1, 1865. Date of commission Feb- ruary 5, 1865. Mustered out with regiment July 20, 1865. Dr. Preston was the only physician at Bruns- wick for almost twenty years, and enjoyed the full confidence of the people within the range of his practice. Dr. Melancthou Hoag came to Lodi in 1844; bought out Dr. Converse ; was from Bandolph, Portage Co., Ohio; remained there until his death in 1874. Dr. A. Rawson was brother-in- law of Dr. Hoag ; came to the county in 1844 ; located at La Fayette ; left there in 1847. Dr. William Clark, son of Dr. Bela B. Clark, and born in Bledina Countjf, read with his father and attended medical lectures at Wil- loughby about 1841 and 1842. He located at Litchfield for practice in 1844, and in 1845, went West, locating at Bucyrus, Ohio. Dr. Edwin H. Sibley was born in Concord, Erie Co., N. Y., October 4, 1816 ; came to Har- risville about 1844. He was elected to the Legislature of Ohio as Representative from Medina County, session commencing January, 1854 ; served one term. He attended lectures- at the University of Buffalo, graduating about 1843. He joined the Medical Society of the count}-, Blay 3, 1855, and was chosen as one of the board of censors same day. August 2, 1855, read an essay on "Medical Ethics." May 1, 1856, Dr. Sibley presented the follow- ing, which was adopted by the society : Re- solved, "That the act, entitled an act to pro- vide for the registration of marriages, births and deaths in Ohio, is one that the members of this society will repudiate, and use negative means to render nugatory, for the reason that it enjoins, and with a penalty, making obliga- tory duties upon the medical profession, with- out an equivalent, and that in the face of the rule in this State against any special legisla- tion favorable to the profession." Drs. Sibley and Spillman were chosen delegates to the Na- tional Jledical Association to be held at Detroit, Mich., May 6, 185G. He died at Lodi, March 7, 1864, of typhoid pneumonia. Dr. L. W. SIcIntosh came to Litchfield in 1845; bought out Dr. Tolmau ; left about 1849. Dr. John J. McAlmont practiced medicine in Weymouth from 1846 to 1850; attended medi- cal lectures at Cleveland, session 1848-49, and ^.— - i fy ^l^\ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 271 graduated at the close of the session. About 1850 ho went to Little Rock, Ark. Dr. Ilickos came to La Fa^-ette in 1847 ; his health tailing, sold to Dr. S. Hudson, in 1851, and died soon after with consumption. Dr. Albertson — Eacdic — located at Wilson's Corners about the year 1848, remained a short time and moved to Remson Corners, in the township of Granger, where he still resides and continues practice. Dr. A. G. Willej^ entered the office of Dr. George K. Pardee in 1843. He attended the first course of lectures at the Medical Depart- ment of the Western Reserve College at Cleve- land in the winter of 1846. He went to Spen- cer the samj spring and practiced in company with Dr. Henry Warner. In the spring of 1848, he went to La Faj'ette and the following fall moved his familj' to Cleveland and at- tended lectures throughout the term of 1848- 49, and graduated at the close. Again ho moved to Spencer and went into company with Dr. Warner; sta3-ed there until June, 1850, when he went to Sharon Center. December 1, 1854, he moved back to Spencer and still re- mains there. Dr. S. Hudson began reading medicine in 18-42, with Dr. Jewett, of Mogadore, Ohio, and in 1845 attended a course of lectures at Wil- loughby. He came to River Styx in the fall of 1848, and practiced there until the fall of 1851, when he went to LaFayette. He contin- ued in practice there until the fall of 1861, when he went to Columbus and attended a course of medical lectures at Starling 5Iedi- cal College, and received his diploma at the close of the term. Soon after he was ap- pointed, by Gov. Tod, Assistant Surgeon of the Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Date of rank, July II, 1862; date of commission, July 23, 18G2 ; resigned October 1, 1862. In 1863, he was appointed Post Surgeon at Louis- ville, Ky., remaining there until the spring of 1864, when he resigned and returned to La Fay- ette, soon afterward moving to Medina, where he has continued to practice up to the present time. Dr. Elder came to Litchfield in 1848; prac- ticed there about three years and moved to Huntington, Ohio, thence to Indiana. Dr. Aurelius H. Agard commenced the study of medicine hj attending lectures at Cleveland, Ohio, in the winter of 1846-47, having, the year previous, occupied the office of Drs. Fisher and Warner, engaging in preliminary studies. He pursued the study of medicine henceforth un- interruptedly, attending a second course at Cleveland, and a third at Jeflforson Medical College at Philadelphia, and graduating in the spring of 1849. Returning to Western Star, he formed a copartnership with Dr. Fisher. In 1850, Dr. Agard bought Dr. Fisher's residence, and retained the practice at "the Star ' until 185G. when he went to Sandusky City. He is now in California. Dr. William Painter was practicing medicine at Peninsula, Summit Co., Ohio, up to 1849. He attended medical lectures at the Cleveland Session of 1849-50, and graduated in the spring of 1850. He came to Weymouth and remained five or six years, when he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has continued to follow in the work from that time until the present. Dr. Henrj- Tiffany commenced the practice of medicine at Wcjniouth ; attended a course of medical lectures at Cleveland, Ohio, session of 1848-49, and settled in York about 1850. He remained there in active practice until 1861, when he moved to Medina Village and at the death of Dr. Spillman, with his son H. B. Tif- fany, bought the drug' store formerlj^ owned bj' Dr. Spillman. He died of inflammation of the bowels in 1864. Dr. AVesley Pope settled in Hinckley about 1850. Practiced in Hinckley until about 1870. Dr. E. R. McKonsie commenced the prac- tice of medicine in Litchfield about 1850, and still continues in the path of duty. 272 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ^ Dr. John Hill read laedicine in the office of Dr. A. Fisher at Western Star ; attended the first course of lectures at Cleveland, session 1849-50. In the spring of 1850, he went to California ; thence to Australia in search of gold ; returned by way of England, his mother country, in 1855. He attended medical lec- tures in Philadelphia in 1855-56, and grad- uated at the Jefferson Medical College in 1856. He located at Sharon in the same year, and soon after moved to Norton, Summit Co., where he has since lived on the farm. Dr. H. J. Grismer came to Wadsworth from Pennsylvania in 1853. He bought Dr. Lyman's place, and in 1856 sold it back again and went to Western Star ; stayed there two years and moved to Indiana. He is now living in Illinois. Dr. James C. Bradford came to Medina in 1855, and entered into copartnership with Dr. Spillman. He remained about one year and then received appointment as Assistant Phj'si- cian to Northern Ohio Insane Asylum, where he died in a short time of consumption. His pre- vious history cannot be ascertained for this work. Dr. H. E. Warner, son of Rev. Lorenzo War- ner, M. D., was born in Brunswick, on the " old farm," in 1834. Studied medicine with Dr. Hills at Columbus; while a student, was drug- gist at the Lunatic Asj'lum one 3^ear, Dr. Hills being Superintendent of the same. He was druggist, also, at the Ohio Penitentiary one year, while his father was Chaplain of the same. He attended lectures at the Starling Medical Col- lege one term, 1857-58. He located at Wey- mouth in the fall of 1858, and practiced until the fall of 18G0, when he attended lectures again at the above-named college, and grad- uated in the spring of 1861. Returned to Weymouth and continued to practice, when he was commissioned Assistant Surgeon of the Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Decem- ber 17, 1863. He was detached on special duty at Camp Chase, having charge of the rebel prisoners there confined. He was promoted to Surgeon, March 21, 1865, and remained at Camp Chase until the close of the war, in 1865. Soon after returning home, he began to fail in health, and consumption found in him a victim. He finally yielded himself up to death May 25, 1873. Dr. A. P. Beach commenced practice in Se- ville, about 1859, having read medicine with Dr. More, of Congress Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, and attended medical lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio. He has attended lectures at Cleveland, recently, for two or three terms, and received a diploma from the Medical Department of the University of Wooster. Dr. George F. Peckham read medicine with Dr. Mcintosh at Litchfield, about 1846 ; at- tended medical lectures, first course at Colum- bus, Ohio ; graduated at Geneva, N. Y., and located in Pennsjdvania. Came to Litchfield in 1860. He was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Sevent3f-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Date of rank and commission, March 25, 1864. Was mustered out with the regiment, in Julj', 1865. Afterward settled at Rawsonville. Lives now in Elyria. Dr. John L. Firestone was born in Columbi- ana Co., Ohio, in 1829. Studied medicine with Dr. Leander Firestone, 1850 to 1853. Attended one course of lectures in Cleveland, and one at Castleton, Vt., graduating there in 1854. Attended the New York Medical College in 1855, graduating there. Served two years as Assistant Phj'sician in the Northern Ohio Lu- natic Asylum. Practiced at Apple Creek, Wayne Countj^, one year, and then took charge of a drug store at Salem, because of ill health ; stayed two years, then came to Medina in spring of 1860. Practiced until August 1862, when he was appointed Surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, and served in that and the First Ohio Heavy Artillery, until the close of the war. Mustered out August 1, 1865. The following HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 273 winter was spent in the schools and hospitals of Xe^Y York Cit}', and in the spring formed a partnership with Dr. Abel Carej', a leading phy- sician and surgeon of Eastern Ohio, Dr. Care}' died in 1872, and soon Dr. Firestone's health began to fail ; so much so, that he has been compelled to seek relief in traveling abroad, visiting England, German}-, Prussia, Austria, France and the West Indies, and is still com- pelled to see himself becoming a confirmed in- valid, and able to do but little professional bus- iness. Dr. Canfield located at La Payette about 1860. He practiced a short time, when he was taken with hemorrhage of the lungs, and died with quick consumption. Dr. William Brigham located in Seville, about 1861, having been pursuing medical studies at Ann Arbor Medical College, Mich. He has con- tinued professional labors at the above-named place, up the present time, except when absent on military dutj' as Captain of a company in the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Kegiment of Oliio Volunteers. Dr. E. H. Greenman located in Granger in 1861. Stajed there two and a half years and went West. Last heard from in Oregon. Dr. David Palmer was among the early prac- titioners of Chatham, remaining up to about 1865, when he went to West Salem, thence to Eidgeville and back to Medina Village. Now residing at Lodi, this county. Dr. M. T. Hawkins came to Brunswick about 1862, and has held the practice in that and parts of adjoining towns. Dr. L. B. Parker is an old resident and phy- sician of Liverpool ; perhaps the oldest prac- titioner of the county. He has grown gray in the service, and holds the confidence of the people wherever known. Dr. William T. Ridenour came to Wads worth in the spring of 1863, originally from Maryland ; studied medicine at Smithville, Wayne Co., Ohio ; practiced three years in Wadsworth ; went to Oberhn in 1869, thence to Toledo, and is now professor in the Toledo IMedieal School- Dr. Piidenour was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Twelfth Oliio Volunteer Infantry. Date of rank, November 9, 1851 ; date of commis- sion, November 12, 1861 ; promoted to Sur- geon, date of rank and commission. Ma}' 1, 1862 ; resigned December 28, 1862. Dr. J. N. Robinson read medicine about 1850, in Chatham, Medina County, and also with Drs. Harlej- and Snodgrass in Wayne Count}'. He attended medical lectures in Cleveland dur- ing the session of 1852-53, and 1853-54, gradu- ating in February, 1854, and located for prac- tice at Lockbourne, Franklin County ; remained there eight years ; came to Medina Village about 1863. H. A. Hoyt, M. D., graduated at Yale Medi- cal College January 10, 1861 ; enlisted as a private in First Connecticut Heavy Artillery May 10, 18jl ; promoted to Hospital Steward about May 24, 1861. Appointed Assistant Surgeon, same regiment, January 17, 1863. Received discharge at his request December 8, 1863 ; settled in Doylestown, Ohio, March 16, 1864. July 23, same year, he accepted the posi- tion of Acting Assistant Surgeon United States Army, Second Division, Third Army Corps. By his request, contract was annulled Novem- ber 20, 1864 ; returned to Doylestown, Ohio ; received commission from Gov. Buckingham, Assistant Surgeon of the Sixth Connecticut In- fantry, and had ch^'ge of the regiment until mustered out August 31, 1865 ; moved to LaFayette, Medina Co., Ohio, December 15, 1865 ; had medical charge of County Infirm- ary ; practiced his profession until he removed to Hoytville, April 15, 1867 ; practiced medi- cine there three years, and went into mercantile business there. Dr. Henry Schuhmaker practiced medicine in Liverpool Township, near Abbeyville, a number of years. He was educated in Germany, his native country, and was a man of fine mold =^P iL 274 HISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. and active perceptive faculties. He died of typhoid fever and congestive fever about 1871, while but a 3'oung and promising man. Dr. J. C. Miller practiced Medicine at Lodi, about 1865, and for several years thereafter. Dr. John Slutz located and practiced medi- cine at La Payette, about 18G5 ; was there three or four years, aad for a short time also at Se- ville. He is now engaged as agent for the Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company. Dr. S. B. Frazelle came to Sharon about 1865, was a graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. He practiced in Sharon three or four years, when his health failed and he was obliged to retire, and died of consump- tion about 1870. Dr. Parker located in La Payette about 1865. He was a graduate of Cleveland Medical Col- lege, and a member of tl'ie Northeastern Ohio Medical Society ; was also physician to the County Infirmary for several years ; moved out of the count}' in 1880. Dr. A. 0. Huntley studied medicine with Dr. Stacey Hills, and practiced in Granger in the years 1866-67. Dr. N. S. Everhard, son of Jacob Everhard, was born in Chippewa January 8, 1841. He studied medicine with his brothjr. Dr. Aaron Everhard, at Papon, Wis.; graduated at Cleve- land Medical College, and located in Wads- worth in 1868. Dr. Everhard has continued to practice at Wadsworth until the present time, and holds a high position in the ranks of the fraternity. Dr. L. S. Murray studied medicine with Dr. L. Firestone, of Wooster, beginning in 1864 ; grad- uated at the Medical Department of Wooster University in the spring of 1868, and practiced in Wooster until the fall of 1868, when he came to Medina, Ohio, where he has since followed his profession. Dr. G. S. Gillett studied medicine in the oflBce of Drs. W. H. H. Sykes and J. A. Tucker, at Plymouth, Ohio ; attended medical lectures at the Western Reserve Medical College, in Cleveland, sessions, of 1864-65 and 1866-67, and, graduating February, 1867; came to Hinck- ley 1868, and is practicing there at this date. Dr. James H. Cassady has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Sharon Township since about 1870. Dr. Porter located in Granger about ten years ago, and continues to practice there. Dr. Singer came to York about 1871 ; stayed about two years, and quit. Dr. H. H. Doane commenced in Litchfield in 1872. Dr. Frank Young commenced studying medi- cine with Dr.'Darley, of Cleveland, in 1869. He attended two full courses of lectures in the old Cleveland College, and graduated in the spring of 1872 ; he located in Weymouth the same j'ear, and continues to occupy that field. Dr. Wallace Briggs studied with Dr. Lyman at Wadsworth, and graduated at Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1869. He located at Paver Styx in same J'ear, but moved to Wadsworth in 1873, and in 1877 moved to California. Dr. Hahn located in Spencer about the year 1874, occupying the office left by Dr. Warner at his death. He continues to reside and prac- tice there. Dr. Frank S. Jones began his medical career as druggist's clerk in 1865, in Medina, afterward in Cleveland, and subsequently in New York City. While in New York, he attended the New York College of Pharmacy for three sea- sons, and graduated in the spring of 1872. In the fall of 1872, he went to Chicago, and at- tended medical lectures at the Rush Medical College of that citj', graduating at that insti- tution in the spring of 1876. During a portion of the time of attending lectures, he was resi- dent physician of one of the hospitals of Chi- cago. He came to Bledina in the spring of 1876, and began practice, since which time he has continued in the line of professional duty. -,^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 275 Dr. Xewberrj' came to York about 1876, and staj'ed about one j'ear. Dr. P. E. Bench, a graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, commenced the practice of medicine at Seville, in company with his father about 1877, since which time he has been building up a practice. Dr. Thomas Hunter came to this country from the Emerald Isle, bringing with him the medical education acquired through the oppor- tunities afforded him in that historic land. He stopped off at Seville, and planted himself with- out introductory ceremonies, and no artifice or opposition could ever "rattle'' him in the least. Dr. Brown came to York about 1878, and sta}red about one year. Dr. E. E. Britton is a native of Medina County, and read medicine with Dr. Garver, of Homer. Graduated at Cincinnati in 1878, and came to Lake Station in June of the same year, and practiced there until October, when he moved to Spencer, where he now resides. Dr. John Cowan came to Lodi from Ashland County in 1879, and has a drug store in con- nection with his practice. Bead medicine with his brother, J. P. Cowan. Commenced in 1851, and graduated at Columbus in 1854. Dr. J. Wall was raised in the township of York, and read medicine with Dr. Gamble, of Liverpool, graduating at Cleveland, Ohio. He located at Sharon for a short time, but since 1879, has been practicing at York. Dr. C. G. HoUis came to Wadsworth in the spring'of 1880, from Richfield, Summit Countj'. Dr. George H. Wuchter studied medicine under Dr. Lyman, at Wadsworth. Attended three full courses of lectures at Jefferson IMed- ical College, Pennsylvania, and graduated in the spring of 1880. He is now at Piiver Styx. CHAPTER IV. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT— THE PURITAN CHURCH IN THE WILDERNEfS— EARLY RELIGIOUS SOCIE- TIES—THEIR TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS — RISE AND GROWTH OF SCHOOLS- EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS — THE PRESS— RAILROADS. THE early settlers of Medina County were a "peculiar people." Nurtured in the shad- ow of Plymouth Rock, and growing to maturi- ty under the rigid Puritan system, that scarce- ly in theory divided the church and state, they brought to this new land a religious spirit that eagerly seized upon the new Connecticut as a means to propagate a theology that had hitherto flourished only within the rock-bound limits of New England. In their native land, hedged about by traditions that had com- manded the unquestioning respect of parents and children for many generations, opposition had been thrust out, and the people began to feel, like the Jews of old, that they were espe- cially aided of God, and that they alone had kept the faith undefiled. But hitherto, it had not been successfully transplanted, and, when the "Western Reserve" was placed in the con- trol of those "to the manor born," a prominent thought in the minds of those who peopled it, was that now favorable circumstances were to aid in transplanting the Puritan faith to a spot peculiarly guarded, from which its influence like the light, should dispel the darkness and make the church of New England the church universal. Accepting the dogma of "original sin,'' they sat beneath the denunciatory preach- ina: of their native land with a meekness that was satisfied if, by the rigid rule of practice laid down, they might, peradventure, be saved. But under this quiet exterior there was a true *%^ Ml •^ 276 HISTORY OF MEDIITA COUNTY. war-like spirit, and tlie mind of each member of tiie church that had reached maturity of thought, was an arsenal of theological weapons At church meetings, in the social circles, and on the street, the ponderous themes of " elec- tion," "fore-ordination," " the perseverance of the saints," and kindred subjects, were promi- nent topics and were wielded with a power and an address that vividly recalls the physical combats of mediieval times. On coming to the new countrjr, however, these characteristics ex- perienced a change. The standing army had been mobilized, and each member was imbued with the enthusiasm of a crusader, but they found here an enemy, to subdue whom their arsenal held no adequate weapon. Their ful- minations of the decrees were met with an ap- peal to "common-sense" philosophy; dogmas were met with the demand for freedom of thought ; and the result here, as in many a phys- ical conflict, was that the light-armed forces completely demoralized those strong only in their defensive armor, and forced them to ac- cept, and in the end to champion, that freedom of thought that they had early learned to de- nounce as heresy. Societj' during the first ten or fifteen years was but little divided by sectional lines. In church, politics and social matters, neighbor- hoods for miles about were closelj^ allied by the necessities of the situation, and society in the spirit of true democracy' inquired only into the moral worth of the new comer. The ma- jority of the adults among the early settlers had been members of some one of the Christian churches in their native States, and at the first opportunity arrangements of more or less per- manent character were made for Christian wor- ship. Sectarian feelings, under the exigencies of the occasion, were lost sight of or kept strictly in abe3'ance, and Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Methodists and Baptists united to establish and continue religious worship on the Sabbath. The reminiscences of Ephraim Lindley, of Brunswick, are typical of the ex- periences of the different communities through- out the county at that time. He says : " At the first religious meetings, citizens from Liver- pool and Brunswick united. When meetings were held at "William "Warner's cabin, Justus Warner, who was an Episcopalian, took the lead of the meeting, and when at Brunswick the leader of religious exercises was of the Methodist or Congregational denominations. Generally the small family dwelling was filled with those who revered the Sabbath and church duties. The exercises commenced with sing- ing, in which all took part, and were able to keep time and sing in unison without the aid of organ or other musical instrument. After singing, prayer devout and fervent was ofiered, then a sermon was read, one or more exhorted, then closed by singing. Many of those who witnessed these religious exercises in the then wilderness, cannot have forgotten the zeal, the good feeling, the solemnitj'', that was apparent. God smiled graciouslj' on the first settlers and conferred upon them many and rich blessings while employed in rearing homes in these wilds. At the Sabbath prayer meetings there was a marked reverence, and not a few can date back to those times and places their first and lasting religious impressions." In the meanwhile, the mother State had not been unmindful of the spiritual wants of its Western ofl!spring, and the Connecticut Mission- ary Society, formed to carry the gospel of the Puritans to Vermont and Western New York, sent several of its missionaries to the New Con- necticut. Among these, were the Keverends Amasa Loomis, William Hanford and Simeon Woodruff; and it was under their guidance that most of the early Congregational churches were formed. These were established in Har- risville on October 3 and 4, 1817, with twelve members ; in Brunswick, February 19, 1819, with eleven members ; in Medina, February 21, 1819, with seven members ; in Wadsworth August 8, ^ tk HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 377 1819, with nine members ; in Granger, Novem- ber 14, 1819, with thirteen members, and soon after in Westfleld. These organizations did not at once set about erecting a place of worship, nor to secure a pastor, but they served as rally- ing points for the denomination which they represented. Other church iniluences were not less active. The JMethodist Episcopal itiner- ants were early found in all parts of the county, establishing a class at Brunswick in 1817 ; in Medina and Westfleld in 1819, and in Granger in 1820. The Baptists and Presbyterians or- ganized churches a little later, so that in 1835, each township had several religious organiza- tions. These diflerent churches, though osten- sibly independent bodies, were, in fact, in the majority of cases, a single church for all prac- tical purposes. They usually occupied the most centrally located schoolhouse, and the different missionaries so timed their visits as to arrive when there were no other appointments. A little later, union houses of worship were built, and frequentlj', at first, a single pastor conducted the services, or each secured a pastor to preach on each alternate Sabbath, the same audience attending each service. In some instances, the original proprietor of the lands here, took an in- terest in this subject which greatly aided these weak societies. In Montville, Aristarchus Cham- pion, the principal owner of land in the township, contributed $300 toward the building of a Methodist Church, and in 1827, induced Rev. S. V. Barnes, a Presbyterian minister, to locate there, by the gift of 100 acres of land. In a similar spirit, Elijah Boardman sought to estab- lish the Episcopal Church in Medina as the one with which he affiliated. The disposition thus manifested, tended to facilitate the organization of a religious sentiment that did not need awakening or quickening. The first religious service of a public character in 3Iedina, was held on the 11th day of March, 1817, Rev. Royce Searle, Rector of St. Peter's Church, of Plymouth, Connecticut, preaching the sermon. On the following day, Rev. William Hanford, a missionary of the Connecticut Jlissionary So- ciet3', preached a sermon at the same place. The county seat was considered a point of great advantage for denominational development, and Loth of these ministers, the one represent- ing the proprietor's choice, and the other the ruling element in the New as well as the old Connecticut, and both finding persons of like faith with themselves, were thus seeking by early efforts to secure the ground for their re- spective organizations. On the 10th of the fol- lowing month, the people gathered near the present residence of Herbert Blakslee and pre- pared to erect a log cabin for a place of worship. The underbrush was cleared away, the timber cut and hauled to the site of the ^proposed building, and shingles had been pre- pared from the tree, when a notice that Rev. Mr. Searle would be there in the afternoon and preach, was received. The people with one ac- cord redoubled their efibrts, and completed the structure, providing seats, by placing poles on forked stakes driven in the ground, in time to listen to the sermon at 4 o'clock in the aft- ernoon. Here the Congregationalists and the Episcopalians held services on alternate Sun- days, and continued in this way for years. This state of affairs continued without anything to dis- turb the general harmony, until about 1830 or 1835. By this time, the number of available ministers had largely increased ; the pressure of pioneer life had become less burdensome, settlers had more means to devote to the build- ing of " meeting houses,'' more members were gathered into the different organizations, and there began to be manifested on the part of the different denominations, a disposition to assert their individuality. This led to less cordiality in the union work, and gave rise to an attempt to turn the work to denominational account, which led in some cases to a violent disruption of the harmonious relations previouslj' known, and in all cases gradually to a separate place of •^1 ® s "'V 278 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. "worship and church work. On the whole, this re- sult was not altogether undesirable, as, in the main, it inculcated a proper spirit of emulation and more plainl3Mnarked the individual respon- sibilitj' of the members, resulting in greater Christian activitj'. During all this time a subtle change had been going on in the character of the people. Slinds that had been kept within rigid lines of thought, breathing in the free air of the wilder- ness, had unconsciousl3- begun to wander in the fields of speculation which had been forbidden to their earlier life, and were rapidlj' conceiving a taste for this freedom of thought. It was years, however, before these staid New Eng- land people, strictest of their sect, would ac- knowledge what was readil}' revealed to the new comer, or to their old friends in the East when they returned to visit their native places. This was the happy mean in a change that af- fected all classes of society. Some of the older people could not surrender the traditions they had respected from their youth up, the habits of thoughts that had strengthened with their growth, and they became more stern in their judgment, and contended for each jot and tittle of their faith with increased pertinacity. The other extreme was a violent reaction, in the form of infldelity, against the mental tyranny of the old Puritan faith. The seeds of this heresy did not come into the eountj- from New England, but, once here, it found fruitful ground' in the minds of those, who, held in control only by the stern influences of their native land, became restive and insubordinate when these restraints were partially removed in this wild country. This reaction was not marked, how- ever, until the whole county were suddenly awakened to the fact, by the organization and charter of an association or societj' in Medina, for the promotion of " Morals and Scientific Eesearch." This was about 1830 or 1832, and in January of 1833, and again in the following year, this society publicly celebrated the birth- day of Thomas Paine. On one occasion they heralded their freedom from the " thralldom of religious opinion,'' with cannon, and, on both occasions, a procession headed by such music as could be secured, paraded the streets of the village. The number which thus openly avowed their infidelity reached something over fifty persons, a few of whom, at least, had been church members here. A dinner and an ora- tion completed the exercises of these occasions. Although it was generally understood that such a society existed, this revelation of the extent of the evil came upon the church with startling force, and brought a stigma upon legitimate free thought, that strongly re-inforced the ranks of conservatism in the church. But the struggle for free thought was not destined to be lost or won on a single field. The question of human slavery, which had been kept in abeyance bj' the church, under the fostering influence of Garrison, the " Ohio Observer," and the Philanthropist," began to loom up into such proportions here, that it could no longer be ignored, and the continued divergence of sentiment among the people, threatened to disrupt the churches — a conse- quence which did follow in many cases. The establishment of Oberlin College, in 1833, gave strength to the progressive element in society and added to the seriousness of the situation. The Congregational and Methodist Churches suffered most by the agitation which followed. In the case of the latter, the Weslej^an move- ment, championed, if not inaugurated, by Ed- ward Smith, was seriously felt in Medina County. His powerful arguments, brought home to the intelligence of the people by forci- ble illustrations, carried conviction. His favor- ite figure was to represent those who hoped to reform the Methodist Episcopal Church from within, as a washer-woman who should jump into her tub, and, grasping the handles, expect to empty it of the water. A number of classes were formed throughout the county from these '^ !*# AGE 92 YEARS ^^ :^W HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 381 dissenting members of the Methodist Church. No buildings, however, were erected by them, and subsequentlj-, when the logic of events re- moved this question froui the forum of debate, thej' generally returned to their original church home. With the Congregational Churches the case was more complicated. These had been organ- ized on the " plan of accommodation," that of union with the Presbytery, an arrangement which had been effected through the overtures of the Presbyterian Church, which had been ac- cepted bj' the Congregational Churches in Western New York. It i^rovided for the regu- lar incorporation of these churches into the Presbyterian order for temporary purposes, al- lowing in cases of discipline the member to elect under which mode of procedure the case should be tried. In 1828, the Western Re- serve College was founded "at Hudson, with Rev. Charles R. Stows as professor, and later as President. At this period the influence of the college, under the guidance of a faculty com- posed of such men as Elizur Wright, Reriah Green and Rufus Nutting, was in favor of emancipation. This attitude was maintained until 1833, when, through the death of the Pres- ident and tlie efforts of the institution's pro- slavery friends, the administration was changed, and President Pierce, a conservative, put at the head. It was at this juncture that Oberlin College was established, having for its object, as was set forth in its first annual report, " the diffusion of useful science, sound morality and true religion, among the growing multitudes of the Mississippi Valley.'' One of its objects was the elevation of female character, and included within its general design, was "the education of the common people with the higher classes, in such manner as suits the nature of Republican institutions." These centers of college and church influence were at once brought into collision. Oberlin stood for human rights with- out reserve; for independent Congregational- ism ; for " santiflcation," " Christian perfec- tion" or "holiness of heart," in religion, as it was variously termed. On all these points it was antagonized by Hudson. " From the time of the Bdwardses, there had been a progressive and a conservative party in the churches ; the former aspiring after an enlarged liberty, and the latter seeking to repress it ; the former insisting upon the doctrine of immediate and unconditional repentance (as did Hopkins) ; the latter pleading for indulgences, postpone- ment, gradualism, and temporizing expedients ; the former responded promptly to the call for the immediate and unconditional abolition of slaver3' ; the latter had previouslj^ intrenched and fortified itself in the fortress of the Coloni- zation Society, and was determined to permit no disturbance of its quietude."* This, as near as any formula can express it, was the re- lation of these two centers of learning in the New Connecticut, and their antagonism was at once transferred to the churches in the country surrounding, arousing a rancorous contention, the echoes of which have but recently died awaj'. A man was set " at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her motlier-in-law, and a man's foes were they of his own household." While the antagonism was really between the jorogressive and the con- servative elements, the questions upon which they differed were threefold — Slavery, Congre- gationalism, and what became to be known as " Oberlin Doctrines." On the first question, the Hudson institution, in obedience to its frie^ids, had changed from its early advanced grounds to conservative views of the subject. It stiU claimed to be opposed to slavery, and repelled with indignation the charge that it was only half-hearted in the cause, and was really pro- slavery in sentiment. Its support of the " Plan of Accommodation " allied the power of the Presbytery to its interests, and for awhile it * Slavery and Anti-Slavery — By William Goodell. e^ - i> ^V '.ht^ 283 IIISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY, seemed invincible in tlie churclies. Tlie major- ity of the ministers liere were members of the Presli3-terian order, and frequently had no con- nection with the church over which they pre- sided, save as hired master of the organizations. According to the plan of union, the government of the church was in the hands of the Presby- tery, while the membership was in a great ma- jority', if not whoUj', Congregational. The ma- chinerj' of the church, therefore, was entirely in the hands of the conservative party, and it was only that the minority of the laity pos- sessed the same Puritan pertinacity with the majority, that, with the triple armor of a just cause, thej' eventuallj' triumphed. Oberlin at once became the rally ing-point for those who were ojjposed to this unnatural union, and this stronghold of conservatism was a little later shaken to its center by the organization of a " Congregational Association," the forerunner of the present conference sj'stem. Some years subsequently, the " General Assembly " of the Presbj'terian Church met at Cleveland. The question of slavery could not be kept in abej'- ance, and one of the Southern membere deliv- ered himself of a labored argument, taking the ground that the Bible sustained human slaver^-. This proved an efficient weapon in the hands of the progressive element in the churches of this county. Societj' here had outstripped the churches in anti slavery progress, and the de- fense of the Presb3-ter3-, to which the odium of this argument attached, rapidity l)ecame unpop- ular. The power of the Presbj'tery, however, though shaken, was not overthrown at once, and the " Oberlin Doctrines" became heir to the hostilities which the agitation had engendered. The Oberlin Evangelist was denounced from the pulpit; subscribers were "marked men," and were frequently shunned even by their rel- atives. It was simply the old fight for free- dom of thought, without anj' foreign question to mask it. The Evangelist demanded the abo- lition of formulas, freedom for all investigation. and the holding-fast of that which was good. The excitement permeated the whole commu- nity, and those outside of the church declared " that the devil had really come to Medina ; had got the Episcopalians all by the ears, and frightened the Methodists to their prayers, while the "Pre,sbjteriaas look on and sing, ' Sweet is the work, my God, my King.' " The end was a division in some of the principal churches in the county, the Oberlin adherents being forced out or departing to establish new organizations. This culminating point was not reached in all parts of the county at the same time, and the asperities of the agitation were greatlj' relieved by occasional revivals, one of the most remarkable occurring at Medina Vil- lage in 1844. The rapid progress of subse- quent political events hurried the disturbing question of slavery on to the final arbitrament of war, and when, on January 1, 1863, slavery was struck dead, there was no church influence but that applauded. With this the root of all bitterness removed, the step to a re-union was a short one, and this desirable consummation soon followed. Now, slavery is dead, Congre- gationalism is independent, and Oberlin gradu- ates are sought by all churches of this order — the triumph of free thought could not be more complete. The churches of the county have passed through great changes since the early days. Many have died out, some have, as an organ- ization, changed their creed, and others have sprung up and supplanted the older established ones. There are sixty-nine church organiza- tions, all but one or two possessing places of worship averaging from $1,200 to $10,000 in cost of erection. These churches are divided denominationally as follows : Methodist Epis- copal, nineteen ; Congregational, ten ; Baptist, seven ; Disciple, six ; Lutheran, sis ; United Brethren, five ; Dunkard, three ; German Ke- formed, Catholic, Universalist and Presbyterian, f HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 283 each two, and one each of the Lutheran and Ger- man Reformed united, Evangelical (Albright) Protestant Episcopal, " Church of God," and Mennonite. Lika the early immigrants in all parts of the State, the first settlers of Medina County brought here the habits of intemperance which prevailed so generally in New England in the opening years of the nineteenth century. Whisky played an important part in all forms of social life in the new community. In the cabin, on training day, at loggings and house-raisings, at the meetings of the lodges and at ministerial gatherings, the lurking evil was found. But few distilleries were to be found in the county, but there was no lack of the product ; drunken- ness was common, and sudden deaths, of which whisky was the immediately producing cause, reach upward of a score in number. In 1833, a resident of Sharon Township was seen returning from Grangerburg intoxicated, but he did not reach home. After ten days of search, his body was found 13'ing in a little stream with a jug of whisky beside him. Prom the position of the bod}' , it was thought that in his attempt to drink from the brook, he had fallen forward, and in his helpless, intoxicated state was drowned. But with this terrible vice the peo- ple brought also an antidote, and it was not long before there were earnest men and women who united to combat the curse. N. B. Northrop is credited witli giving the first regular temperance lecture in the county, and it is believed it was made in Sharon Township. However, he made speeches early, as did Timothy Hudson and others as early as 1830. The earliest recorded temperance society in the county was formed in Litchfield Township, July 4, 1832, although it is probable that there were others formed earlier, at Medina Village if not elsewhere. In 1842, the Washingtonian movement was brought here by a Mr. Turner and a companion from Cleveland. Spirited meetings were held at first in the court house, and from the county seat the influence spread in widening circles through- out the county. During this 5'ear, the Rev. D. A. Randall issued a small folio paper, called the Wdsldngtoiiian, with a page about 8x10 inches, which appeared once a month, and continued some time into the following year. In 1847, the temperance movement received a new im- pulse, and Rev. W. B. Disbro edited the Pledge, a temperance paper about the same size as its predecessor, which was published by the Meclina Temperance Society. This movement, more properly known as that which introduced the organization of the " Sons of Temperance," so far as enlisting the interest of the people went, was eminently successful. Lodges were formed throughout the county, and " Good Templar" meetings were one of the stand- ard means of entertainment in country com- munities up to the beginning of the war. The distracting influence of succeeding years drew attention from this line of effort, and the organized movement against intemperance was allowed to lose force and finally to cease alto- gether. A few saloons were started in each of the principal villages in the county, and the druggists made the liquor traffic a prominent part of their business. This was about the state of affairs in the latter part of 1873, when the " Crusade " began in Washington Court House, in Highland County, Ohio. Dio Lewis was prominent in this movement, and, writing of its operations, he said ; " There are four distinct stages. First, the conversational, which must be com- plete before the second step — -the large public meeting, at which the best ladies in the town must be appointed in large numbers — is taken. The third stage will require no management. It is the stage of saloon visiting, and the women will take care of it. The fourth stage is that of tying up the loose strings, clinching the nail with reading-rooms. It must be done in this order." The effort was attended with wonderful success, and, for a month or two. \p^s ^r^ 'i\ 284 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. confined itself to Southern Ohio ; but, as tlie work spread, the enthusiasm kindled into a grand conflag?-ation that leaped State barriers and enveloped the whole land. It reached Medina Countj' in February, 1874. The work had attracted the attention of the good people of the county very early, and the '' first stage" had been passed when, in the Gazette of the 27th of this month, a notice was given for a mass* meeting at the Methodist Church. The public thought may be well expressed in the comments of the paper on this notice, as fol- lows : " We do not understand that the meet- ing is intended to inaugurate the praying crusade or any special method, but that it is hoped that it may help to strengthen the pub- lic sentiment on the side of temperance, and encourage greater activity and zeal in sup- pressing liquor selling and liquor drinking.'' The meeting thus introduced recognized at once that the " woman's temperance movement had struck Medina," and an earnest remon- strance against the local liquor traffic was drawn up to circulate for signers. On the 11th of March, a Woman's Temperance League was organized at Medina, and a vigorous campaign inaugurated on the plan followed elsewhere. The movement gradually spread to the out- lying portions of the county. Even the country townships without saloons had organi- zations that did yeoman service in educating public sentiment and supporting the general work. A Men's Temperance Union was formed in May at Medina Village, which had for its ob- ject " to take notice of all violations of the law of the State and ordinances of this village for the suppression of drunkenness and intemperance that may come to their knowledge." This was a type of the work throughout the county which engaged the active interest of the lead- ing men and women in every township. The result was eminently successful everywhere. Saloons were closed, and druggists came upon temperance grounds. The project of a read- ing room was talked of at considerable length, but a public library was finally established, which still exists for the use cif all for a small consideration. The results of this movement in the county were crystallized in the form of a Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which was auxiliary to a State organization of the same style. Other organizations, such as the Young People's Christian Temperance Union, Temperance Battalion, etc., tending to interest the younger portion of the county, and an organization of the Temperance Gleaners, especially for the children, were inaugurated. On the 7th of April, 1877, the "Murphy movement " struck Medina. The effort was ad- dressed to individuals, and began in Pitts- burgh, through the exertions of Francis Mur- phy, a reformed drunkard. It started as an entirely secular movement, and was carried on with wonderful success. It gradually spread along the lines of railroad leading out of that city, reaching one town after another, like the spread of an epidemic. It, however, soon took on a religious nature, and proved as wide- reaching as the '■■ Crusade " that had preceded it. In response to an invitation from some of the citizens of Medina, Messrs. 0. B. Dealing, John McConnell and Mr. Howard, of Warren, Ohio, who had been engaged in the work there, came to the county seat and inaugurated the movement, A Young Men's Temperance Un- ion was formed, and the pledge, printed on a card to be signed, was circulated, and, for a time, these " Murph3- cards " were popularly considered as a certificate of good moral char- acter, and a general passport to the favor of the people. There were numerous cases wheie these cards were secured and used for disrepu- table purposes, but, in the main, the result was to advance the temperance sentiftient of the country. The interest spread throughout the county, and organizations were formed in Brunswick, Liverpool, York, Lodi, Wadsworth, Seville, Weymouth, Sharon, and, finally, to ^1? HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 285 every part of the county. A blue ribbon be- came the badge of the organization, and the majority of those to be met wore it conspicu- ously displayed on their clothing. The inter- est continued for several months, when its absorbing influence gave way to other mat- ters. On April 19, 1879, another temperance wave struck Medina. At that time, Harvey L. Simon, of Cleveland, began a series of " Gospel Tem- perance Meetings " under the " Medina Chris- tian Temperance Union.'' The temperance people were generally awakened, donned the blue ribbon, and a number of drinking men signed the pledge, and adopted the blue ribbon as the insignia of their faith and practice. The boys and girls of the village joined the " blue ribbon brigade,'' and temperance meetings were held at the schoolhouse ever}' afternoon at 4 o'clock. This was a local matter, and did not extend, except incidentallj', to other parts of the county. The temperance organizations throughout the county still remain in vigorous condition. The " Union " holds quarterly meet- ings in the various parts of the county, and union temperance meetings are, once a month, held on a Sundaj- evening in all the villages, besides, in manj- places, a temperance prayer- meeting on each Sabbath. * Nothing is more characteristic of the settle- ments on the Western Eeserve than the promi- nence which educational effort early attained in their social development. The settlements ■were sparse, and money or other means to se- cure teachers were obtained with great diffi- culty, but parents and children alike seemed to appreciate the great advantage which knowl- edge bestowed, and made endless sacrifices to gain this coveted gift. In many cases, in Me- dina County, schools were begun and carried * For Ihfi ^patpr part of tbia subject, the writer ia indebted to the pen of \Vm. P. Clark, Esq. on as a labor of love, without hope of reward, and in one instance, at least, a schoolhouse was erected before there were any scholars to at- tend. These primitive schoolhouses were very much of the same general plan. Logs were cut sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and of these the walls were raised. " Shakes " com- posed the roof, and a rude fire-place and clap- board door, a puncheon floor, and the cracks filled with " chinks,'' and with these latter, daubed over M'ith mud, completed the construc- tion of the schoolhouse. The window, if an}', was made bj- cutting out a log the full length of the building, and over the opening in winter was placed a well-greased paper, that served to keep out the storm and admit the light. Just under this window, two or three strong pins were driven into the log in a slanting direction. On these pins, a long puncheon was fastened, and this was the desk upon which the writing was done. For seats, they used benches made from small trees, cut in lengths of ten or twelve feet, split open, and, in the round side, two large holes were bored at each end which re- ceived the supporting legs. The books were as primitive as the house. The New Testament, when it could be had, was the most popular reader, though, occasionally, a copy of the old " English Header " was found, and very rarely, the '' Columbian Orator " was in the family ; Pike's and Smilej-'s arithmetics ; Webster's Speller was first used, and after awhile the " Elementary' Speller" came in. Grammar was seldom taught ; when it was, the text-books were Murraj-'s or Kirkham's grammars. " The primitive schoolhouses were in kecising with the homes of the pupils. They were warm, if nothing more, as it was only necessarj^ to make a bee and re-mud the spaces between the logs each fall before the cold weather came on. Children who were barefooted till the school commenced, and sometimes till the snows covered the hills and ice the streams, were not so sensitive to cold as pupils of these latter ' ^ ^ ^(^ t 286 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. claj's. The writer has often seen boys sliding down hill, and upon the ice with bare feet till midwinter. It was easier to build the houses and warm them, however, than to obtain money to paj* teachers, small as the wages were — often but $1 a week for women and $2 or S3 for men, and board with the pupils. Books cost money, and were not easy to be procured. The instructors of those daj-s would make a poor show beside those of the present, so far as knowledge of text-books is concerned. It is no slander to say that teachers who could not master square root or who had not seen the in- side of a grammar, were more numerous than those who dared to make pretensions to sach qualifications. There was at first no public fund available, and in a later period the fund for the pa3-ment of teachers was quite small, and what was lacking was made up by assess- ments pro rata, on those who attended the school ; hence, the teacher was often compelled to wait for a part of the small sum promised him, till it could be collected. But let it not be supposed that there was no good work done in those schools. The reading, the spelling, the writing and the ciphering, so far as the teacher could go, need not have been ashamed to stand beside that of these clays of high culture and extended literarj- attainment. The seeds sown broadcast in the forests have germinated and grown during these many years, and now we behold the magnificent harvest. Prominent among the teachers of an early daj- in the com- mon schools, but at a time when the demands of the schools and the accomplishments of the teachers had greatly advanced, were John Cod- ding. Homer Warner, Nathan Nettleton, Duthan Northrup, Robert F. Codding, Samuel B. Cur- tiss, John B. Chase, Samuel W. McCUire, Jon- athan Beebe, Jolin L. Clark, Halsey Hurlburt, James A. Bell, Calvin Chapin, Slilo Loomis, Joshua C. Berry, William Paul, Jacob Bell, David Holmes, William Crane, Grant Low, E. S. Bissell, T. II. Hills, M. C. Hills, Dr. S. Hills, C. T. Hills and Sherman Bronson. The system for the examination and licens- ing of teachers, was fluctuating until 1853. From 1825 to 1829, the Court of Common Pleas appointed three examiners for a term of one year, who gave certificates for teaching " read- ing, writing, arithmetic and other necessary branches of a common education." From 1829 to ] 833, the Clerk of Common Pleas appointed a suitable number of examiners, not less than five nor more than the number of townships in the county, who served for two years. From 1834 to 1836, the court made the appointment, and the number was limited to five. But the Board of Examiners were required to appoint one examiner in each township for female teachers only ; and in no case was a certificate to be given, unless the applicant was found qualified to teach reading, writing and arithme- tic, and sustained a good moral character. From 1836 to 1838, three examiners were elected in each township. The writer has no means of giving the names of many examiners during that period. It is remembered, however, that Russell Thayer held the office in Montville Township ; Dr, Thomas Rowe, in La Fayette Township; William Paull, T. H. Hills and John Codding, in Granger Township. From 1838 to 1853, the Court of Common Pleas appointed three County Examiners, for a term of three years. The first board under this act consisted of Rev. H. Lyon, Principal of Richfield Academy; John McGregor, Principal of Wads- worth Academy, and I. R. Henrj^, a lawyer of Medina Village. The last board under this act was composed of Rev. G. S. Davis and Hermou Canfleld, Esq., of Medina Village, and William P. Clark, of Montville, Principal of a select school in Medina Village. This board was re- quired to hold four quarterlj' examiuations in each year, in any part of the county as might be convenient, free to all applicants, but either Examiner could hold private or special exam- IIISTOUY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 289 life. The number of their pupils was in- creased, their course of study was enlarged, and they became more of a power thau ever. The Medina Select SL'hool was owned and controlled for several years by William P. Clark. During each spring and fall, it had a Normal Depart- ment, and drew pupils from all parts of the count3'. Its course of stud^- included not oniy common and higher English branches, liut al-ja the natural sciences, mathematics, and an elc- mentarj- course in the Latin, Greek and Frencli languages and instruction on the piano, giving employment to three teachers. Schools of a higher order than furnished by the common-school system, called select schools or academies, early supplemented the work of thecDmmon schools in ir!nckle3',G-ranger, Shar- on, Wadsworth, Seville, York, Lafayette, Litch- field, Chatham, Lodi and Spencer, as well as 3Iedina. To these schools, persons who had a love for study or who were ambitious to teach, rcsorti'd for instruction in sciences not taught in the common schools, or for more thorough instruction in such as were taught in them. The effects were soon ajjparent in better dis- trict schools. Hazing and locking-out teach- ers, incident to a state of societj' such as is found in a new country, where might instead of right, and muscle instead of brains, are often applauded, gave place to order and culture. These higher grades of schools were supported by tuition or term bills, ranging from $2 to $4 for a term of twelve weeks. These select schools were independent, subject only to the control of the instructors, while the academies were under the nominal supervision of a Board of Trustees, who employed or dismissed the teachers at their pleasure ; but, as the ftinds for both, in most cases, were dependent upon the number of pupils and the studies pursued, there was always a powerful motive to sacrifice thoroughness and order to popularity. The superior instruction actually given in these schools, however, and their popularity, had a dotrimcntal effect upon the public schools in one respect. Although they furnished them good teachers, the}^ were necessarily rivals. Most of the better scholars were drawn to the private schools until only the poorer scholars and the children of those who were unable or unwilling to pay the bills in the private schools were left in the district schools. Thus the circumstances which made the select schools and the acade- mies better, made the district schools poorer, and at the same time fostered a spirit of caste. This state of things could not continue. The needs of the public soon devised a remedj-, and those teachers who were most successful in the private schools, became leaders in a movement which ruined the select schools and academies. This revolution was not effected at once, and these higher private schools were continued with some interruptions for a num- ber of j-ears. Prominent among the teachers in this class of schools in the county, were Samuel W. JlcClure, E. H. Fairchild, William P. Clark, S. G. Barnard, C. F. Hudson, Charles A. Foster, A. B, Whiteside, W. W. Ross, L. C. Cotton, E. W. Boynolds, H. H Mack, Alvin Dinsmore and Q. ^I. Bosworth. At length, the subject of graded schools was agitated with more determination on the part of those who desired their establishment. Ble- dina Village took the lead. A large school building was erected, but not without consider- ble opposition. The strange inconsistencj' and the remarkable blindness of people to the best interests of their families, was seen in men having children to educate who had not a dol- lar of property to be taxed, voting with the ene- mies of free schools against the building of more commodious schoolhouses, because the taxes would therebj'be increased. After much effort, the progressive party seemed to succeed. The provisions ofthe Akron school law were so far complied with as to obtain the requisite number of names of legal voters to a petition to the proper authorities to order the inaugura- ;^ M k. 290 HISTORY OF MEDIJfA COUNTY. tion of a graded school in Medina Village. The Medina Select School was discontinued ; its school building and grounds were sold and con- verted to other uses ; but the papers which were to set in motion the machinery of the new schools, were either never presented to the au- thorities or were never acted upon. Thus the matter rested. After the discontinuance of the Medina Select School, since there were no graded schools, there was need of additional school facilities in Medina Village, and BIr. S. G. Bar- nard, a member of the Board of School Exam- iners, opened a select school there. One of the characteristic features of it was its normal department. To this school, a large number of teachers and persons desiring to become teach- ers came, and were greatly aided in their preparation for their chosen work. Penman- ship and book-keeping were also made special- ties ; and an extended commercial course, limited only by the desires or time of the stu- dents, was added. But the agitation of the subject of graded schools did not cease ; and, eventually, the plan went into operation under the general school law. The schools were carefully graded, and are accomplishing even more than the most sanguine of the friends of the measure dared to promise for them. The graded or union school sj'stem has been adopted also in Wadsworth, Seville, Wey- mouth, Le Roy and Lodi Townships. High schools have been established in Hinckley, Granger, Sharon, Chatham and perhaps Litch- field. These high schools are supplying a need in the townships where they are located, and are rendering efficient aid in perfecting the public school system. The Academical Asso- ciation of Lodi bore the palm for excelling all others in the beauty, amplitude and conven- ience of its school building, and the extent of its school grounds. Although Messrs. Has- kins. Miller and Grannis did good work there, the organization came too late to succeed with- out an endowment. The building and grounds have passed into the possession of the village Board of Education, and, under the new man- agement, the school has a bright future. Since the adoption of the present school law, teachers' institutes have been held regu- larly in various parts of the countj', under the direction of a County Teachers' Association, and are believed to be a profitable waj' of ap- propriating the funds. Many teachers and others attend them, and there is no doubt but thej' are making known to teachers of less ex- perience the better methods of instruction pursued by instructors of larger experience. The}^ are also making known to teachers of the ungraded schools the superior methods of graded schools. Thus they are manifestly con- tributing to raise the standard of education in the county. Although the credit of originat- ing the plans of graded and union schools, and securing the adoption of these plans, is usually given to the managers of these institutes, and although these schools are largely indebted to them, there was a graded school in Medina County before an}' institutes had been held in the West, if not in New York or New England. The honor of originating the plan and success- fully carr3'ing it out belongs to Hon. John Codding, Silas Swan, Ulysses Young and Burt Codding, of Coddingville. The school con- sisted of two departments — high school and primary. The high school was first taught by Eev. William Johnson, and afterward in suc- cession by William H. Barnard, William P. Clark, F. D. Kimball, Stephen B. Woodward, and others. Although lacking in conveniences and funds, being taught in a plain house of only two rooms, and supported in part by a tax on those who sent to it, the school did good work in training the youth of that part of Granger and Sliaron. No other school in Medina County has fur- nished so many men for the performance of public work as this. The prominence which VF !^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 291 the township of Granger has had in furnishing public men is behex'eJ to be owing largely to the superior facilities she gave for preparation in this and other schools. Anj' history of educational progress in Me- dina Countj' which omits to mention the work of John JIcGregor, Principal of both the academies of Sharon and Wadsworth, and that of Rev. Harvey Lyon, of Medina, and subse- quentljr of Richfield Academy, is wanting in an essential feature. These men, in their capacity of teachers and examiners, labored earnestly and arduously to elevate the stand- ard of education. Many teachers of that day owe their eliisiency and usefulness to them. To them, also, many who never engaged in the work of common-school instruction, owe much of their success in life. Before teachers' insti- tutes were known, meetings of teachers for the purpose of mutual consultation and aid were held and addressed in various parts of the countj- by these veterans. There is no more important feature of the history of the county's social development, or one which more accurately measures it, than the newspaper. A public servant in the truest sense, it lives only by the voluntary support of the people, and, as a matter of necessity, in the main, reflects the average sentiment, enterprise, and moral development of the communitj' in which it appears. The people who settled Me- dina Count}' were a thinking and a reading people, and for a number of years depended upon the Cleveland Herald for their political news and to air their opinions. This close re- lation with Cleveland, rendered easy by the means of direct communication, delayed the establishment of a home paper until 1832, since when it has grown and improved with the county until its legitimate successor stands among the weeklies of the State, with few equals in point of influence and circulation. The first newspaper published in Medina Vil- lage, and the first in the county, was a weekly Democrat and Anti-Masonic journal, called the Ohio Pi-i'f Ftcsx anil }[r "fy ^ !fe HISTOBY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 2t)9 tion of this enterprise, John A. Clark bought a half-interest in it, and, having added to the material, on the 4th of May, 1866, issued the first number of the En terprise. The paper was a six-column folio. After running a j'ear, Mr. Clark purchased Mr. Root's interest, and con- tinued the publication of the paper alone until 1870, when Emanuel Lowry became a partner for one year. The business again reverted to Mr. Clark's sole proprietorship, with a rapid increase of business. In 1874, a three-story brick build- ing was erected for its accommodation, steam presses bought, and no office in the countj' had better facilities for doing its business. The Eu- terprise has several times changed its form and style, and, in the present year (1880), was sold to George Diplej-, but soon reverted to Mr. Clark, who is now the sole proprietor. The paper is independent politically, though de- voted principally to home news. It is now a seven-column folio. The Seville Times is an eight-column folio, published weekly at Seville, by C. C. Day. The first paper in this village was established in 1868. This was called the Seville Democrat, and was edited hj a Mr. Adams. The paper originated in the desire of the members of the Democratic part}' for an organ. Adams con- ducted it but a short time, when F. G. McCauley took up the editorial quill, changing the name of the paper to Medina County Democrat. This effort to give the paper a broader signiiieance had but little influence upon its prosperitj-, and it went the way of all Democratic papers in Medina County, in the course of three years. In March, 1872, the Seville Tiiaen was estab- lished by Roberts & Coulter. The former soon left, and Coulter continued the paper until the spring of 1874, when he died. Mr. J. T. Graves wielded the editorial pen the succeeding sum- mer, and Mrs. Coulter, the mother of the former proprietor, conducted the paper for awhile. In March of 1876, C. C. Day took charge, and has conducted it with success and profit. Gleanings in Bee Culture is a monthly' peri- odical devoted to bees and honey, published and edited by A. I. Root. The history of this period- ical is told by the proprietor in the preface of his admirable work entitled "The A, B, C of Bee Culture." Speaking of his success in bee culture, he says : ''This capped the climax, as inquiries in regard to the new industry began to come in from all sides ; beginners were eager to know what hives to adopt, and where to get honey extractors. The fullest directions I knew how to give for making plain, simple hives, etc., were from time to time published in the American Bee Juarnal, but the demand for further particulars was such that a circular was printed, and, shortly after, a second edition, then another, and another. These were in- tended to answer the greater part of the queries, and, from the oheering words received in regard to them, it seemed the idea was a happy one. " Until 1S73. all these circulars were sent out gratuitously ; but, at that time, it was deemed best to issue a quarterly at 25 cents a year, for the purpose of answering these inquiries. The ver}' first number was received with such favor that it was immediately changed to a monthly, at 7.5 cents per annum. The name given it was Gleanings in Bee Culture, and it was gradually enlarged, until, in 187G, the price was changed to $1. During all this time, it has served the purpose excellentlj', of answering questions as they come up, both old and new." The G'leeni- ingx is now about to commence its ninth j'car ; it is a neat pamphlet, G|^xlO inches, contains an average of 52 pages, and has a circulation of something over 4,000. The TeoeJiers Guide is an eight- page quarto, with 10xl4-inch page, published at York, by J. R. Ilolcomb & Co., and devoted to teachers and school interests. It was first is- sued in 1875, bi-monthly, and was, perhaps, more profitable as a means of advertising than as an educational journal. Still, it acquired .if- Lt^ 300 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. considerable success, and has gradually been transformed into a regular teachers' journal. In the spring of 1880, J. D. Holcomb assumed editorial control, and has gained for it a good standing among teachers. It is printed on fine, heavy paper, contains in each number a portrait of some one prominent in educational or literary pursuits, accompanied bj' a well- written sketch of his career, and is every way worthy of the success it is receiving. Juvenile periodicals have had some atten- tion in the county, as well as weekl}' newspa- pers. The Gem was the title of a juvenile paper that originated in York, and later was published in Wadsworth. It reached a large circulation, gained b}' the shrewd use of pre- miums, but it gained an unenviable reputation a little later, and was discontinued. The Apple BlosHom was another juvenile of this character, established in Seville by H. A. Brotts, in 1874. The proprietor had served some time in the otHce of the Gem, and sought to establish a kindred business in Seville ; it continued, how- ever, onlj' about a j'ear. There was another of these lesser periodical lights established in Seville a little earlier, but it was printed en- tirely at another place, and continued but a short time. Scarcely second among the great forces that develop the moral growth of a community, are the thoroughfares that connect it with the out- side world. Thej' are the arteries which carrj' the elements of growth and vigor from the cen- ters of church and school influence, and of commercial activity, to remoter points, and the great hindrance to the rajjid moral as well as material growth in frontier communities in that early day, was this lack of easj- communication with the rest of the world. Information of all sorts was meager and generallj' inaccurate, and a place ten miles awaj' was more unknown to the pioneers for the first fifteen or twentj- years than Europe is to us to-day. The papers were almost universally taken up too much with State and national affairs to mention local matters, and there was nothing to incite the community to a generous rivalry, or to awaken an enterprising enthusiasm. The earliest road was the one now gener- ally known as the Smith Koad, passing east and west through the middle of the county. This was a military road, but was so overgrown by underbrush that the earliest settlers found it almost impassable. There is a tradition that Gen. Smith was forced to abandon several pieces of brass artillery near where the road crosses the Rocky Eiver, and some attempts have been made to discover them, but without success. Another early road led from Cleve- land to Wooster, passing through Medina Vil- lage, and was ultimately rebuilt as a turnpike and constituted the main line of travel. " For several years prior to the erection of Medina County, the establishment of roads was un- settled. Each settler undertook to make a road to suit his own convenience, and not un- frequently he joined with his next neighbor in opening a way that could be of mutual advan- tage. The making of bridges generally called together the whole force of the then sparse communitj', and- manj- days would be wholly devoted to the construction of a bridge that would probably be carried away by a succeed- ing freshet. After the organization of the county, small appropriations, were made for opening roads and making bridges. As money was then scarce, a man would work at road- making from rising to setting sun for 50 cents and board himself "It was much easier to get timber necessary for a bridge to the allotted spot, than to get the logs placed. Ox-teams were used in haul- ing, but rendered little aid in placing timbers. Rocky River was the largest stream flowing through several of the newly settled townships, and the intercourse between small settlements. \3' ^1 u^ HLSTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 301 forced the inhabitants, as a matter of conven- ience, to decide upon places for bridges, and unite in building them for general accommoda- tion. Man}- of the first settlers spent daj's at their own expense for this purpose, and did not consider it oppressive. It was no uncommon thing to see all the men in a communitj^ con- gregated earlj-, without stockings or shoes, laboring all day in the water, fixing abutments and placing the long, heavj' stringers thereon. As puncheons were used for flooring in nearlj' every dwelling, they were considered equally good for bridging. It is not hazardous to say that, in 1815, and for five years thereafter, five men actuall}- performed more labor on roads than twentj' men do in these latter da3's. Neces- sity forced them to be industrious, and their future prospects urged them to labor. It was not unusual for the men, while engaged in put- ting up a bridge, to see their wives coming through the woods in various directions, laden with cooked provisions intended for those em- ployed at work on the. road, to save the time their husbands must lose if they resorted to their cabins for dinner."* The roads thus con- structed, were the local highways, known in common parlance as county roads. As the community settled in Medina County increased in numbers, and its business began to assume considerable proportions, a demand for better communications began to be felt. Cleveland was the principal market for all this region of country at that time, and about 1827 the Wayne, Medina and Cuyahoga Turnpike Com- panj- was organized. This company was granted the privilege of turnpiking the old road which led from Cleveland to Wooster, and charge toll for the use of it, placing gates every ten miles along the pike. There were two of these gates in the county, one near the center of Medina Township, and the other in Guilford Township, near Seville. This road was finished in 1830, and became the gi-eat outlet of the county and * Northrop's History of Medina County. country south. Very soon after it was finished, Neal & Co., the great hack-line operators, estab- lished a line of coaches, that passed each way between the terminal points, daily. During the inclement season the road became almost im- passable, frequently obliging the stages to cease running, or to make only weekly trips. The Watchimcer of February 9, 181:2, speaks of the horrible state of the turnpike, and states that the mail was thirteen hours coming from Woos- ter, a distance of twentj'-four miles, and four- teen hours coming from Cleveland, a distance of twenty-eight miles. Besides these evidences of growth and activity, there were numbers of huge Pennsylvania " land-schooners," that made regular trips from the South, carrying flour, pork and grain to Cleveland, returning laden with merchandise for the dealers in Wayne County. The Ohio & Erie Canal, having been started in 1825, and passing through Akron, made this quite a market for produce, and the southern portion of Medina Countj- found this the most convenient point for shipping their surplus product. In 1828, therefore, a free road was projected from Elyria, in Lorain County, to Akron, in Summit. About 1830, the building of railroads began to be agitated in the State, and the Mad River road was followed among others by the Cleveland & Columbus Railroad, now known as the Cleveland, Columbus, Cin- cinnati & Indianapolis Railway. Some of the preliminary surveys for this road were made through Medina County ; considerable subscrip- tions were made to the stock of the proposed road, and a citizen of the county, Jeremiah Higbee, elected one of the Directors. Strong influence at Berea, however, diverted the di- rection of the road to its present course. This was finished in 1851, and a project was at once set on foot by such men as Hon. Hiram Bron- son, Judge S. N. Sargent, Judge W. H. Canfield, and others, to secure a railroad from Medina to connect with this road at Grafton. This pro- J^.. Soon after this disastrous event, the regiment was assigned to the First Bri- gade, Mower's Division, Sixteenth Corps, Gen. McMillan commanding the brigade, and, on the 22d of June, was ordered on an expedition in the direction of Tupelo, Miss. The enemy was encountered on the 11th of July, and, in the battle which followed, the Seventy-second was hotly engaged, but, with the help of the remain- der of the brigade, drove the enemj' from the field in a rout. In another attack from the enemy near Tishomingo Creek, the Seventy- second was engaged, and its commanding offi- cer, Maj. B. A. Ranson, fell, mortallj' wounded. A precipitous charge drove the enemy from the field. The loss to the Seventy-second in this expedition, was two officers and nineteen men wounded. After this and until the 16th of November, the division under Mower made several efforts to reach Price, who was march- ing north, but, after long marches, attended with great suffering and privation, for hun- dreds of miles through rivers and swamps, in weather varying from warm to intenselj^ cold, it was found impossible to catch Price, and the infantry turned back, and reached St. Louis at the last-mentioned date. After a brief rest, the division, then under Gen. J. A. McArthur, was ordered to join -Gen. Thomas at Nashville, and soon afterward the Seventy-second en- gaged the enemy and lost eleven men killed and wounded. At Nashville, the regiment par- ticipated in a charge, and three hundred and fifty of the enemy were captured, together with six pieces of artillery. It took part in the fight of the 16th of December, and participated in the charge on Walnut Hill. In this engage- ment, McMillan's brigade, though numbering but twelve hundred men, captured two thou- sand prisoners and thirteen pieces of artillery, losing, in the meantime, one hundred and sixty men, At Eastport, the troops subsisted several days on parched corn. Early in 1865, the division passed down the river to the Gulf, and invested Spanish Fort, which was evacu- ated on the 8th of April. The regiment also participated in the capture of Fort Blakely. After occupying several positions and doing garrison duty in Alabama and Mississippi, the regiment finally reached Meridian, Miss. In June, forty-one men were discharged. The re- mainder were mustered out at Vicksburg, Sep- tember 11. 1865, and immediately embarked for Camp Chase, Ohio, where they were paid and discharged. The One Hundred and Third Ohio Infantry was the next regiment that contained as much or more than a companj- of Medina County boys. Two companies, one commanded by Ly- man B. Wilcox, and the other by William H. Garrett, were recruited mostlj- in this county. The regiment was ordered into Kentucky to check the advance of the rebels under Kirby Smith. But the enemy retreated, and, after following him three days without success, the troops were ordered back to Snow's Pond, where sickness soon prostrated half the regi- ment. Tlie brigade commander was Q. A. Gilmore. After repressing outrages committed by rebel cavalry, the troops proceeded to Lex- ington, and, on the 29th of October, to Prank- fort. Here the regiment remained until April 5, 1863, when it marched to Stanford and Camp Dick Robinson, Here an effort was made to punish daring and marauding bands of guerrillas, that for several months had kept the country in a fever of alarm. The troops ad- vanced to Somerset and Mill Springs, the enemy falling back before the advancing lines. The rebels continued to retreat without concentrat- ing, though in considerable force. The Cum- berland River was crossed with difficulty, and. lA 336 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUXTY. on the 30th, the enemy was encountered, when a brisk skirmish ensued, and the rebels re- treated, and, after passing through Jlonticello^ halted ; but the Federal cavalrj' drove them from the position with considerable loss, and continued the pursuit. On the 5th of May the Union forces were ordered back to the Cumber- land, with the river as a line of defense. The regiment was fired upon, while here, bj' a " handful " of rebels, and returned the fire with but little result on either side. A report that the enemj^ was passing to their rear, caused the troops to fall back to Hickman ; but, the ■'scare" ending, they proceeded to Danville, and became a part of the Twentj'-third Army Corps, commanded by Gen. Hartsuff. On the 18th of August, the entire army under Gen, Bnrnside moved forward. The troops suffered incredible hardships on their march through Stanford, Crab Orchard, the Cumberland, at Burnside's Point, Chitwood, Moutgomer}'. Eme- ry's Iron Works, and Lenoir, to Concord^ Tenn. Knoxville, at that time occupied by the enemy, was evacuated, and immediately entered bj^ the national advance. After ma- neuvering for about a month in the neighbor- hood of Knoxville and (xreenville, the regiment joined in the general advance which drove the rebels into Jonesboro. The regiment joined in the advance of October 7>. near Blue Springs, and, with companies C and J) detailed as skir- mishers, was ordered to the front. The two companies were forced back, when four ad- vanced onlj' to find that the enemy had retired. In this engagement, the regiment lost three men killed, four wounded and six taken prisoners. On the 11th, a severe contest was had with the rebels at Blue Springs, and the latter were forced to retire. On the 4th of November, the regiment, with other troops, was ordered back to Knoxville, and immediately thereafter, the citj- was in- vested bj' the rebel force under Geo. Long- street. Great privations from lack of food and clothing were suffered. On the 25th, six com- panies of the regiment were ordered out to re- lieve a company on picket duty, and, while thus engaged, were charged upon bj' a large force of rebels. A fearful fire was poured into the ad- vancing enemj', but they continued to advance with yells of the most horrid description, and, rushing upon the Union pickets, struggled des- perately to capture the whole party. But a headlong bayonet-charge broke their lines, when thej' fled precipitously, leaving their dead and wounded on the field. Thirty-five men in killed and wounded were lost to the regiment bj' this engagement. The enemj', hearing of Sherman's approach, withdrew on the 2d of December, and, on the following day, proceeded to Straw- berry Plains. The Federal troops, without un- necessarj- delay, started in pursuit, but the regiment, after reaching Bear Station, was or- dered 1 lack to Strawberry Plains. It was ordered to advance on the 12th of .March, 1864 ; but at Morristown, after suffering repeated attacks from rebel cavalrv. fell back to Mossy Creek, where it remained until April 1. After advanc- ing to Ball's Gap, the regiment proceeded to Loudon, thence to Charleston, and at the latter place found the other two regiments of its brigade. On the 13th of Maj', it arrived as part of Sherman's grand army before Resaca and the following daj- participated in the fear- ful charge on the enem3''s lines, losing over one-third of its effective force. The enemy re- treated and was pursued by the whole army. All the wa3' on the march to Atlanta, the regi- ment was on the advance, participating in fre- quent charges and skirmishes, and losing sev- eral men in killed and wounded. At Atlanta, while Gen. Sherman was meditating the best course to pursue, the regiment was engaged in several " demonstrations," and lost a number of men. On the 28th of August, it started south with the army ; but, after destroying the rail- road near Bough and Ready, was ordered back to Jonesboro, arriving too late to participate in - TO ^ s \^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 337 the battle fought by Gou. Howard. The Twen- ty-third Corps arrived at Decatur on the 8th of September. When the Atlanta campaign com- menced, the One Hundred and Third had 450 able men ; but at its close the regiment could muster only 195. On the 20th of October, the regiment moved up to Chattanooga, and, on the 19th of Novem- ber, to Pulaski. A division at Spring Hill was drawn up to protect the trains from an impend- ing attack of the rebels, and to the regiment was assigned the duty of supporting a batter)' that could sweep the fields in front of the Na- tional troops. Large forces of the enemy moved out of the woods, and made prepara- tions to dash upon the Union lines, at which the aforesaid division, possibly foreseeing dis- astrous results, fled back, leaving the One Hundred and Third, and the battery, to with- stand the charge. The men fixed ba3'onets, and bravely waited until the enemy came within range, when a well-directed fire, seconded by the batterj', caused them to waver, and, finally, retire into the woods as the re-organized division advanced. On the last day of Novem- ber, the regiment in charge of rebel prisoners started for Nashville, remaining there until the 15th of December, when it assisted in pursuing the enemy routed by Gen. Thomas. Early in 1865, it joined Sherman's armj-, and with it " marched down to the sea," and thence to Raleigh, arriving on the 13th of April. On the 10th of June it started for Cleveland to be mustered out, and, while crossing the Alleghanj- Mountains, an accident threw three of the cars down an embankment, causing the death of three men and the maiming of man}' others. A car load of wounded men rent the air with their cries of agony. On the 22d of June the regiment was mustered out of service. The One Hundred and Twenty-fourth con- tained something more than a companj' of Me- dina boys. Company B was almost wholly from this county, and was officered as follows : George W. Lewis. Captain ; John Raidaie, First Lieutenant ; Charles M. Stedman, Second Lieu- tenant. The regiment was organized at Camp Taylor, and on the 1st of January, 1863, reached Cleveland. It was ordered to Ken- tucky, and, after remaining at Elizabethtown until March, it was ordered back to Louisville, and finally to Nashville, Tenn., where it arrived February 10. Soon afterward the regiment was sent to Franklin, where it remained until the 2d of June, preparing for the field, and par- ticipating in frequent skirmishes with the rebels, who were in force close at hand. Gen. Col- burn with four regiments of infantry, one of them being the One Hundred and Twenty- fourth, one batterj-, and a small force of cavalry, moved forward down the Columbia Pike on a reconnaissance, meeting the enemy about four miles from Franklin, and forcing them back. Flushed with success, the national troops pushed forward, and, at Thompson's Station, eight miles from Franklin, encountered a much larger force of the enemy, strongly posted behind stone walls. One of the most hotly contested battles of the war ensued, and for two hours every inch of ground was stub- bornly contested. The commanding officer, with the majority of his command, was cap- tured, and a great many were killed or wounded. Only eleven members of one regiment reached camp. The One Hundred and Twenty-fourth was not actively engaged, having been detailed to guard the ammunition train. It succeeded in saving the train and artillery. After sufier- ing terribly from fever, measles, diarrhoea and other camp diseases, the regiment, on the 2d of June, proceeded to Triune, Tenn., and a few daj'S later to Readyville, and soon afterward to Manchester. While here the regiment, was as- signed to the Second Brigade, Second Division, of the Twenty-first Army Corps. Abundant, wholesome food and clean, comfortable cloth- ing at Manchester soon almost wholly abolished the sick list, and the troops became strong. "^^ — sHv ^l^ 338 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. well drilled, and ready for the field. On the 16th of August the march over the Cumber- land Mountains began, and the troops en- camped until the 9th of September in the Sequatchie Valle}', having an abundance of ex- cellent provisions. At the latter date, the Ten- nessee River was forded, and the troops ad- vanced and camped near the Chickamauga bat- tle-ground. On the 19th of September, the en- emj' being in force in front, the troops, early in the morning, prepared for battle. The One Hundred and Tvventj'-fourth moved forward to the State road, where it stood ready for the fray, until 11 o'clock. The regiment threw out Company B as flankers, and moved in the direction of the left, where heavj' firing was heard. The line of the left was reached, and the bugle sounded the advance. Under a severe fire, the regiment deployed, and returned the shots of the enemy until the ammunition was exhausted, when it fell back to replenish. It again moved to the front, delivering a rapid and destructive fire, and forcing the enemy back a short distance. Ordered to the right, it took a position at the left of the brigade, and, as the front line of the Federal troops gave way, the full force of the terrible fire from the rebel lines struck this and other regiments. The regiment, being unsupported, fell back, but stubbornly resisted the advance of the exultant enemy. During the night, it laj' encamped on the left, in front of the rebel Joe Johnston's, division. The battle had been fought all day, without food and water, and, as darkness fell, the tired men " had sunk on the ground over- powered, the wear}' to sleep, and the wounded to die." One hundred men of the regiment were killed, wounded or captured. The 20th of September dawned bright and beautiful. The battle was renewed with great furj', and the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth, behind a breastwork of logs and rails, poured volley after volley into the enemy's ranks, and repulsed se-i'cral desperate attempts to gain the position and capture the battery. At 3 o'clock P. M., the regiment was ordered to the support of the right, as the enemy on the left had re- tired. Several men were lost in this movement, and, after the position had been gained and the enemy driven back, the regiment was again moved to the support of the right. Here, again, the rebels fell back before the murderous fire, and the troops, forming a hollow square, re- mained thus until dark, when a retreat was or- dered. The regiment bivouacked for the night in line of battle near Rossville. and the next morning took a front position on Mission Ridge, remaining there all day under the fire of a rebel battery. The retreat was continued the next night, and on the 22d. the regiment encamped near Chattanooga. The regiment lost during the battle in killed, wounded and missing, one hundred and forty men. Col. Payne being among the wounded. At Chatta- nooga, forts and breastworks were built, and the men and animals put on half-rations. The regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division of the Fourth Arm}' Corps. About 9 o'clock on the evening of October 26, 1863, the regiment, with a carefully selected detachment of about 1,700 men, equipped with 100 rounds of cartridges per man, embarked on boats and fioated cautiously down the Ten- nessee, past Lookout Mountain, passing the enemy's pickets without discover}'. A short distance below the mountain, the boats pulled ashore, the troops landed, and rushed up the bank, and, though met bj' a heavy fire, drove the rebels back, and captured Raccoon Ridge. Company I, under Lieut. Galbraith, was de- ployed as skirmishers, and the remainder of the regiment began hastily throwing up breast- works. At daylight, the enemy made several desperate attempts to retake the position ; but were severely repulsed, and, finally, driven from that portion of the valley. A ponton- bridge was thrown across the river, enabling Gen. Hooker's army to cross, and virtually ^^ fe HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 339 raise the siege of Ctiattanooga. The regiment remained on Raccoon Ridge several days, sub- sisting on parched corn and boiled wheat, and then returned to its old camp in the suburbs of Chattanooga. November 23, in the struggle for the occu- pation of Mission Ridge, the regiment was as- signed a position on the left. It advanced and carried the enemj-'s rifle-pits on a range of hills between Fort Wood and Mission Ridge, and, moving on, took the rebel works on the summit. Here, exposed to a heavy artillery fire, the men threw up rude breastworks. The next day was passed at work and on picket duty. On the afternoon of the 25th, it was ad- vanced on the skirmish lines with orders to charge at the signal of six guns, and take the en- emy's works at the foot of Mission Ridge. Six hundred j'ards of open ground la}' before the regiment, and, as the chosen signal rever- berated along the hills, the troops advanced with steady fire, and, as the rebels began to retreat, they swept forward with cheers, carried the works, and turned the guns upon the re- treating foe. Orders to advance had not been received, and the men, exposed to a murderous artillery fire, were wavering, when a tremen- dous shout swept along the lines, and the whole advance began scaling the mountain. A fear- ful fire of grape and canister poured down upon them ; but the brave men dashed on and on, reached the summit, carried the works, planted the stars and stripes on the highest point, and sent showers of deadly missiles after the routed enemy. The One Hundred and Twenty-fourth captured seven pieces of artil- lery, two caissons, eighty stand of arms, and a wagon -load of ammunition. On the 26th, the regiment was ordered to the relief of Knoxville, arriving opposite the city on the 10th of December. The besieging reb- els, anticipating that re-enforcements would be sent to the distressed city, made a last and furious assault on the works, but were repulsed. when they fell back and withdrew. After a few days the regiment went into camp at Clinch Mountain. The weather became very cold, and the men, poorly clad, with but few tents, kept busy cutting wood and lighting huge fires. In Januarj', the regiment began erecting rude log houses at Dandridge, but was driven away by a superior force of the enemy. The regiment was kept constantly on the march in East Tennessee for the next two months, thus preventing the men from drawing their clothing. As a consequence, they became ragged, dirty and unseemly in appearance. One of the officers went to work and manu- factured a limited quantity of soap, and the clean faces and persons of his portion of the regiment, excited surprise, envy, and, at the same time, no little pleasantry. It was wag- gishly remarked that these men were clearly entitled to the right of elective franchise, but that considerable doubt existed regarding the remainder. The only hope for them was to be- gin an exploration with pick and shovel. The men, generally, were without shoes, stockings, and a few were in their drawers, and all were ashamed of being seen. About this timie, they received a limited quantitj' of necessary cloth- ing from the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, of Green Springs, Ohio, and about the middle of April, 1864, they were thoroughly clothed and equipped b}' the Government. Soon after this; the regiment started on the Atlanta campaign, engaging the enemy at Rock}- Pace Ridge, where it suffered severely, and again at New Hope Church, where, in a charge, it lost many brave men and officers. It participated in the flanking movement at Jonesboro, and the con- sequent evacuation of Atlanta. The regiment turned back in pursuit of Hood, passing through Gaylesville, Athens, Pulaski, Columbia, Frank- lin ; and, reaching Nashville in advance of the main forces, it participated in the battle of Nashville, and, at its close, joined in pursuing the demoralized rebel army, but, at Huntsville, ^IV At, 330 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Ala., gave up the chase, and went into camp. It was at the battle of Nashville that Capt. George W. Lewis, of Medina, then acting Major, lost his arm. Nothing further of importance transpired, and the regiment was mustered out of service at Nashville on the 9th of July, 1865. The troops were paid at Camp Taylor, and sent home — all that remained of them. The Second Ohio Cavalry rendezvoused at Camp Wade, and contained a little more than a company from Medina County. The regi- ment was raised during the summer and earlj^ autumn of 1861, and was mustered into the service on the 10th of October, 1861. Com- pany I, raised almost whollj^ in this county, was officered as follows : Allen P. Steele, Cap- tain ; David E. Welch, First Lieutenant ; Will- iam B. Shattuc, Second Lieutenant. The men from Medina, who went out in the Second Cav- alry, were mostly recruited by Hon. H. G. Blake, a prominent citizen of Medina. Quartermaster J. J. Elwell, on the 12th of September, 1861, bought fifty horses at Medina for this regiment, paying an average price of $80 each. This was the first cavalry regiment raised in the northern part of the State, and the men com- posing it represented almost every trade and profession. It was ordered to Camp Dennison in the latter part of November, 1861, where it received sabers, and continued drilling during the month of December. On the 20th of De- cember, a detachment of twenty men under Lieut. Nettleton, was ordered into Kentucky on scouting-duty, where it remained until the regi- ment received marching orders. Early in Janu- ary, 1862, the regiment was ordered to Platte City, Mo., where it reported for duty to Gen. Hunter, and, for the next three weeks, was en- gaged in scouting on the Missouri border. On the 18th of February, 1862, Doubleday's bri- gade, of which the Second was a part, was or- dered to Fort Scott, Kan. ; and, during the march, on the 22d, as a detachment of 120 men of the Second was passmg through Independ- ence, Mo., it was attacked bj' an equal force under the subsequently infamous Quantrell, but, after fifteen minutes of severe fighting, the enemjr were routed, losing five killed, four wounded, and five captured, including an offi- cer. The Second lost one killed and three wounded. Fort Scott was reached on the 1st of March. The Second, at this time, was armed with saljers, nav}- pistols and Austrian car- bines. The most of the regiment remained in this portion of the State, at Carthage, Mo., at Sola, Kan., breaking up guerrilla bands until June, when it moved into the Indian Territorj- bj' diflferent roads, concentrating at Spring Ri\'er. A detachment of cavalry and artillery drove the Indian rebel Standwaitie fi'om his camp on Cowskin Prairie. The command moved to Baxter Springs, Kan., where it was joined by three regiments of mounted loyal Indians, armed with squirrel-rifles. Later in June, the column moved south- ward, the animals living on grass, and the members of the Second seeing nothing but wild country, burning prairie, and the powwows of their red-skinned companions. On the 8th of July, the column went into camp at Flat Rock Creek, Indian Territory, and later in the month Fort Gibson was cap- tured and a small detachment of rebels driven across the Arkansas River. The troops moved to Fort Scott on the 15th, having at that time less than two hundred and fifty serviceable horses in the Second. Many of the men were sick, and many had died from the effects of a peculiar and distressing brain fever, evidently caused hx the excessive heat. In August, the regiment shared in a forced march for ten days and nights against a raiding party of rebels, skirmishing continually but without loss. Dur- ing the next three or four months, the Second participated in the campaign of Prairie Grove, Ark., and fought at Carthage, Newtonia, Cow Hill, Wolf Creek, White River and Prairie Grove. Charles Doubledav had been Colonel ^1 S"~ i^k^ IIIISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY 331 of the Second, but. in September, 1862, August y. Kautz took his place. In November, the Second wa9 ordered to Camp Chase. Oliio, to remount and refit for the Eastern armj-. In February, 18G3, the original twelve companies were consolidated into eight, and a battalion of four companies raised for the Eightli Cav- alry, was added. Early in April, the regiment was ordered to Somerset, Ky., wliere it re- mained until the 27th of June, fighting in the meantime at Steubenville, Monticello and Co- lumbia. In the early part of June, four com- panies of the Second formed a part of a raid- ing Ibrce against Knoxville, where a large amount of supplies and several railroad bridges were destroyed. The Second, with its brigade, joined in the pursuit of John Morgan, and fol- lowed him twelve hundred miles, through three States, marching twenty hours out of the twentj'- four, and living upon the gifts of the people. It finally shared in the capture of the raiders at Buffington Island, after which it was ordered to Cincinnati, where nearly the whole regiment was furloughed by Gren. Bnrnside. It re-assem- bled at Stanford, Ky., and in August moved with the Union troops into East Tennessee. There it was brigaded with three other regiments of cavalry, all under the command of Col. Car- ter. After a variety of movements and some skirmishing, the regiment reached Henderson Station on the 25th of September, 1863 ; but received immediate orders to join G-en. Kose- crans. While on the waj^, it was ordered back to the front, and participated in the engage- ment in progress there. The next morning, the Second assisted in pursuing the enemy, and one battalion engaged in a subsequent skirmish. The brigade, after being re-enforced, advanced and fought the battle of Blue Springs, the Second participating. The Second shared in the engagement at Blountsville, Bristol, and with Wheeler's cavalry, near Cumberland Gap, During the siege of Knoxville, it annoyed the enemy's flank, and, after the siege was raised, joined in the pursuit. It fought the rebels at Morristown on the 2d of December, and two days later assisted in the bloody two-hours' fight at Russellville, losing forty men killed and wounded. On the fith, at Bean Station, it was at the front five hours, and for the five succeeding days was almost constantly under fire. Most of the time, then, until January 1, 1864, was spent in maneuvering and fighting near Mossy Creek ; but at this date four hun- dred and twenty men out of four hundred and seventy, re-enlisted, and were furloughed Feb- ruary 16, for thirty days. On the 20th of March, the Second re-assem- bled at Cleveland. It was first ordered to Ken- tucky, but, upon reaching Mount Sterling, was instructed to proceed to Annapolis, Md., where : it arrived on the 29th of March. On the 13th of April, while at its camp on an arm of the Chesapeake, it was reviewed bj'" Gens. Grant, Buruside, Washburne and Meigs. On the 22d, the regiment moved from Camp Stoneman to Warrentou Junction, reporting to Gen. Burn- side May 3. It crossed the Rapidan, and went into line on the extreme right, engaging with Eosser's cavalry on the 7th, with slight loss. It was constantly employed during the Wilder- ness campaign to cover the right flank of the I infantrj'. Soon afterward, it was assigned to the First Brigade, under the command of Col. J. B. Mcintosh, and thus became attached to I Sheridan's Cavalry Corps, Armj^ of the Poto- mac. The Third Cavalry Division, of which the Second was a part, crossed the Pamunky on the 31st, and the First Brigade advanced on Hanover Court House. The brigade dismounted, the Second occupying the center, and in the fierce charge which followed the enemj' was driven back, and the crest and court house were captured. The next day the Second and other troops were surrounded at Ashland, by the enemy under Fitzhugh Lee, and after fight- ing until night, succeeded in withdrawing and regaining tjie main army. The regiment par- ® ^ JHf t^ 332 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ticipated in skirmishes and battles, from Han- over Court House to Cold Harbor, fought at Nottavvay Court House, Stormy Creek and Ream's Station, losing one hundred men and iive officers killed, wounded and missing. On the 13th of August it moved to Winchester, arriv- ing on the 17th. Gen. Earljr made an attack, and at sundown the regiment and its division fell back, while the second battalion and two companies of the third battalion of the Second Cavalry acted as rear-guard for the whole com- mand, fighting an hour in the dark in the streets of Winchester, then joining the main column, which retreated to Summit Point. The Second was engaged on the 19th and 22d, and soon afterward crossed the Potomac at Shepherds- town. On the 30th of August the regiment as- sisted in driving the enemj' from Berrj-ville, Va., and, on the 13th of September, it and its brigade advanced on Early, at Winchester, to ascertain his strength. The Second Ohio and the Third New Jerse.y captured an entire regi- ment of rebel infantrj', and took it to Berry- ville, and for this gallant exploit recei\'ed special mention from the Secretary of War. It was present at the battle of Opequon, and soon afterward assisted in driving Wickham's cavalrj- through Front Royal, marching and skirmish- ing in Luray Valley, until the 25th of Septem- ber. It assisted in resisting the attack of Fitz- hugh Lee on the 29th, dismounting for that purpose, and remaining on the field until all the other troops were withdrawn, when it pre- pared to retire as rear-guard, but found that its retreat was cut off bj' a line of rebel infantrj-. In columns of fours the regiment charged through, and continued as rear-guard until the command reached Bridgewater. When Rosser was defeated by Gen. Torbort, the Second fought from 8 o'clock A. M. until 11, and pur- sued until 3 P. M., when it went into position on the right of Sheridan's line. In the battle of Cedar Creek, from daybreak until 9 o'clock at night, the regiment was in the saddle. It was present on the Valley Pike, when Gen. Sheridan came to the front on his immortal ride. "The first that the General saw were the groups Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops, What was done? what to do ? a glance told him both. Then striking his spurs, with a terrible oath. He dashed down the lines 'mid a storm of huzzas, And the wave of retreat checked its course there, be- cause The sight of the master compelled it to pause. With foam and with dust the black charger was gray ; By the flush of his eye, and the red nostril's play, He seemed to the whole great army to say, ' I have brought you Sheridan all the way From Winchester down to save the day.' " Hurrah ! hurrah for Sheridan ! Hurrah ! hurrah for horse and man !" The regiment joined in the charges that de- cided the victorj', and at night encamped with- out supper, on the field, In the fight of the 12th of November, between Custer and Rosser, the Second, engaged in picket dutj' on the front, was driven in ; but, after a hard day's fight, the enemy was driven from the field. On the 20th, the Second was hotly engaged with Early's ca^'- alry, at New Market, and, on the 10th of Decem- ber, the advance had a slight engagement with Rosser at Moorefleld. The Second repulsed the enemj- that advanced against the First Brigade when Rosser attacked the camp on the 20th, at Lacey's Springs. In the capture of Early's army, the Second took a prominent part. It captured five pieces of artillery with caissons, thirteen ambulances and wagons, seventy horses and mules, thirtj' sets harness, six hundred and fifty prisoners of war, and three hundred and fifty stand of small arms. In the last campaign against Lee, the Second captured eighteen pieces of artilleiy, one hundred and eighty horses, sev- enty army wagons, nine hundred prisoners, and unknown quantities of small arms. After this campaign, the regiment was ordered to North Carolina ; but, after the news of Johnston's sur- render, it was directed to report to Gen. Pope, M^^c/je-^ 5c^'%Z^^^^2^ . - gj ht. HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. S35 at St. Louis, arriving on tlie 7th of June, 1865 ; but a men til later proceeded to Springfield, Mo,, to relieve State troops. About the 1st of Sep- tember, the order to muster out was received. The regiment was paid at Camp Chase, Ohio, September 11, and immediately discharged. During the war, it fought under twenty-three Generals ; its horses drank from twenty-five rivers ; it campaigned through thirteen States and a Territory ; it marched an aggregate of twenty-seven thousand miles ; participated in ninety-seven battles and engagements , served in five different armies ; '■ and its dead, sleeping where they fell, form a vidette-line half across the continent, a chain of prostrate sentinels two thousand miles long. Even in their graA^es, may not these patriotic dead still guard the glory and the integrity of the Eepublic for which they fell ? " * Four companies, enlisted in Medina County in the spring of 1864, were formed into the Seventy-ninth Battalion, Ohio National Guard. At the period of formation, the battalion was officered as follows : Harrison G. Blake, Lieu- tenant Colonel ; William Shakspeare, Adjutant ; C. B. Chamberlin, Quartermaster ; and the Captains were ; H. Frizzell, William Bigham, 0. P. Phillips and John Wolcott. This bat- talion left Medina for Camp Cleveland on the 4th of May. 1864. Here the four companies were re-organized into three, and the battalion thus formed was consolidated with three other battalions, one of which was from each of the counties Wayne, Holmes and Huron. The One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Kegiment Ohio Na- tional Guard, thus created, was officered as fol- lows : H. G. Blake, Colonel ; Randolph East- man, Lieutenant Colonel ; Robert W. Liggett, Major. The regiment, after being mustered in, was ordered to Virginia on the 15th of May, 1864, and its duty while in the service consisted almost wholly in guarding forts, cities, and property belonging to the Government. It was * Whitelaw Beid. placed on duty at Forts Richardson, Barnard, Reynolds, Ward and Worth, with headquarters at Fort Richardson. No active service was done ; hut, when Washington was threatened by an attack from Early, the regiment stood at its guns day and night for about a week, ex- pecting an attack at any hour. An alarming extent of sickness prevailed in the regiment soon after the raid, in spite of every effort made to avoid it. The regiment was mustered out of service on the 9th of September, 1864. The enlistment of that portion of the men who went from Medina Countj' in this regiment, was largely through the efforts of Hon. H. G. Blake, one of the most capable and respected citizens ever a resident of the county. He was com- missioned Lieutenant Colonel, and was author- ized to open an enlistment office. Great en- thusiasm was manifested in the early stages of the war. On one occasion, a stalwart German went to Mr. Blake's office and enlisted. Mr. Blake told him that the Government would pay him $7 per month for his services, but the loyal fellow quickly replied : " I no "want de money, Mishter Plake, I vite mit mine gountry." At length it was found necessary, as in all parts of the countrj^, to resort to the draft in order to fill the quota of men required from the county. Every effort was made in each town- ship to avoid it, the citizens subscribing liber- ally to a common fund, to be paid volunteers at the rate of from $200 to $400 each. Hon. M. C. Hills was appointed Draft Commissioner for the county, and the first draft occurred October 5, 1862. Some 380 men were drafted, but quite a number furnished substitutes, and several were pronounced exempt for various reasons, so that only 351 were dispatched to the field. Other drafts in the county raised the total number of drafted men to 500 or more. In addition to individual and local efforts for raising bounty, the County Commissioners offered $50 for each volunteer ; but, as near as can be ascertained, this course was pursued t ?>^ J^l _e ^ 386 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. only for a comparatively brief period. The Commissioners were furnished with an indemni- fying bond by the citizens, bj^ means of which the former expected to be assured against loss for using the county funds as bounty. A spe- cial enactment of the Legislature soon author- ized the assessment and collection of a tax to be used for bounty and other similar purposes ; and this was made to take the place, in the county treasury, of the funds that had been used by the Commissioners. The tender of bounty began with the One Hundred and Third Regiment. It has been estimated that about 1,500 men went from the county to the field. It is impossible to ascertain the exact number. It is stated by as distinguished a writer as Whitelaw Reid, that the reason why the State was obliged to resort to the draft so early in the war was because of the evil tendencies of the volunteering system adopted. Add to this the fact that the Ohio Militia, who assisted in driv- ing the rebels from West Virginia, though promised pay by the G-overnment, received none when they returned, and, scattering thus throughout the State with stories of the neg- lect, created widespread discontent, and incited a determination over the State not to volunteer. The first cry for sanitary aid came to the county during the fall and early winter of 1861, from the troops in Virginia. Early in Septem- ber, a notice appeared in the Medina Gazette, that a meeting of the citizens would be held in Phoenix Hall, September 18, 1861, for the pur- pose of organizing a soldiers' aid society. At this meeting, Mrs. H. G. Blake was elected President, Miss Fannie Tichnor, Secretary, and various committees were appointed to solicit money, clothing or supplies in any form, for the army. Branch societies were created in almost every township. In addition to these efforts on the part of the ladies, male military committees were appointed in each township, and in the county at large, having in view the same humane object. Even the children were organized into mite societies, and all were enlisted in providing suitable supplies for field and hospital. Supplies to the estimated value of $131.82 were dispatched to the sani- tary headquarters at Cleveland, about the 5th of November, 1861. Two weeks after the or- ganization of the society at Medina, the follow- ing articles were sent to the Eighth Regiment, then in Virginia: 38 bed-quilts, 26 cotton shirts, 27 pillow cases, 56 towels, 23 old cotton shirts, 140 bandages, 13 woolen blankets, 20 pair socks, 1 pair woolen wristlets, 10 new shirts, 10 pair drawers, quantities of lint, dried fruit, preserves, etc. Also, about 140 blankets were sent to Camp Wade. Through- out the war, these societies continued to do ex- cellent and extensive aid. Soon after the death of Lieut. Col. Herman Canfield, at Shiloh, his widow, Mrs. Martha Canfield, with several other ladies in the service of the Government, was instructed to proceed to Memphis, Tenn., and organize a colored orphans' asylum. This was done, and the asylum was conducted until after the close of the war. This lady is now in the service of the Government at Washing- ton, D. C. The service of two or more young ladies from Medina was secured by Mrs. Can- field, under whose authority they labored at Memphis. Their names were Misses Hewes, Ballard and Cahill. The importance of the ob- ject of this asylum at Memphis cannot be over- estimated, in view of the utter ignorance and helplessness of the colored children in the South. The movement anticipated the educa- tion of the blacks, and was a direct result of their emancipation. Mrs. Alice Nickerson, whose husband was a member of the Eighth Ohio, left the county and entered one of the Government hospitals, where she served for many months as nurse. Her reports may be seen in the files of the Medina Gazette issued during the summer of 1865. In this connec- tion it may be said, that, since the war, efl5orts have often been made to secure the erection of (SI •— i ^ ^fcn HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 337 a fine monument in the park at Medina, as a memorial of the brave boys who sleep in the "Sunny South." A more appropriate or last- ing tribute to their memory could not be paid. In compiling the above imperfect record of the part borne by Medina County, in the last war, great care has been exercised, and yet numerous errors and mistakes have crept in, in spite of the writer, owing, mostly, to the ob- scure character of the material obtained, and the defective sources from which it was de- rived. And yet, there is safety in saying that all serious errors have been avoided, and that the history, as above given, is, in the main, substantially correct. The greater portion of the above record has been obtained from Whitelaw Reid's " Ohio in the War ;" and this work has the reputation of being a graphic and accurate history of the Ohio regiments. Pursuant to a call, a number of those who had served in the late war convened at the court house in Medina, September 13, 1879, to form a soldiers' monumental association. In 1870-71, there was a movement on foot to have the Commissioners of the county submit a proposition to levy a tax for the erection of a " soldiers' monument," to the people ; but the bill authorizing them to do so, introduced by Hon. Albert Munson, was defeated in the Leg- islature of that winter, which put an end to this project. The subject of securing an ade- quate memorial of the heroism and sacrifice of Medina County's volunteers, however, was not abandoned, and the meeting called, as noted above, met in the interest of this object. The constitution adopted is as follows : OBJECTS. For the purpose of procuring and preserving a rec- ord of the soldiers and sailors living in Medina County, who served in the army or navy of the United States, during the war for the Union, and, also, to perpetuate the memories and friendships of the war by social meetings and re-unions, we form ourselves into an asso- ciation, the name of which shall be, The Union Soldiers' and Sailors' Association of Medina County, Ohio. OrFICERS. The officers of this Association shall be a President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, and one Vice President from each township of the county. The officers of the Association shall constitute its Executive Committee, the meetings of which shall be held subject to the call of the President ; and the Vice President shall be ex officio chairman of such committees as may from time to time be appointed in their respective townships, in the interest of the association. The duties of the officers shall be such as usually pertain to like officers in similar organizations. The Vice Presidents shall canvass their townships for the purpose of procuring the names and record of service of all soldiers and sailors in their townships, and they may appoint a committee of two or more sol- diers to assist them in this duty; the names and record so obtained to be reported to the Secretary of the Asso- ciation, to be recorded and kept in a book provided for that object. MEETINGS. Annual re-unions of the Association shall be held at times and places selected by the Executive Committee; and special meetings at the call of the President. Offi- cers of the Association shall be chosen at the annual re-unions, and they shall serve one year. EXPENSES. All expenses of the Association shall be defrayed by voluntary contributions from its members. MESIBEKSHIP. All honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the war for the Union, residing in this county, who may sign, or authorize their names to be signed, to this con- stitution and furnish their record of service to the Vice President of ihe township to which they belong, are declared to be members of this Association. Their presence at meetings and re-unions, and their hearty co- operation in all movements in the interest of soldiers, is invited and expected. All vacancies in the list of officers, may be filled by the Executive Committee. This constitution may be amended at any annual meeting of the Association, by a majority vote. The officers elected were : Lieut. Col. Gr. W. Lewis, President ; Capt. J. H. Green, Secreta- D "^ liL^ 338 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY, ry ; E. M. McDowell, Treasurer ; Rev. Homer Thrall, Chaplain ; and, Vice Presidents, John Root, of Brunswick ; W. H. Williams, of Chat- ham ; Harvey Cutter, of Granger ; William Bigham, of Guilford ; T. G. Loomis, of Harris- ville ; Samuel Fauble, of Hinckley ; A. Frey- man, of Homer, J. P. Waltz, of La Fayette ; W. A. Pelton, of Litchfield ; J. G. Reisinger, of Liverpool ; 0. H. McDowell, of Medina ; F. R. Loomis, of Montville ; Thomas Brannigan, of Sharon ; Alonzo Miller, of Spencer ; A. P. Steele, of Wadsworth ; J. Wagoner, of West- field ; George Randall, of York. The first re-union of the association was held at Medina, August 19, 1880. In the num- ber of old soldiers present, the attendance of citizens, and in all that goes to make up the in- terest of such an occasion, the meeting was a complete success. A salute of one hundred guns was fired at sunrise, and, as the day ad- vanced the streets, gay with flags and appro- priate decorations, were crowded with the peo- ple coming in from all points of the county, sev- eral townships sending in large delegations. At 10 o'clock, A. M., a procession was formed and led by the Medina Cornet Band, followed by Company K, of the Eighth Ohio National Guards, in marching order, the Sharon Band, one hundred and sixty veterans of the war, and a long line of citizens in carriages, marched around the square, down Broadway to Smith road, and thence to Court street and back to the square again. A lawn banquet on the public square, an address, by Gen. L. A. Sheldon, of Lagrange, Ohio, and a business meeting constituted the exercises of the occasion. An election of oflB- cers resulted in the retention of the old offi- cers, save where circumstances rendered a change necessary'. The substitutions were. Rev. S. F. DeWolf as Chaplain, and Frank Fin- ley, of Brunswick ; S. W. De Witt, of Harris- ville ; Daniel Musser, of Hincklej^ ; A. W. Dur- kee, of Litchfield ; W. W. Munger, of Medina ; George Hayden, of Montville, as Vice Presi- dents. In the following list, we give the results of this association thus far. Of its complete- ness the writer has no knowledge, save that no reasonable expenditure of money has been wanting in assisting the eflbrts of the ofl&cers of this association to secure a complete and accurate list, according to the object set forth in the societv's constitution. '^L r- ■|v MILITAEY EEOOED OF MEDII^A COUNTY. THE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE FOLLOWING MATTEIt ARE EXPLAINED AS FOLLOWS: Co Company e '. Enlisted kid Killed disd Discharged 0. V. I Ohio Volunteer Infantry 0. V. V. t Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry 0. S. S Ohio Sharp-shooters 0. V. S. S Ohio Volunteer Sharp-Shooters 0. N. G Ohio National Guard 0. V. M Ohio Volunteer Militia 0. V. C Ohio Volunteer Cavalry 0. V, V, C Ohio Veteran Volunteer Cavalry 0. L. A Ohio Light Artillery 0. ^ . L. A Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery 0- \'. H. A Ohio Volunteer Heavy Artillery U. S. United States Cavalry U. S. I United States Infantry 0. V. Mex Ohio Volunteer Mexicau BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP. George Clement, Co. E, 55th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 9, 1861; died Jan. 12, 1863, at Nashville, Tenn. Chas. E. Allen, 5th 0. S. S., e. Dec. 6, 1862; died May 17, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Albert Evans, Co. 0, 49th Wis. V. I., e. Feb. 22, 1866; disd. Nov, 7, 1865. Henry C. Gayer, Co. D, 46th Wis. V. I., e. Feb. 14, 1865 ; disd, Sept. 29, 1865. Anset Athiton, Co. B, 65th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 13, 1862; disd. L. L. Morton, Co. H, 41st 0. V. I., e. Sept. 16, '61; disd. Oct, 20, '62, Augustus A. Foskett, Co. G, 4th 0. N. G., e. April, 1861 ; disd. Augustus A. Foskett, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug. 13, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 16, 1864. Thomas C. Ferriman, Co. A, 1st 0. L. A., ». Feb. 27, 1864 ; disd. July 31, 1865. Clias. Tibbetts, Co. E, ISOtb 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Aug. 23, 1864. Chas. Tibbetts, Co. B, 188th 0. V. L, o. Jan. 10, 1865; disd. Sept. 21, 1865. P. M. Gibbs, Co. K, 2d 0, V. 0., e. Aug. 24, 1861 ; disd. Feb. 20, 1863. Alexander Gibbs, Co. K, 2d 0. V. 1., e. Aug. 24, 1861; disd. Dec, 31, 1863. Alexander Gibbs, Co. H, 2d 0, V. V. C, e. Jan. 1, 1861; disd. Sept. 5, 1865. John F. Boot, Co, F, 166th 0, V. I,, e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept, 9, '64. Francis Lindley, Co. K, 0. V. I., e. Aug. 16, 1862 ; disd. June 30, '65. Lewis Hounds, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. January, 1863. Chas. Cinninger, Co. E, 1st 0. V. L. A., e. Aug. 25, 1862 ; disd. Sept. 25, 1863. John Archer, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e. August, 1862 ; died at St. Louis April 27, 1863. Willis Peck, Co. F, 16th 0. V. I., o. September, 1861 died at Plat Lick, Ky., June 6, 1862. Lewis W. Peck, Co. D, 1st 0. V. L. A., c. Aug. 25, 1862; died at Eb- saca May 23, 1864. George E. Lindley, Co, K, 103d 0. V, I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. July, 1865. Thomas Ferriman, Co, A, 1st 0, V. L, A,, e Dec. 31, 1863; disd. July 31.1865. Jacob F. Eckert, Co. A, 1st 0. V. L. A., e, Dec, 31, 1863; disd. July 31, 1865, Peter F, Graham, Co, E, Ist Ind, V, I., e. Aug. 12, 1862; disd. April 16, 1863. , , Willie Hadlock, Co. E, Ist 0. V. L. A., e. Aug. 25, 1862 ; died at Huntsville, Ala,, May 30, 1862. Edwin L. Morton, Co. E, 0. V. L. A., b. Aug. 25, 1862; died at Louis- ville, Ky., Feb. 17, 1863. James Marquitt, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. August, 1862; disd. June 22 1865 Charles Zetter, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., o. August, 1862 ; disd. June 22, 1866. ■ ^ ^ Charles Strong, Co. E, 1st 0, V, L. A., e. August, 1862; disd. Elijah M. Strong, Co. B, 1st O. V. L. A., t, August, 1862 ; disd, Newell Fuller, Co, G, 42d 0, V, I,, e. Oct, 28, '62; disd, July 30, '63. John Hamilton, Co. H, 8th 0. V, I,, e, Aug. 22, 1861 ; disd, Orvil M, Welliug, Co, H, 8th 0, V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1861 ; died at Harper's Ferrv, Nov. 26, 1862. Ugene Foskett, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e, Oct, 28, '62 ; disd, July 30, '63, Julius Wait, Co, E, 1st 0, V. L. A., Aug. 26, 1862 ; died at Stone Kiver, Jan. 8, 1863, Kichard Wykes, 124th 0, V. I,, e. August, 1862 ; disd. 0. C. Church, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 7, 1862; disd. December, 1863. Sergt. G. K. Goodrich, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 7, 1862; disd. Valentine Anlt, Co. E, 1st 0. V. L. A,, e, August, 1862; disd. Fred Converse, Co. E, 1st 0. V. L, A,, c, August, 1862 ; disd, Lewis Bockwood, Co, K, 103d 0. V. I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. June 22, 1866. Henry E. Kennedy, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., e. April 25, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. W. W. Beach, Co, B, Ist 0, V, A. E, J, Boot, Co, E, 1st 0, V, A, John Whelook, Co. B, Ist 0. V. A ; disd. Sept. 26, 1804. Jacob Harris, Co. E, Ist 0. V. A. Alfred King, Co. B, Ist 0. V. A. E. S. Converse, Co. E, 1st O. V. A. F. Cunningham, Co. E, lot 0. V. A. A. Cunningham, Co. E, 1st 0. V. A. E. S. Billings, Co. E, Ist 0. V. A. John Hamilton, Co. H, 8tb 0. V. I. Wm. H. Hanchett, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I. S, Cleveland, Co, I, 2d 0, V, C, George Shalehouse, Co, H, 37th 0, V, I. Uriah Hadlock, 41st 0. V. I. ; 1863. N. H. Sherman. W. Bradford, 0. V. I. Bnos B, Wait, 0, V, A. A. Hiuman. B. Unkel. B, B, Peebles, Co, B, 7th 0. V. I. B. B. Kelley, Co. D, Ist 0. V. I. B. McConnel, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. September, 1861. J, H, Boot, Co. F, 166th 0, N, G,, e. May, 1864; disd, September, 1864, M, V, Pitkin, 5th 0. V. S. S,, e, Oct,, 1862, disd. July 19, 1865. Lieut. John 0, Preston, Asst, Surg. 73d 0. V. I.; disd. July 20, 1865, Patrick Newgent, Co, E, 1st 0, V. A,, e, Aug,, 1862; died, Sylvester Stevenson, Co. E, 1st 0. V. A., e. 1861 ; disd. C. A. Pool, Co, E, 1st 0, V, A , e. Aug., 1862; disd. H. V. Garrett, Co. E, 1st 0, V, A,, e. 1862; disd. W. H. Lender, Co. B, 1st 0, V, A,, e, Aug,, 1861 ; disd, Oct. 23, 1862. Joseph Warner, Co. E, 1st 0. V. A., e. 1861 ; died in service. Adelbert Fuller. Abner Strong; died in service. William Frank. Edward Beach. Thomas Pool. Edward Touslev. Warren F. Wilbur, 29th 0. V. T., e. Sept., 1862; died Dec. 16, 1863, at Washington, D. 0. ^ 340 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. CHATHAM TOWNSHIP. Amasa L. Clapp, Cu. K, 42d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 20, 1862 ; disd. July 7, 1865. Darius W, Sanford, Co. B, 12d 0. V. I., o. Sept, 22, 1861 ; dlsd. Nov, 6, 1864, Darius W, Sanfoid, Co. D, 30th Mich. V. 1,, o, Dec. 2.5, 1864; died. Juue 30, 1866. Henry Wave, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G,, o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. J. J. Johnson, Co, K, 16th 0, V, I,, e, Oct. 26, 1861 ; disd. Nov. 6, 1864. George W, Kindig, Co, K, 16th 0. V, I,, e, Oct. 26, 1861; disd. Nov. 6, 1864. Ezra Fritz, Co. B, 42d 0, V, I., e. Sept. 23, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 4, 1864. Maj, W, H. Williams, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 3, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 4,164. John Kichards, Co. B, 16th O.V. M,, e, April 21, 1861 ; disd, Sept. 18,'61. H. E, Duatin, Co H, 177th 0,V, I., e, Aug, 29, '64 ; disd. Juue 24, '65, Merritt A. Rice, Co. B, 42d O.V. I., e, Sept. 24, '61 ; disd. Oct. 30, '6::. Sergt, Merritt A, Kice, 9th 0. V. C,,e, Aug, 21,'63; disd. July 20, '65. W. E. Carlton, Co, B, 42d 0. V, I,, e, Sept. 22, '61 ; disd. Sept, 30, '64. Jonathan M. Beach, Co. B, 42d 0. V, 1., e. Sept, 9, 1861; disd, Sept. 29, 1864, A, H, Hyatt, Co, D, 7th Wis. V, I,, e, Dec, 28, '64 ; disd. June 26, '65, C. R. Keynolds, Co, A, 179th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 16, 1864; disd. June 17, 1865. F. K. Mantz, Co, K, 42d 0, V, I,, e, Aug, 9, 1862 ; disd, Aug, 1, 1865, EzraH, Lance, Co. D, I66th 0. N,G,,o, May 2, 1864; disd. Sept,9,'64, Chilion Packard, e, June, 1862 ; died at Camp Chase Aug, 7, 1862, Luther C, Prouty, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Oct, '62 ; disd. October, '65. Fletcher G. Richards, Co. K, 42d O. V. I., e. Aug. '20, 1862, disl. July 7, 1865. Isaac Pearson, Co. B, 124th 0, V. I,, o. August, 1862; died May 22, 1863, at Franklin, Tenn, G, T, Clapp, Co, K 42d 0, V, I,, o. Aug. 20, 1862 ; disd. July 7, 1865. Capt. A. J. Dyer, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, '61 ; disd. Dec, 4,'64, Corp, William J, Atkins, Co, B, 124th O.V I., e. August, 1862 ; killed at Cliickamauga Sept. 20, 1863. Coi-p. Freeman Robinson, Co. A, 128th 0. V, I,, e, January, 1863 ; disd. July 13, 1865. James Buck, Co, C, 128th 0, V. I., e. January 1863 ; disd. July 13,'66. A, Main, Jr., Co. B, 128th 0. V, I,, e. January, 1803 ; died at John- son's Island April 4, 1865, Daniel Mills, Co. C, 128th V. I,, e, January, '63 ; disd, July 13,'65. Lewis Smith, Co. C, 128th 0. V. I.,e. January, '63; disd, July 13, '65. 0, F, White, Co, A, 128th 0,V, I,, e. December, '62; disd, July 13,'65, George S. Brown, 128th 0. V. I., e. December, '62 ; disd. July 13,'65. Linus Rogers, 128th 0. V, I,, e, January, 1863; disd, July 13, 1865. Sergt, Herbert Robinson, Co, B, 128th 0. V. I,, e. Oct. 3, 1862 ; disd. July 13, 2865. Alpha Thompson, 29th 0, V, I., e. September, 1861 ; disd. Alpha Thompson, 12th 0. V, C, e October, 1863 ; disd, 1865. Theo. F, Ripley, Co, K, 42d 0, V, I,, e, Aug, 20, 1862 ; disd, Aug. 9, 1863. Daniel Rice, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. August 1862; died at Young's Pt., La., Feb. 13, 1863. John Main, Co. B, 42d 0, V, I., e. Sept, 22, 1861 ; disd, Sept. 30, 1864. J. G, Halliwell, Co. B, 42d 0. V.I., e. Sept, 22, '61; disd. Sept. 30, '64. Abram J. Lance, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I,, e. Sept. 24, '61 ; disd. Jan. 26,'64. George Best, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I , e, Sept. 22, 1861 ; died. Feb. 28, 1862. James W. Slocum, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; died. Aug, 13, 1862, George C, Moody, Co. B, 42d O.V, I,, e. Sept, 22, 1861; died at Thomp- son Hill July 31, 1803, William H, Richarde, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; died in eervice Feb. 23, 1862. Charles H. Williams, Co, I, 8th N, 1. 0. William Ruhends, Co, B, 42d 0, V, I, Charles H, Millington, Co, B, 42d 0, V, I,, o. Sept, 22, 1861 ; died March 25, 1862, of disease, James Winters, Co, I, 29th 0, V. I, Sereno F. Sawyer, Co. 1, 29th 0. V, I, William H, Abbott, Co, I, 29th 0, V, I, Merritt Northrop, Co. K, 8th 0, V, I. John \V. Cambell, Co, K, 8th 0, V, I, Hiram Fellows, Co, K, 8th 0, V, I. ; killed March 31, 1862, J, B, Whitney, 160th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd, September, '64, Capt, K, B, Smith, 9th 0. V, (', : died Aug, 3, 1866, Lieut, A. A, Philbrink, 9th 0, V. C, Lieut, A, A, Bice, 9th 0, V. C, Cyrus Packord, 9fh 0, V, C, Charles Gunsauls, Co. H, 41st 0. V. I, ; killed March 26, 1863, John Martin, 124th 0, V, I, ; died June 3, 1866, W, J, Tilley, 124th 0, V, I, ; died Dec. 3, 1865. James R, Ustick, 2d 0, V, C, Alonzo House, 2d 0, V, C. Joseph Fetterman, 8th 0. V. I. John Anderson. 8th 0. V. I. L, D. Ives, 8th 0. V. I. H. J, Lyons, 10th 0. V. 0, H, L. Friller, 10th 0. V. C. N. B, Oiosby, 10th 0, V. C, ; died Nov. 4, 1864. Alpha Thompson, lOlh 0. V. C. 5, F. Sawver, 29th 0. V. I. E. T, Shaw, 29th 0, V. I. Wm. N. Dickenson, 29th 0. V, I, killed in action June 14, 1862, M, T, Rice, 29th 0, V. I. Milton Murdock, 29th 0, V, I. Byron Best, 70tb 0. V. I.; died May 13, 1866. Amos Rose, 70th 0. V. I. ; killed Aug. 23, 1866. J. R, Judson, 84th 0. V, I. G. C, Boise, 84th 0. V, I, D, P, Stowell, 124th O. V. I, 6, H, Williams, 182d 0. V, I, W. W, Richards, 0, V, S, S, 0. B. Richards, 0. V, S, S, Wm, Cooper, Co, D, 166th 0. N. G. e. May, '64, disd. September, 64. Wm, Eddy, Co. B, 42d 0, V, I., 6, September '61 ; disd, December, '64. George Messmer, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I. S. D. Moody, Co. B, 42d O. V. I. ; died Feb. 3, 1863. F. A. Brown, Co, B, 42d 0, V, I, Newton Richards, Co, B, 42d 0, V, I,; died Feb. 10, 1863. J. W. Barnard, Co, B, 42d 0, V. I. S. R. Tilley, Co, B, 42d 0. V. I, Avery Clarke, Co, B, 42d 0, V. I, J, Collin (nurse), Co, B, 42d 0. V, 1.; died Feb. 3, 1863. GRANGER TOWNSHIP. Silas Payne, Co. H, 29th 0. V. I,, e. Oct. 16, 1861 ; disd, Feb. 18, 1863. Silas Payne, Co. H, 177th O.V, I,, e. Aug. 29, 1864; disd. June 24, 1865. Jonas D. Ingraham, Co. G, 64th 0. V. I., o. Oct. 30, 1863; died March 7, 1864, at Lebanon, Kv. Musician R. 0. Coddinp, 12th 111, V. I., e, 1861; disd, July 4, 1862, Musician Horace W. Codding, 12th 111. V. I., e. 1861; disd. July, '62, Hubert J, Codding, Co, H, 8th 0. V. I., 6. June 6, 1861 ; died March 24, 1862, at Winchester, Robert H, llicharde, 42d 0, V. I., e. Sept. 25, 1861 ; died. Dec. 27, '62. Robert H. Richards, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 16, 1864; died. Sept. 9, 1864. Robert Valentine, Co. G, 115th 0. V. I., e. Nov. 7, 1863; disd. June 10, 1866. Harvey J. Sm\th, Co. H, 29th 0. V. V. I., o. Jan. 16, 1864; disd. July 13, 1865. 0. Rockwell, 5th Co., 0. V. S. S., e. Oct. 17, 1862 ; disd. July 19, '65. Lewis R. Willey, 9th Co. 1st O. V. S, S., e. Feb. 15, 1864; trans. Lewie R. Willey, Co. G, 60th O. V. I. ; died April 2, 1866, at Peters- burg. George H. Jarvis, Co. H, 33d HI. V. I,, 6. Dec. 10, 1861; died. Dec. 31, 1863. George H. Jarvis, Co. H, 33d 111. V. V. I., e. Jan. 1, 1864; disd. Nov. 24, 1865. R, L, Martin, Co. D, Hoffman Battalion, 0. V. I., o. March 18, 1863; disd, Feb, 11, 1864. John Knox, U. S. N., e. July 18, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 9, 1864, L, 0. Rickerson, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 19, 1862 ; disd. May 18, 1865. W. E. Jackson, 9th Co. Ist 0. V. S. S., e. March 29, 1864; died June 21, 1864, at City Point, Va. Robert Shacklton, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 25, 1864 ; disd. June 29 1865 J. W. Nichols, Co. A, 5th 0. V. C; disd. Feb. 1, 1864. J. W. Nichols, Co, I, 13th 0. V. I., e. Feb. 1, 1864 ; disd. July I, '64. John Cox, Co. G, 115th 0. V. I., e. Sept.; died at Andersonville Pris- on, May, 1866. Corp. Albert Albertoon, 10th Co. 1st 0. S. S., e. March 8, 1864; trans. Albert Albertoon, Co. H, 60th O. V. I.: disd. 28, 1865. Henry C. Williamson, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 16, 1862; died May, at . Corp. L. A.Miller, Co. G, 115th O.V.I.. ... Aug. 6, 1862; disd. June, 1865. M. ComstocU, Co. L, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept. 21, 1861; disd, M. Comstock, Co. L, 1st V. S. 0., e. Feb. 13, 1864 ; died Feb. 13, 1865, at St. Louis, Mo. Lewis E. Turner, Co. 1, 193d 0. V. I., e, Deo. 24, 1864; disd. Aug. 4, 1865. ^ S~ r d^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 341 H. L. Chrisman, Oo. A, 3StU 0. V. I., e. Aug. 26, 1861; disd. July H. L.' Chrisman, Co. D, 178th 0. V. 1., o. Sept. 1, 1864 ; disd. July 11, 1865. Harvey Cutter, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 7, 1862; disd. June 12, 1866. Asa Ingraham, Co. K, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug. 24, '61 ; disd. Dec. 31, '63. Asa Ingraham, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Jan. 1, '64; disd. Sept. 11, '65. Seth A. Waite, Co. H, 177th 0. V. I., e. Sept 3, 1864; disd. June 24, I860. J. Spellman, Co. A, Independent 0. V. S. S., o. Oct. 28, 1863; disd. July 19, 1865. Tumey S. Wheeler, Co. H, 103d 0. V. I.; disd. June 12, 1866. S. T. Herrington, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e. Oct. 3, '62; disd. July 8, '63. E. A. Sumner, Oo. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 10, 1864 ; disd. May 13, 1865. George B, Bagley, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22, 1862; disd. June 12, 1866. J. W. King. Co. K, lOSd 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, '62 ; disd. June 12, '65. Henry McCloud, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 8, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. • 0. Taiidivere, Co. K, 2d 0. V. C, 6. Sept. 1, 1861; died March, 1862, at Platte City, Mo. W. G. Low, Co. 6, 116th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 31, 1863 ; died May 19, 1864, at Granger, Ohio. Corp. J. D. Treman, Co. A, Independent 0. V. S. S., e. Oct. 25, 1862; disd. July 19, 1866. Thomas J. Case, Co. H, 2d O. V. C, o. March 2, 1866 ; disd. Sept. 11, 1865. Hugh C. Parkhurst, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 6, 1861; disd. Oct. 23, 1862. Edwin Parkhurst, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., o. June 6, 1861; disd. Jan. 26, 1862. D. M. Aikman, Co. A, 1st 0. V, S. S., e. Sept., 1862 ; died April 27, 18b3, at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Henry W. Daykin, Co. G, 72d 0. V. I., e. Dec. 12, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 14, 1864, Cephas A. Rockwood. Chas. L. Case, Co. B, 32d 0. V. I,, e. Feb. 13, 1866; disd. May 15, '65. Sergt. James Reynolds, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 4. 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Hiram N. Young, Co. H, 8th O. V. I., e. Jan. 6, 1861; died. June 4, 1864. George F. Crane, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., o. July 6, 1863; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. George F. Crane, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 7, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. B. L. Lockhart, Co. B, 23d 0. V. I., e. Feb. 2, '64 ; disd. July 26, '65. Henry L. Ingraham, Co. K, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug. 27, 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1862. James L. Turner, Co. L, 2d 0. V. 0., e. Sept. 12, 1861 ; trans, to U. S. C. for five years. James L. Turner, Co. L, 1st 0. S. C; disd. Feb. 16, 1868. Wellington Smith, Co.D, 67th 0. V. I., e. Dec, 16, 1861; disd. Dec. 31, 1863. First Lieut. Wellington Smith, Co. G, 67th 0. V. I., e. Jan. 1, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 1, 1865. Mathew J. Bogardus, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 14,1862; disd. June 12, 1865. George D. Damon, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. June June 12, 1866. Mathew Gunton, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., b. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1866. Corp. Asa HInnman, Co, 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Ang. 14, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1866. Henry C. Hatch, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 14, 1862; disd. June 12, 1866. Musician Milton J. Truman, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Sergt. Sylvester Damon, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1866. Charles C Webster, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 9, 1862; disd. Jan. 11, 186.3. Alonzo D. Willits, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., o Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd, June 12, 1865. George P. Huntley, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I,, e. Aug. 14, 1862 , disd. June 12, 1865. Aaron J. Fuller, Co. K, 103d 0, V. I., o. Aug. 14, 1862; disd, June 12, 1866. J. A. Case, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I„ e. Aug. 11, 1862 ; died. Georgs W. Barber, Co. 1, 103d 0. V, I,, e, Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. Alonzo Beebe, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e, Aug. 11, 1862; disd. George H. Baker, Co. L, 2d O. V. C, e. Feb. 1, 1861 ; disd. Jan, 20, 1864. George H. Baker, Co. E, 2d 0. "V. V. C, e. Jan. 20, 1861 ; disd. Sept, 11, 1866. Richmond S. Bissel, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Feb. 26, 6866 ; died at Qramba, Mo., Aug. 30, 1866. Luther Udall, Co D, 178th 0. V. I., o, Aug, 26, 1864; died at Mur- freesboro Nov. 16, 1864. E. B. Low, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 26, '64; disd. June 29, '65. Capt. David W. Botsfurd, Oo. A, 6th Independent 0. V. S. S,, e, Oct. 28.1862; disd. July 19, 1865. Alma HuQtIey, Co. A, 6th Independent 0. V. S. S., e. Oct. 28, 1862; disd. July 19, 1865. Samuel 1j Codding, Co. a, 5th Independent 0. V. S. S., •s. Oct. 28, 1862 ; disd. July 19, 1866. Amiles W. Rockwood, Co. A, 5th Independent 0. V. S. S., e. Oct. 28, 1862; disd. July 19, 1865. Julius D. Truman, Co. A, 5th Independent 0. V. S. S., o. Oct. 28, 1862; disd. July 19, 1865. A^anransaeler F. Hill, Co. A, 6tb Independent 0. V. S. S,, o. Oct. 28, 1862; disd. July 19, 1866. Seymour Codding, loth Independent 0. V. S. S,, o, March 25, 1864; disd, Nov. 20, 1864. Adelbert Barber, Co, A, 1st 0, V, S, S,, e. Sept,, '62 ; disd, Aug., '65. M. Cox, Co. B, 32d 0, V. I,, e, Feb., 1866; disd. May, 1865. W. Vanorman, 2d O. V. C, e. Aug., 1861; disd. May, 1866. J. C, Willy, Co. 1, 183d 0. V. I., e- Aug., 1862; disd. May, 1865. George Woodruff, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd. May, '65. Clayton Wolcolt, 183d 0. V. I.; disd. E. Bissell, Co. H, 2d 0. V, C.,e. March, 1865; disd Sept., 1865. A. R. Codding, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. Sept,, 1865, H. Harris, Co. 1, 103d 0. T. I., e, Aug., 1862 ; disd. 1865. J. W. Low, Co. K, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. 1865. Judson Chrisman. George Hand, Co, L, 2d 0. V, C, e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. 1866. James B. Hatch, Co. D, 67th 0. V. I., e. Dec, 1861 ; disd. 1862. L. Luke, Co. H, 60th 0. V. I., e. March, 1864; disd. Aug., 1865. B. Purcel, Oo. D, 67th 0. V. l.,e. Nov., 1861; died in service. M. Buddy, 178th 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1864; disd. 1866. L. R. Rockwood, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd. May, '66. J. Russell, 10th 0. V, 0. H. Shainholdts, 124th 0. V. I, Harrison Shoif. N. Tyler, Oo. B, 32d O. V. I., e. Feb., 1865 ; disd. May, 1865. J. Van Orman,Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd. May, 1866. E. 0. Van Orman, 178th 0. V, I., e. Aug., 1864 ; disd. 1866. H. Vadar, Oo. B, 32d O. V. I., e. Feb. 23, 1865 ; disd. May 11, 1865. James Low, 23d 0. V, I. J. S. Codding, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd. A. L. Fufler, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd. May, 1866. Smith Hancock, e. 1862; disd. 1863. George Spellman, Co. I, 2d 0. V. 0. William Johnson, Co. I, 2d O. V. C. Jeremiah Fitch, Co. H, 8th 0. V, I,, e, June, 1861. Francis Macguire, Co. G, 3d Mich. V. I. A. Willow Bowles, Co. K, 19th 0. V. I. Evander Turner, Co. H, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct., 1861. W. Williamson. Chester Wolcott. H. Wolcott. B. Tyler. GUILFORD. James C. Boise, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., o. Sept. 15. 1861; disd. Sept. 25, 1862. R. J. Fink, Musician, Co. M, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1861 ; disd. Sept., 1862. E. J. Fink, 20th 0. V. B., e.Sopt., 1862; disd. E. J. Fink, Mich. V. I., e. Sept. 4, 1864 ; paroled. James C. Steaks, Q. M. S., Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2 1864 • disd. Sept, 9, 1864, ' Jacob Wells, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, '64. J. K. Steaks, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I,, e. May 2, 1864; died Sept 2 1864, at Seville, Ohio, Homer St, John, Co, F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept 9, 1864. Wm, Powers, Co, F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; died Sept. 6, 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio. H. B. Nye, Co. F, 166th 0. V, I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, '64, A, J. Nelson, Co, F, 166th 0, V. I,, e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept 9, 1864. F. J, Noyes, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I,, e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, '64. David Koppes, Oo. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2,1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. John H. Kindig, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., „. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept 9, 1864. George H. Hay, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept 9, 1864. J. T. Graves, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, '64. "^ 'y - 5) 1 » L. A ff t^ 342 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. L. A. Eaaton, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, Egbert Harris, Co, G, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. 1864. Joseph Harris, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. J. B. Dix, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept, 9, 1864. Herbert Stiles, Co. G, 42d 0, V, I,, e, Nov,, 1861. Marion Colburn, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. Musician it. H. Devens. 9, 1864. Musician Giles Easton, Perry Cannon, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., c. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. William Eeshon, Co. I, 29th 0. V. V. I,, e. Jan., 1864 ; disd. July, 9, 1864. 1865. J. K. Oaughey, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. William Marks, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861; killed at An- 9, 1864. tietam. Joseph K. Bergey, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. Capt. Lyman B, Wilcox, 103d 0. V, I. 9, 1864. E. F, Ustick, Co. C, 2d 0. V. C; died in service; buried by the Musician J. H. R, Caughey, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864; Free Masons. disd. Sept. 9, 1864. E. J. Kuder, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864 ; disd, Sept., 1864. Musician J. M. Faston, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. B. J. Pickard, Co. E, 166th 0. N. Q., e. May, 1861; disd. Sept., 1864, Sept. 9, 1864. P. W. Crawford, Co. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1861 ; disd. Sept. '64. Homer Hosmer, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. Edwin Kinney, buried in Seville Cemetery. 9, 1864. George Cotton, buried in Seville Cemetery. Corp. P. W. Crawford, Co. P, 166th 0. V. I., 6. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Marquis Dix, buried in Seville Cemetery. Sept. 9, 1864. John Edwards, buried in Seville Cemetery. Corp. Irrine Bartholomew, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864; Allis Brown, buried in Seville Cemetery, disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Wm, A, Snyder, buried in Seville Cemetery, Corp. Chas. Leland, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept Ensign Johnson, buried in Seville Cemetery, 9, 1864. Arthur Strong, buried in Seville Cemetery. Sergt. L. K. Hosmer, Co. F, 166th 0. T. I., =. May 2, 1864; disd. Harrison B. Owen, buried in Seville Cemetery. Sept. 9, 1864. George Porter, buried in Seville Cemetery. First Lieut. Daniel Shaw, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. James Null, buried in Seville Cemetery. Sept. 9, 1864. James McEIroy, buried in Seville Cemetery. ( Second Lieut. S. A. Hosmer, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864 ; John Robison, buried in Seville Cemetery. j disd. Sept. 9, 1864. H. A. Montgomery, buried elsewhere. 1 Capt, "Wm. Bigham, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. Wm. McDermott, buried elsewhere. j 9, 1864. Jas. Grim, buried elsewhere. 1 Isaac Reimer, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., i-. May 2, 1862 ; kid. in Tennessee Chas Johnson, buried elsewhere. in 1863. Austin Cotton, buried elsewhere. David B. Krieder, Co. D, 125th 0. V. I., e. April 15, 1864; disd. Leonard Elders, buried elsewhere. i Jacob C. Whitmore (sailor), Ram "Choctaw," e. Aug. 27, 1864, disd. Robert Brown, buried elsewhere. Sept., 1865. Orville Warren, buried elsewhere. Valentine Bower, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. July, Wm. McConnell, buried elsewhere. 1865. Delos Reed, buried elsewhere. Suel Wilson, Co. K, 15th U. S. V. R. C, e. Dec. 16, 1862; disd. Henry Archer, buried elsewhere. Philo F. Wilson, Co. A, loth U. S. I., 6. Dec. 21, 1863 ; disd. April F. McCabe, buried elsewhere. 9, 1865. Jasper Powers, buried elsewhere. Calvin G. Wilson, U. S. S. "Argosy," e. Aug. 30,1864; disd. June Dyer Harris, buried elsewhere. 30, 1865. Elisha Rathburn, buried elsewhere. Stephen Schlabach, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 15, 1862 ; disd. June 28, 1865, John B, Montgomery, Co, F, 8th 0. V, I., „. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. July 2, 1865, HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP. Isaac Shireman, Co, I, 103d 0, V, I,, o, Aug, 14, 1862 ; disd. May 12, 1865, Hiram Conant, 2d 0. V. C, o. February, 1865; died at Hinckley, David McMulIen, Co, I, 103d 0, V, I , e, Aug, 16, 1862; disd, June Ohio, June 17, 1865. 12, 1865, William Behr, Co. A, 4th Mo. V. C, e, Aug. 13, 1861 ; disd. Aug. John Hass, Co, M, Mich, V. I,, e, Oct, 20, 1863 ; disd, March, 1866, 24, 1864, G. R. Cannon, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e, Aug, 9, 1862 ; disd. Jnne Orrln 0, Perrin, Co, D, 178th 0. V. I,, e. Sept, 14, 1864 ; disd, June 12, 1865. 29, 1865, David F, Cook, Co, B, 2d 0, V, C. Andrew Finch, Co. A, 1st 0. L. A., e. April 23, 1861 ; disd. Jan., '64. Wm. H. Bartholomew, Co. B, 2d 0. V. C. Andrew Finch, Co. A, 1st 0. L. A., e. January, 1864; disd. July 23, Jerry Montgomery, Co, I, ?.d 0. T. C. 1865. Isaac D, Bartholomew, Co. I, 2d 0, V. 0. Samuel Fauble, Co. I, 38th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 25, 1861; disd. Sept. R. D, Schlabach, Co, I, 2d 0, V. C, 27, 1864. Ale.iander Duff, Co, I, 2d 0, V, C. R, T. Gargett, Co. G, 2d 0. V. C, e. March, 1864 ; disd. Sept., 1864. Bdmond Baker, Co, H, 8th 0, V, I,, , e. June, 1861 ; disd. Lewis Eockwood, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. James H, Caughey, Co, H, 8th 0, V, I„ e. June. 1861 ; disd. John A, Marquitt, Co. A, 1st 0. V. L. A., e. Sept. 4, 1861 ; disd. Dec. Thomas Vance, Co. H. 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861, 31, 1863, Wm, H, Eckert, Co, H, 8th 0, V, I., e. June, 1861. Samuel W, Rubert, Co. I, 23d 0. V. I., e. May 22, 1861 ; disd. June Henry A. Brotts, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. on account 30, 1804, of wounds. John C, Coover, Co, K, 1st 0. V, L, A,, e, Aug, 14, 1862; disd. George Merritt, Co, H, 8th 0, V. I,, e. June, 1861, John C. Coover, Squadron TJ. S. N.; disd. Aug. 16, 1865. Jonathan Mohney, Co, H,8th 0, V. I,, e, June, 1861. George W. Fulmer, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. August, 1861 ; transferred. Wm. D, McDonald, Co, H, 8th 0, V. I,, e June. 1861 ; disd. George W, Fulmer, 26th 0. V, B,; disd, December, 1865. Stephen Rolph, Co, H, 8th 0. V, I., e, June, 1861 ; disd, on account Wm. H. Willey, Co, B, 2d 0, B, C, o, Aug. 7, '61 ; disd. Jan. 20, '63. of wounds. Musician John Goldwood, Co. G, 115th 0. V. I,, e, August, 1862 ; Nicholas Steiner, Co, H, 72d 0, V, I. disd, July, 1865, Richard Montgomery, Co. D, 6th Wis. 0. V. C; died in service. Henry Canfleld, Co, A, 124th 0, V, I,, e, Aug, 1, 1862 ; kid, at Chick- Clark B, Orawlbrd, Co, 0, 23d 0, V. I, amauga. Emerson Graves, refc't not known. H, M, Wait, Co, A, 1st 0, V, A,, e. Sept, 20, 1861 ; disd. May, 1862. George W, Harper, Co, I, 29th Ind. V, I. Don. C. Van Denson, Co. K, 42d 0. ?. I., e. November, 1861 ; disd. Samnel Longnaker, Co. C, 60th 0. V. I, Sept. 29, 1863. Peter Nicholas, Co, D, 29th 0, V, I. D. 0. Musser, Co. D, 178th 0. V. L, e. Sept. 4, '64 ; disd. June 29, '65. Albert A. Dix, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I,, e. Nov,, 1861 ; died Jan, 4, L864, H, D, Worden, Co, B, 74th 111, V, I,, e, October, 1862; disd. at Memphis, Tenn, William Cumberworth, Co, D, 1st 0, V. L. A., e, Aug, 19, 1862 ; disd. L, E, Orandall, Co. K, 42d 0, V. L, e. Nov,, 1861, Juno 10, 1865. W, M, Crandall, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. 0. A, Billings, Co. A, 1st 0. V. L. A., e. September, 1861 ; disd. Jan- 4 0. E. Hubble, On, B, 22d 0, V, I. uary, 1864. b Charles Lyons, Co. B, 22d 0. V. I. 0. A. Billings, Co. A, 1st 0. V. L, A,, o. January, 1864; disd, July 1 * Sergt. Wm. 0. Lyon, Co, 0, 23d 0, V, I. 23, 1865, ^ V r ■* a y i\>^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 343 Martin H. Marquitt, Co. K, 19th 0. V, I., o. April 23, 1861 : disd. Aug. 19, 1861. Martin H. Marquitt, Co. A, 1st 0. L. A., o. September, 1861; disd. July 1, 186S. aneas Allen, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 6, 1864; died at Wash- ington, D. C, February, 1865. Samuel Hicks, Co. B, 178th 0. Y. I., i-. Sept. 5, '64; disd. July 9, '66. Kichard B. Keyes, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. March 21, 1864; disd. June 17, 1865. Michael Schriber, Co. D, 178th 0, V. I., o. Sept. 5, 1864 ; disd. Edwin Kellogg, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 5, 1864; disd. June 10, 1866. John Kellogg, Jr., Co, F, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Feb. 20, '66 ; disd. June, '66. Anson J. Waldo, Co. D, 178th 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 5, 1804; disd. July 10, 1865. Justus T. Waldo, Co. I, lOSd 0. Y. I.; disd. Edwin A, Waldo, 20th 0. Y. B., e. Sept. 22, 1862 ; disd. July 13, '65. Wm. Y. Howland, Co. A, 2d 0. Y, C, e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. Jan., 1863. Wm. Y. Howland, Co. A, 2d 0. V. Y. C; disd. Oct. 23, 1865. William H. Laughlin, Co. E, 1st 0. Y. C, e. Aug. 23, 1861 ; disd, Sept. 1, 1864. E. Conant, Co. P, 2d 0. Y. 0., e. February, '64 ; disd, February, 1866. Robert Andrew, Co. B, 178th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 6, 1864 ; died in serv- ice. Bee. 17, 1864. Frank A. Gouch, served one summer. Charles B. Salisbury, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug. 13, 1861 ; trans. Charles R. Salisbury, 25th 0. Y. B., c. Feb, 17, '63; disd. Jan. 2, '64. Charles R. Sallsburv, 25th Ind. 0. Y. B., e. Jan. 3, 1864; disd. Bee. 12, 1865, R. B Keyes, 2d 0. Y. C, e. 1864; disd, June, 1865. Fred Gouch, 41st 0. Y. I., e. 1861 ; died in service, April 20, 1863. Warner Bellus, Co. G, 115th 0. V. I., e. Oct, 8, 1863 ; disd. July 25, 186.'=. Nathaniel Bellus, Co. B, 178th 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 6, 1864 ; died at Newbern, N. C, Feb., 1865. CaBSius A. Kellogg, Co. M, U. S. C, e. Oct. 3, 1864 ; disd. Oct. 3, 1867. Corp. Zara Ellsworth, Co. A, 124th 0. Y. I., „. July 29, 1862 ; disd. June 9, 1865. William M. Massey, Co. C, 2d 0. Y.O., i. Aug. 24, 1861; disd. Bee. 31, 1863. William M. Massey, Co, C, 2d 0. Y. V. C, e, Jan. 1, 1864; disd. Sept. 11, 1865. Mortimer Olds, Co. E, 1st O. Y. L. A., c. Bee. 7, 1863 ; disd. July 17, 1865. Charles Cleveland, Co. A, Ist 0. V. L. A., e. Sept. 25, 1861 ; died at Camp Wood, Ky., February, 1862. Myron Eichards, Co. A, 1st 0. Y. L. A., e. Sept. 25, 1861 ; disd. Bee. .31, 1863. Myron Richards, Co. A, 1st 0. V. Y. L. A , e. Jan. 1. 1864; disd. July 31, 1865. Lieut. Harrison Frizzell, 6th 0. V. L, A., e. Nov. 2, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 12, 1862. Lieut. Harrison Frizzell, Co. B, ISCth 0. Y. I., Sept. 2, 1864; disd. July 21, 1865. Sergt. Oliver E. Ellsworth, Co. A, 124th 0. Y, I,, c. Aug. 12, 1862 ; disd. June 9, 1865. Henry M. Hohnes, Co. I, 41st 0. Y. I., e. Oct. 2, '61 ; disd. Nov. 1, '64. Henry Searles, Go. A, Ist 0. Y. A., e. September, 1861. Ephraim Sutton, Co. A, 1st 0. Y. A., e. September, 1861. Samuel Pelton, Co. E, 1st 0. V. A., e. August, 1861. John W. Garget, e. Co. A, 1st 0. V. A., e. Sept. 4, '61 ; disd. Dec. 31, 1863, Nelson Yaughn, Co. D, 124th 0. Y. I., e. Dec. 24, 1863 ; disd. July 9, 1865. John W. Labare, Co. B, 1st 0. Y. A. Chas. Cleveland, Co. A, 1st 0. Y, A.; died in service. Henry 0. West, Co. E, 1st 0. Y. A. Hiram King, Co. E, 1st 0. Y. A. George Pierce, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C. George Williams, Co. I, 2d O. Y. C. George Abrams, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C. Edmon Bamon, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C. Ira Bedell, Co. I, 2d 0, Y. 0. Frederick A. Garrett, Co. I, 4l8t 0. Y. I., e. 1861. Samuel Augustus Buell, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. L Martin McAiister, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I. Jeremiah Fitch. Co. H, 8th 0. V. I. Jacob Sutton, 65th 0. Y. I. G. W. Lee, 65th 0. V. I. Jacob J, Bogardus, Co. B, 67th 0. V. I. Wm. B. Halsey, Co. G, 72d 0. Y. I. Orville McClintick. Thos. Hattteld, Kunkle's Battery. Anson E. Mclntire, Co. M, 2d 0. V. C. HARRISVILLE TOWNSHIP. Alfred H. Sanford, Co. E, 128th 0. Y: I., o. Bee. 16, 1863; disd. July 13, 1865. Calvin M. Horner, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 12, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 25, 1862. Calvin M. Horner, Co. G, 2d O.Y. H. A., e. Feb,26, 1864 ; disd. Aug. 23, 1865. James C. Rogers, Co, A, Hoffman's Bat., e. July 28, 1863 ; disd. July 13, 1865. Elias Hanes, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 22, '62; disd. Feb. 26, '64. Levi J. Donaldson, Co. F, 20th 0. Y. I., e. Oct. 1, 1862 ; disd. July 1, 1863. Columbus C. Eldred, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., o. April 26, 1861 ; disd. July 13, 1864. Corp. A. Pomroy, Co. B, 42d 0. Y. L, e. Sept. 9, 1861 ; disd. Aug. 17, 1862. First Lieut. A. Pomroy, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Danford P. Eldred, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June 12, 1861 ; disd. July 13, 1864. Lieut. Henry Cutter, Co. E, 4th 0. V. I., e. 186] ; disd. June 21, '65. Henry Cutter, U. L. G., e. Nov. 26, 1863; disd, Sept. 9, 1865. W. F. Ford, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. May 26, '61; disd. March 2, 1865. Ludwick B. Wagoner, Co. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 20, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. William Pittinger, Co. B, 102d 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 15, 1862 ; disd, Juno 23, 1865. J. C. Bacon, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. December, '64. W. M. Bacon, Co. K, 81h 0. Y. I.,e. April, 1861 ; disd. April, 1864. A. Bowman, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, '62 ; disd. August, '65. H. L. Burr, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I,, e. April, 1861 ; disd. April, 1864. G. 0. Chapman, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862; disd. Feb- ruarv, 1864. L. H. Chapman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. August, 1862 ; died at Nashville, Tenn. A. Clark, Co. Q, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1863 ; disd, June, 1864. John Crow, Co. B, 124th 0. Y, I., e. August, 1862 ; died iu service. J. L. Dennis, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, '62 ; disd. August, '65. Maj. S. W. Bewitt, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. August, 1861 ; disd. De- cember, 1865. William Durham, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1863 ; disd. Au- gust, 1864. C. C. Eldred, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. April, 1861 ; died at Washing- ton, B. 0. J. F. Teazle, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1861 ; disd. August, '63. J. Fetterman, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1861 ; disd. Novem- ber, 1864. M. Flickinger, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862; killed at Mis- sion Ridge. Phil Goodwin, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e, November, 1861 ; disd. Novem- ber, 1864. W. Goodwin, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1861 ; killed at Thomp- Bonville, Miss. J. G. Green, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., April, 1861 ; disd. April, 1863. N. Griswold, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e, November, 1861 ; disd. May, '63. E. L. Gunson, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1861 ; disd. August, '64. D. Hanes, Co. B, 1241h 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862 ; died in service. J. Hanes, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. August, 1865. P. Hanes, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. August, 1863. W. Hanes, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1862 ; disd. August, 1865. J. T, Henry, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1861 ; disd. May, '64. B. Hettinger, Co. 6, 42d 0. Y. I., e. November, 1861 ; disd. May, '63. J. I. Horner, Co. K, 110th 0. Y. I., e. October, 1862; cisd. Febru- ary, 1864. John Horner, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., o. May, 1864; disd. Septem- ber, 1864. Ed. Hunter, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. August, 1861 ; disd. August, '64. C. Loomie, Co. 6, 42d O.Y. I., e. November, 1861; disd. Novem- ber, 1864. Lieut. F. E, Loomis, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., o. April, 1861 ; disd. April, 1864. L. Loomis, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., „, November, 1861 ; disd. Novem- ber, 1864. First Lieut. T. G. Loomis, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I.,'e. November, 1861 ; re- signed July 4, 1862. A. B. Lowe, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. August, 1862 ; died at Nash- ville, Tenn. Jas. Lowe, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. August, 1862; disd. J^ugust, 1865. Robert Lowe, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Feb. 1864. C. Merry, Co. G, 42d 0. Y, I., e. Nov., 1861; disd. July, 1862. M. A. Mihills, Co. A, Huffman's Bat.; disd. M, A. Mihills, 178th 0. Y. I. ; disd. B. Miller, Co. E, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861; disd. May, 1862. J. Miller, Co. A, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1862. (S~ 1^ .^ 344 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. D. Mills, Huffman's Bat. ; disd. r. Hunson, Co. E, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1862. E. Myera, Oo. B, 13«h 0. V. I., e. Aug., '62; dUd. Aug., 1805. T. Mates, Oo. K, 7'2d 0. \. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1863. D. R. Newell, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. April, 1861 ; killed at Frederick City, Md. D. Parker, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861 ; killed at Gettysburg. G. Park, Oo. G, 72d O. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1865. Jas. Park, Co. I, 72d 0. V. I, e. Nov., 1861 ; disd, Nov. 1SG2. 0th. Park, 20tli 0. Bat., e. Jan., 1864; disd. June, 1865. Wm. H. Parmeter, Co. G, 42d O. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. May, '63. B. B. Kedfleld, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I.,e, Aug., 1861 ; disd, Aug., 1864. "W. Kopp, Oo. K, 72d 0. V. I., e. .Ian., 1802; disd. Jan., 1865, Geo, Shafer, Oo, I, 72d 0, V I,, e, Nov,, 1861 ; disd, Nov,, 1862. Giles Sheldon, Co. G,42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1801 ; disd. B. J. Stephenson, Oo. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug.'63. 0. Smith, Co, G, 42d 0. \. I., e. Nov , 1801 ; disd. May, 1863. L. D. Smith, Co. G, 42d 0, Y. I., e. Nov,, 1861; disd, Nov., 1864, T, H, Smith, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861 ; died at Burbank, Ohio. H. E, Spring, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. April, 1861 : disd, April, 1864, B, S, Slone, Oo, B, 124th 0, V. I., o. Aug., 1862; disd, Aug,, 1863. George Swift, Oo. G, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; killed at Vicksburg. 0. M. Van Orman, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. J. H. Van Orman, Co, K, 8th 0, V, I,, e, Nov.. 1861 ; disd. Nov., '64. 0. 0. Van Orman, Oo. B, 42d 0. V. I , e. Nov., 1S61 ; disd, A, Vandermark, Co, B, 124th 0. V. I,, e. Aug., 1862 ; killed at Mis- sion Bidge. B. Vandemark, Co. B, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. March, 1862. J. Vandermark, Oo, B, 72d O, V. I,, e. Nov,, 1861 ; disd, O, Vanderhoff, Co, B, 124th 0, V. I., e. April, 1862 ; disd. April, '66, H. D. Weaver, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug., 1864. J. W. Weaver, Co B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug., 1864. F. Weir, Co, B, 124th 0, V. I,, e, Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug. 1864. J. Winters, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. April, 1861 ; disd. April, 1864. Wm. Winters, Co. B, 124th 0. A^ I., 6, Aug., 1862; disd. Aug., 1864. T. Worthington, Oo B, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., 1865. J. Young, Oo. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug., 1865, St, Kemmery, Oo, B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. Aug,, 1865, G. Leiby, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862; disd, Aug. 1863. M, Hyatt, Co. G, 42d 0. V, I,, e, Nov, 1861 ; disd, Sergt. E. SchoUz, Co. C, 128th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 9, 1862; disd. July 12, 1865. William Miller, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861. Peter Johnson, Co. K, 8th 0. V, I., e. June, 1861. Henry Harts, Co. K, 8',h 0. V. I., e. June, 1861. E. H. Torrence, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861. John Sayles, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e, Nov., 1861, Peter Mates, Oo, G, 42d 0. V, I., e. Nov., 1861. Eeuben Wertman. Co. F, 72d 0. V. I. Louis Bappe, Oo. P, 72d 0. V. I. William Griswold, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 1861. Porter Smith, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861. Frank Richardson, Oo. B, 42d 0, V. I,, e, Aug. 1861. Henry Signs, 72d 0. V. I. Alonzo Trapp, 72d 0. V, I. James Geisinger, 72d O. V. I. Joseph Bensinger, 72dO. V. I. Milton Parmer, Oo. K, 16th 0. V. I. John Geisinger, Oo. K, 16th 0. V. I. Almond F. Norton, Oo, A, 24th 0,V. I. Allen Young, Henry F. Hettinger, Co. 0, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; disd. Nov,,'64. Second Lieut, Robert Park, Allen Sargent, John Feltz, HOMER TOWNSHIP. Henry Boop, Co. 1, 29th 0. Y. I., e, '64 ; killed at Buzzard's Boost, Ga. Henry H. Hibbard, Co. I, 29th 0. V, I., e. 1864; disd. July, 1805. John Boop, Co. I. 29th 0. V I,, e. 1864; disd, 1865, Samuel Coller, Co, K, 10th 0, V. I., e. Sept, 22, 1801; died at Jack- son, Miss, William Coller, Co, K, 16th 0, V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 11, 1864. Sergt. Jacob Coller, Co. H, 15th U. S. B., e. Oct. 15, 1861 ; died at Bes- aca, Ga., S-pt,, 1864, James T. Miller, Co, A, 72d 0. V, L, e, Oct,, 1861 ; disd, July, 1862. Sergt, Lorenzo Vaciderhoof, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. April, 1861; disd. March, 1863. George Shafer, Oo. I, 72d O. V. I., e. Oct., 1861; disd. July, 1862, Sergt John E, Fotch, Oo, L, 2d CCA, e, Sept. 26, 1872 ; disd. June 1,1877. Daniel Coller, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., o. Juno, 1862 , died at Knoxville, Tenn., Dec, 27, 1863. Nathan Miller, Co. B, 124th 0. V, I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd, Nathan Miller, 29th 0. V. I.; disd. June 16, 1865. George A. House, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862; disd. June 16, 1865. Francis A. Allen, Co. H, 2d 0. I, C, e. Aug, 28, 1861 ; disd, Jan. 14, 1803. Francis A. Allen, 25lh 0. V. Bat., e. Jan. 7, 1863; disd. Dec. 14, '66. John Grow, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; died Jan. 16, '63. Sergt. Eljas Freyman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 18, 1862; disd. June 9, 1865. Morris Fiickinger, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862; killed at Mission Bidge Nov. 25, 1863. Daniel Frank, Co. E, 12ath 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22, 1862; disd. Jan. 8, 1864. Ezra Freyman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., ». Aug, 18, 1862 ; disd. April 26, 1863. D. Gardner, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 18, 1862; disd. June 9, '65. William Hanes, Oo. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 18, 1862; disd. June 9, 1865. Theodore Hawk, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Jan. 26, 1863 ; disd. June 2, 1865. William Kemery, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22, 1802; disd. June 9, 1805. David Keyser, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862; disd. June 9, 1805. Francis Kelley, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Feb. 4, 1864; disd. July 13, 1865. Stephen Kemerv, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 18, 1862 ; disd. June 9, 1865. Gideon Leiby, Co. B, 121th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. Aug.,'63. James Low, Co. B, 124th 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 12, 1862 ; disd. June 9, '65. Oliver Low, Co. K, 102d 0. V. I., e. Aug, 13, 1862 ; disd. July, 1865. Sergt. Lloyd A, Marsh, Co. B, 124th O. V. I., e. Aug. 18, 1862; disd. June 9, 1866. Israel Mnyer, Oo. B, 124th O. V. I., o. Aug. 18, 1862 ; disd, June 9, 1865. Corp. James Park, Oo. K, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 25, 1861 ; disd. Sept, 24, 1862. Charles Shelhart, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. Aug., 1863, William Stitle, Oo. I., 29th 0. V. I., e. Jan. 8, 1863 ; disd. Sept., '66, Leoret Spring, Oo. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug, 22, 1862 ; disd, June 9, 1865. James Tinsler, Co. A, 120th 0, V. I., e. July 16, 1862 ; disd. May,'65. Sergt. Orson Vanderhoof, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. June 9, 1805. Albert Voorhees, Co. C, 176th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1864 ; disd. June 16, 1865. Jackson Young, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug, 18, 1864; disd. June 9, 1805, John 0, Leney, Oo, K, 8th 0, V, I.; disd. Jonathan Mayer, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861; disd. Franklin B. Spring, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I, Henry E, Spring, Oo, K, 8th 0, V. I. Jeremiah Swartz, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I. John G. Marsh, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I. Bufus 0. Marsh, Oo. I, 29th 0. V. I. Henry Rex, Oo. I, 29th 0. V, I. James Miller, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I. James Hauk, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I. Philip Hawk, Oo I, 29th 0. V. I. Wm. H. Cooper, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I, Jefferson Bail, Co, I, 29th 0, V. I. Uriah Cook, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I. William Angel, Co. H, 2d 0. V C. Lester Huntington, Co. H, 2d 0. Y. C. James L. Chapman, Oo. H, 42d 0. Y. I. Nathan Clouse, 1st 0, Y, A, James McKee, Co, A. 72d O. V. I. George Flock, Oo. A, 72d 0. V. I. William Hassiky. J. J. Bair, W. Miller, E, Hanes, J. Hankey. J. Hanes. J. Barnes. E. Bairich. G. Barnes, 0. Huntington. J. Delong, 0, Perkins. J. Myers, LITCHFIELD TOWNSHIP. H, D, Palmer, Co. C, X76th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22,1864; disd. Aug. 14, 1865. 0. B. Olcott, Co. E, 10th 0. V. C, e. Nov, 4, 1862; disd, Sept. 4, '63. 0. B. Olcott, 6th 0. Y. C, e, Feb, 29, 1864; disd, July 11, 1866, ^ A ^ S) ^ Sergt, L. G. Perry, Co. C, lYOth 0. V. I., o. Aug. 2'J, 181)4 ; disd. Aug. 14, 1S66. Oapt. Homer Thrall, Co. B, 17th 0. V. I., o. April, 18G1 ; diad. Aug. 1861. Capt. Homer Thrall, Co. D, 22d 0. V. I., o. Aug., 1801 ; diad. Not. 1S64. L. B. Sweet, Co. C, 176th 0. V. I , e. Sopt. 3, 186i; disd. July 14,, 1865. Sergt. W. A. Pelton, Co. H, 10th 0. V. C, e. Nov. 3, 1862 ; diad. July 24, 1865. Second Lieut. Wm. H. Brooker, Co. B, loth 0. \. 0., o. Sept. 13, 1862; disd. June 12, 1864 Second Lieut. Wm. H. Brooker, Co. E, 182d 0. \. I., e. Feb., 1865; disd. July 7, 1865. S. Norton, died March 16, 1866. Wm. Leach, 198th 0. V. I.; died July 13, 1864. J. E. Demming, 8th 0. V. I.; disd. A. Forbes, Co. 0, 176th 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1864 ; died Dec. 6, 1864. S. Whitman, Co. E, 10th 0. V. C; died at Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 23, 1862. H. A. Stranahan, died March 25, 1865. S. Monosmith, 0. V. I.; kid. Doc. 23. P. Meyers, kid. at Shiloh May 1, 1862. D. Fritz, 124th 0. V. I.; died June 6, 1864. L. French, 124th 0. V. I.; died April 4, 1863. A. M. Everitt, 124th 0. V. I.; died June 3, 1864. J. Damon, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 24, 1861 ; died March 26, '63. G. Culver, Co. K, 8th O. V. I., e. June 21, 1861; died March 20, '03. J. Bartshe, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 24, 1861 ; died Sept. 20, '61. George Benton, 124th 0. V. I.; kid. Sept. 20, 1863. Watson M. Woodworth, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I , e. Aug. 12, 1862 ; disd. Jan. 27, 1864. Walter Canfield, Co. 0, 176th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 3, 1864; disd. June 14, 1865. Sergt. Adin W. Durkee, Co. D, 23d 0. V. Y. I., o. April, 1861 ; diad. Jan., 1863. Sergt. Adin W. Durkee, Co. E, 42d 0. V. I., e. Jan., 1864; resd. Aug 1865. George Randall, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Sept 30, 1864. First Lieut. Henry Fritz, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 24, 1861 ; read. B. F. Nickerson, Co. K, 8th O. V. I., e. June 24, 1861; disd. on fic- count of wound at Antietam. Washington Forbea, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 24, 1861 ; disd. July 13, 1864. Samuel Powers, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 24, 1861. Keuben Ream, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; diad. Dec , 1864. James Kellogg, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I , e. Sept., 1861. Henry W. Horton, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; disd, Dec. '64. Herman Ross, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861; diad. Uct. 1, 1862. John H. Horton, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861; disd. Dec , 1864. Peter Miera, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861; kid. May 1, 1863. Georire Bendle, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. Joel Sawyer, Co. D, 23d 0. V. I. William Nickerson, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., o. Sept., 1861, Ormel Forbes, 0. V. I. Timothy Powers, 0. V. C. Joseph Monosmith, 2d 0. "V. C. Emery C. Newton, Co. H, 27th O. V. I. Samuel Welman, Co. H,42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. Capt. Azor H. Nickerson, Co. I, 8th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. on account of wounds at Gettysburg. Maj. Azor H. Nickerson, U. S. A.; still in service. Dexter Fritz, 1 6th 0. V. I. Arthur Badlong. George Chase. M. Gardner. Judaou Wyatt. C. S. Morehouse. Nelson Maine. Perry Maine. N. Nickerson. L. Nickerson. A. S. Powers. John Eaidaie. Simon Seeley. Nathan Sutliffe. L. Brooker. H. Brooker. Wm. Forbes. W. Judson. J. F. Main. N.W.Mills. W. A. Mallory. N. K. Olcott. H. Perry. Wm. Willard. M. Buck. H. Mallory. K. Pelton. E. Pelton. D. Randall. G. W. Turner, E. Warner. H. Ward. W. H. Brayton. A. Curtis. M. Dunbar. W. Gambole. T. Halliday. J. Judaon. Wm. Leach. James Slocum, died in service. William Willard. LIVERPOOL TOWNSHIP. Jonathan King, Co. K, 23d 0., e. June 9, 1861; died at Frederick, Sept. 22, 1803. John G. Reisioger, Co. B, Ist 0- L. A., u. Oct. 29, 1861 ; disd. Miirtiii Reisinger, Co. B, 191st 0. N. G., e. Feb. 28, 1865; disd. Aug. 27, 1865. John J. Reisinger, Co. B, lOlat 0. N. G., e. Feb. 28, 1865 ; disd. Aug. 27, 1865. Edwin R. Beach, Co. K, 72d 0. V. I., o. Nov. 4, 1861 ; diad. Nov. 21, 1864. John Miller, Co. K, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 4, 1861, diad. A. I. Pritchard, Co. K, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 4, 1861. John Warner, Co. Q, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 4, 1861. Firat Lieut. Wm. 0. Beutel, Co. G, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 4, 1861. Wesley Howard, Co. G, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 4, 1861. William Hoxsey, Co. G, 72d 0. Y. 1., e. Nov. 4, 1861. Wm. Mathews, Co. D, Ist 0. V. A. John Breatel, Co. D, lat 0. V. A. Martin Terril, Co. D, Ist 0. V. A. Henry Farnaworth, Co. D, 1st 0. V. A. Fred Born, Co. D, Ist 0. V. A. Jacob Dunderman, Co. D, 1st 0. \. A. J. B. Rinear, Co. D, 1st 0. V. A. W. E. Chamberlin, Co. D, lat 0. V. A. Edwin Warner, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. George Chamberlin, Co. I, 2d O. V. C. Franklin Moore, Co. D, IstO. Y. I. Chaa Hancock, Co. D, lat 0. V. I. Philip Winninger, Co. K, lat 0. Y. I. Wm. Instle, Co. K, 1st O. Y. I. Gottlieb Wohlpet, Co. H, 3d Mich. Y. I David Chadwick, Co. F, 24th 0. Y. I. Frank H. Pierce, 6th U. S. A. 0. Geo. Gaylord, Co. L, 6th U. S- A. C. Jonathan King, Co. K, 23d O. V. I. Christian Seymore, Co. G, 49th 0. V. I. Wm. Uga, 67th 0. Y. I Jacob Roth, 67lh 0. \. I, Frid Kimmick, 72d O. Y. I. Jonas La Bier, Co. E, 41et 0. Y. I. Charles Uga, Co B, 91h Mich. Y. I. Joseph Zimmerman, Co. D, 65th 0. V. I. I. L. Reneger, Co. H, 37th V. I. Peter Halftermeier, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I. John Mott, 37th 0. Y. I. John Weber, Co. A, 43d O. V. I. Fred Erodt, 67th 0. Y. I. John Raver, Co. K, 7th 0. Y. I. Charles Muntz, Co. K, 7th 0. Y. I. 0. Merrick, 42d 0. V. I. G Zimmerman, 8th Mich. Y. I. C. Betz, Ist Mich. V. I. Martin Smith, 5«th 0. Y. L B. Kitz, Co. 0, 72d 0. Y. I. William Frank, Co. H, 72d 0. Y. I. John Dye, 6th 0. S. S. S. M. Spooner, 5th O. S. S. Henry Mahlev, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I , e. June, 1861 ; disd. E. R. Beach, 72d O.V.I. John Amons, 72d 0. V. I. John Ritz, 72d 0. V. I. John Mallot, 72d 0. Y. I. John Geiger, 72d 0. Y. I. Frank Wormstick, 72d 0. V. I. August M. Wormstick, 72d 0. Y. I. Fred NefT, 72d 0. Y. I. Albert Smith, 72d 0. V. I. J. M. Hawk, Barber's S. S. Wendel Matt, Barber's S. S. Felix Matt, Barber's S. S Peter Roth, Barber's S. S. Oapt. M. Frey, 103d 0. V. I. James Clark, 103d 0. V. I. David Clark, 103d 0. Y. I. Aaron Everly, 103d o. V. I. A. Atkiuson, 42d 0. V. I. John Wass, 42d 0, Y. I. Henry Spooner, 42d 0. Y. I. C. Olin, 124th 0, Y I. G. L. Arnold, 124tli 0. Y. 1. DeLos Moon. Frank Moon. Wm. Renter. Geo. Musser. Geo. Armbruster. Lewia Rolling. Chae. Oariman. A. R. Lork. - IS 346 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUISTTY. James Labare. Sol Pritchard, 0. E. Maley. Caleb Reber. Henry Miller. Leonard Labare. H. A. Maley. John Montz. Wm. Keber. John Themes. LA FAYETTE TOWNSHIP. Sept. I, 111th N. T. V. I., i, 1861; disd. Sept, I. July 9, 1862 ; disd. Sept. 22, 1861; disd. Aug. 12, 1862; disd. June Oct. 29, 1861 ; died. Sept, 1861; disd, Aug. 1861; disd. Sept. '61 ; disd. July 2, '64. , e. May 2, 18Ci ; disd. 1864 ; died Aug. 28, e. July 27, 1862 ; disd. Levi Bowman, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I. 30, 1864. Frederick T. Moss, Co. June 16, 1865. Corp. James E. Parker, Co. I, 160th 0. N. G., e. May 8, 1864; disd. Aug. 23, 1864. Corp. John Lance, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 15, 1862 ; disd. Jan.— Corp. John Lance, 28th Mich., e. Sept. 16, 1864; disd. June 6, 1866. Seth Ault, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 12, 1862. Surgeon G. W. Waltz, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I. Sept. 30, 1864. William Winters, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. . 27, 1865. James Winters, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., 13, 1864. Sergt. A. T. Boise, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., o. April 27, 18, 1861. A. T. Boise, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., c. Sept. 22, 30, 1864. Alfred Bowman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. L, ^. Oct. 3, 1,.62; died. June 14, 1865. Adam Bowman, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G , e. May 3, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Geo. Eaken, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, '64. Geo. E. Miller, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G.,e. May 2, '64; disd. Sept. 9, '64. Abraham H. Eaken, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G.. e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. James Stewart, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. William E. Moulton, Co. B, 106th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. John P. Waltz, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 15, Sergt. N. M. MoConnell, Co. D, 166th 0. V. I. Sept, 10, 1865. Alonzo House, Co. A, 2d 0. V. C, e. March 11, 1864, at West Philadelphia. Romaine B. Hart, Co. B, 108th N. T. S. V. L, Dec. 15, 1862. Sergt. Komaine B, Hart, Co, H, 22d N. Y, V. C, e, Dec. 9, 1863 ; disd. Aug. 1, 1865. Bewlice Phillips, Co. D, 166th 0. V. N., e. May 2,1864; disd, Dec. 9, 1864. B. H. Phinney. Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 14, '61 ; disd. Dec. 2, '64. Samuel Clark, Co. B, 19th 0. V. I,, e. Aug. 1, 1862 ; disd. June 5, '65. Lyman C. Nichols, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. John L. Miller, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G,, e. May 2, 1864; died at Ft. Richardson, Va,, July 20, 1864. Geo. C. Buchanan, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Jacob A. Miller, Co. D, 166th O. N. G., e. May 15, 1864; died at Ft. Bichardson, Va., July 11, 1864. Amos D. Sheldon, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. George 0. Moody, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 24, 1861 ; kid. at Yicks- burg, July31, 1863. Solon D. Moody, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., „. Aug. 1, 1862 ; died Young's Point, La., Feb. 23, 1863. Sergt. Isaac L, Pierce, Co, I, 2d 0. 0., e, Aug, 13, 1861 ; disd. Sergt. Isaac L. Pierce, Co. B, 2d 0. V. V. C, e. Dec. 31, 1863 ; died at Berryville, Va., Sept. 13, 1864. John W. Thomas, Co. 6, 42d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 10, 1862 ; died at Mil- liken 's Bend, La., July 8, 1863. William 0. Lance, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Memrihis, Tenn , May 30, 1863. Joseph H. Kichards, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I. Young's Point, La., Feb. 16, 1803. Wm. H. Richards, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Young's Point, La., Feb. 21, 1863. Levi A. Chase, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1801; died at Vicks- burg, June 2, 1863. Chas. H. Millington, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Oct. 10, 1861; died at Ashland, Ky., March 25, 1862. Henry Rudd, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., July 22, 1862 ; died at Milliken's Bend, La., March 21, 1803. Aug. 25, 1862; died at , B.July 20, 1862; died at Sept. 22, 1861; died at Aug. 10, 1862; died May died at Ash- Geo, J. Williams. Miles Mack. Henry Chapin. Heleon A. Barrett, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., 23, 1863. Lyman Thomas, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; land, Ky., March 4, 1862. Sergt. Josiah Asire, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., c. March 25, 1862 ; kid. at Champion, Miss., May 1, 1863. Corp. E. J. Carlton, Co. D, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; died at Ft. Richardson, Va., July 5, 1864. Corp. Allen H. Baker, Co. A, 18th Ky. V. I., e. May 12, 1862 ; disd. May 20, 1865. Alexander Lowe, died in service at Nashville, Tenn. James D. Lowe, Co. K, 8th 0, V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; kid. at Antietam. Sergt. Peter Miller, Co. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Sept., '61 ; disd. Sept., 1864. Jacob Watring, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. W. E. Carton, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. Elliott McDougall. Edwin Rice. E. B. Hairis. J. B. llcOonnell. Henry Howard. Frederick Howard. Geo, W. Jourdoin. Cyrus D. Jourdion. George W. Foote. A. J. Harrington, died at Andersonville. A. J. Smith. E. F. Smith. H. P. Prouty. Horace Potter, Co. E, 3d 0. V., Mexican war, e. June, 1846 ; disd. Sept., 1847. Capt. Horace Potter. William Wheeler. John W. Bowman. P. L. Waltz. Lieut. K. L. McConnel, Co K, 8th 0. V. I., e, June, 1861 ; resd. Sergt. Q, W, Patterson, Co, K, 8th 0, V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 23, 1862. T. B. Randall, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. John Anderson, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861, disd. Marvin B. Wyatt, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861. Lyman P. Judson, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. Benjamin Eudd, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. Albert Biggs, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. Josiah Howes, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. John Gruf, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C. W. F. Smith, Co. B, 55th 0. Y. I. Wm. H. Bockus, Co. K, 8lh 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 23, '62. Wm. H. Bockus, Co. 6th U. S. C, e. Oct. 23, 1862 ; disd. May 26, '64. W. J. Chamberlin, Co. 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Sept., '64. Amos Crites, 0. V. I.; disd, A, M, Hanser, 16eth 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Sept., 1864. William Bowman, 166th 0. N. G., 6. May, 1864 ; disd. Sept., 1864. Levi Lance, 166th 0. N. G., 6. May, 1864; disd. Sept., 1864. H. H. Williams, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Sept., 1864. E. E. Andrews, Co. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Sept., '64. MEDINA— VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP. Musician Worden Babcock, Co. C, 176th 0. V. I., e. Feb. 18, 1865 disd. July, 1865. Frederick Kimmich, Co. H, 72d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 10, 1861 ; disd, Aug, 1866. Sergt, C. H. Kimball, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862; disd June 25, 1865. William H. Bennett, Co. A, 8th Wis. V. I., e. Aug. 14, 1861 ; disd, Jan. 3, 1864. William H. Bennett, Co. A, 8th Wis. Y, I,, o. Jan, 4, 1864; disd. Sept, 6, 186,5. Charles A, Kunitz, Co. 0, 10th H. A., s. Aug. 19, 1862; disd. May 27, 1865. Corp. Squire Frazier, Co G, 102d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 6, 1862 ; disd. June 19, 1865. Drummer C. H. Manville, Co. K, Sth 0. V. I , e. May 26, 1861 ; disd. July 13, 1804. Corp. Otis S. Young, Co. 1, 3d Minn. V. I., e. Oct. 11, 1861 ; disd. Deo. 31, 1803. Sergt. Otis S. Young, Co. I, 3d Minn. V. I., e. Jan. 1,1864; disd. Sept. 2, 1865. Sergt. Sidney S. Alden, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Dec, 2, 1804. Second Lieut. Sidney S. Alden, Co. E, 189th 0. V. I., =. March 9, 1865; disd. Sept. 28, 1805. Charles Levet, Co. H, Sth 0. V. I., e. Juno 6, 1861 ; disd. June 25, 1864. Joshua S. Mason, Co. F, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. March 12, 1804. ^ (< ;k- A ^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 347 Sergt. Geo. W. Lewis, Co. 0, 11th tU. V. I., o. April 15, 1861 ; disd, Aug., 1861. Maj. Geo. W. Lewis, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., v=. Aug. 12, 1862; died. July 9, 1865. George H. Lowe, Ck). D, 166th 0. N. G., o. May 7, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. John A. Bradley, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1861; disd. Aug. 13, 1862. Q. M. Charles B. Chamberliu, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 7, 1864; disd. Sept. 10, 1864. Sergt. Okie H. McDowell, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C; disd. Sergt. Okie H. McDowell, Co. A, 2dO. V. Y. C, e. Jan. 1, 1864; disd. Sept. 2, 1865. First Lieut. B. M. Dowell, 2d 0. V. C, o. Aug. 29, 1862 ; disd. Oct., 1866. Harrison Eorack, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861 ; disd. Juno, '65. Enoch E. Rorack, Barber's S. S., e. Sept., 1862 ; disd. 1863. Sergt. George Korack, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I.; killed at Strashurg, A'a., May, 1862. Capt. J. H. Greeue, Co. P, 8th Wis. V. I., o. July 24, 1861 ; disd. March, 1865. Sergt. Oliver Tader, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, o. Aug. 15, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 31, 1863. Sergt. Oliver Vader, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Dec. 31, 1863 ; disd. Sept. 11, 1805. Corp. Henry P. Handy, Co. A, 49th N. T. S. V., e. Aug, 1, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 15, 1863. Corp. Henry F Handy, Co. A, 49th N. Y. S. V. V., o. Dec. 15, 1863; disd. June 27, 1865. Orlo Jackson, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. J. Andrew, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Oct., 1863, Sergt, Smith Egbert, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 16, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1804. Second Lieut. Smith Egbert, Co. B, 186th 0. Y. I., o. Jan. 25, 1865 ; disd. Sept. 25, 1866. Alexander Corretsoa, Co. E, 3d 0. Y. Mex. war, e. June, 1846 ; disd. Sept., 1847. Wm. Cater, Co. B, 166th 0. N. 6., e. May, 1864; disd. Dec. 18, 1864. Capt. H. P. Foskett, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 22, 1861; disd. Dec , 1864. Corp. George Hayden, Co. A, 42d 0. V. I., o. Sept. 20, 1861; disd. April 10, 1863. Timothy Metzger, Co. C, 103d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 9, 1862; disd. June 12, 1866. L. B. Mann, Co. K, 103d 0. Y. I., o. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1866. Orville Welling, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; died at Harper's Ferry. John Dunn, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 6, 1861; died in W. Yir- ginia. Ira Brigham, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June 6, 1861 ; killed at Gettys- burg, July 3, 1863. Daniel A. Wells, Co. K, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Milo A. Hobart, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; died on Big Sandy Eiver Feb. 25, 1862. John Graham, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June 6, 1861 ; killed at Battle of Wilderness. AUis B. Brown, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., c. June 6, 1861 ; killed at Win- Alfred J. Davis, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June 6, 1861; disd. Dec, '61. Capt. 0. 0. Kelsea, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; read. 1861. George Harris, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. I., e., Sept., 1861 ; killed at Port Gibson, Ky., May 1, 1863. Americus Hitchcock, 1st 0. L. A.; killed at Chattanooga. Franklin B. Willard, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; died in serv- ice April 25, 1862. Corp. Joseph Leavet, Co. K, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; died at Frankfort, Ky., April 12, 1863. WoUaston Andrews, Co. B, Ist 0. H. A., e. Jan. 2, 1864; disd. Curtiss Carpenter, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861; killed in service. Hiram L. Yarney, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. L, e. June, 1861 ; killed at An- tietam, Ya. Walter J. Manning, Co. H, 8th O.Y.I., o. June, 1861; killed at Winchester. Edward Welling, Co. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. April 26, 1864 ; disd. Sept, 9, 1864. Asst. Surg. Salmon Hndson, 23d 0. Y. I., e. June, 1862; disd. Asst. Surg. Salmon Hudson, 11th 0. V. I., g, Aug., 1862 ; disd. Sept., 1862. Post Surg. Salmon Hudson, Louisville, Ky.; resd. Dec, 1863. Nathaniel H. Bostwick, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Patrick Nugent, Co. D, 178th 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 27, 1804 ; disd. July 10, 1865. F. M. Burdoin, Co. 1, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1866. Albert Oatman, Co. B, 186lh 0. Y. I., e. Feb., 1865; died at Nash- ville, Tenn , July 29, 1865. William R. Mann, Co. H, Sth 0. V. I., e. June 6, 1861; died at Fred- erick, Md., Dec. 3, 1863. Norman Miller, Co. C, 75th N. T. \. I., e. Nov. 19, 1861 ; disd. Nov. 25, 1804. Paul G. Wustenberg, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June 6, 1861 ; disd. Jan. 17, 1862. Frank Young, Co. D, 2Bth Mich. V. I., o. Aug., 1862 ; disd. July 13, 1866. Benjamin E. Potter, Co. G, 2d U. S. C, e. March 6, 1865 ; disd. March 6, 1868. Capt. 0. P. Phillips, Co. D, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Corp. Simeon Oatman, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. I., o. Nov. 22, 1861 ; disd. Deo. 2, 1864 Musician Edward P. Rettig, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., o. June, 1861 ; died in service at Medina Sept. 6, 1861. Romao R. Kettig, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. First Lieut. Philo W. Chase, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. July, 1864. Sergt. Griffin S. Reynolds, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. Juno, 1861 ; disd. Corp. George M. Hitchcock, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861; disd. July, 1864. Eben C. Blakeslee, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Wm. H. Floyd, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861; disd. July, 1864, Jerry Fitch, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I , e. June, 1861 ; disd. Oscar 6. Hart, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. John T. Hanchett, Co. H, 8th 0. Y I., e. June, 1861; disd. Erastus Haight, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. W. Henry Miner, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. July, '64. Charles B. Jlclntyre, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. July, 1864, Nathan B. Nettleton, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Wm. C. Reynolds, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. on account of wounds. Solomon Smith, Co. H, 8th 0. X. I., e. June, 1861 ; killed in service. James C.Welch, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861; killed in service. Frank Strong, 9th 0. Bat.; disd. Lewis E. Whitmore, 9th 0. Bat; disd. William Welder, Co, K, 8th 0. V. I., c. June, 1861 ; died April 11, 1863, at Woodstock, Ya. First Lieut. Frank A. Rounds, Co. B, 186th O. V. I., e. Feb., 1865 ; disd. Sept., 1865. Surg. Henry E. Warner. Cyrus Babcock, Co. B, 186tb 0. V. I., e. Feb., 1865 ; disd. Sept., '66. Capt. William G. Garrett, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. June, 1866, Musician Henry G, Sipher, 176th 0. Y. I,, e. Feb., 1866; disd. July, 1865. Louis Rolling, Co. 0, 103d 0. Y. I., „. Aug., 1862 ; disd. tor disabil- ity in 1864. B. A. Post, Co. B, 1st 0. H. A.; disd. Albert Hawkins, Hiram H. Manning, Co. B, ]24th 0. V. I., o. Aug., 1862; disd. July, 1865. Harrison G. Blake, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Col. Harrison G. Blake, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Lieut. Col, Herman Canfleld, 72d 0, Y. I., killed at Pittaburg Landing. Ed Madole, 2d 0. Y. C. John Gerstenberger, Co. I, 72d 0. Y. I., e. 1862; killed in service at Memphis. Isaac Alexander, Jr., Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861; July, disd. 1864. Jacob Alexander, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Edward Chapin, Co. K, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. Wm. Jordan, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. Juno, 1861 ; disd. Merrit Northrop, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. First Lieut. Albert L. Bowman, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 22, 1861 ; disd. Dec, 1864. William F. Sawtell, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. for disability, William Wallace, Co. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. for disability. Charles Blanott, 12th 0. Bat.; disd. Frederick Minor, 12th 0. Bat.; disd. Burt O'Neal, 12th 0. Bat. liL^ 348 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Jacob Hem-y, 12th 0. Bat. Keuben Blanott, Co. E, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Col. Don A. Pardee, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Julins 0. Clark, Co. I., 2d 0. V. 0. Irvin Varaey, Co. I, Sth 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; killed in service. David Dyer, Co. G, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Richard Ansael, Co. H, 23d 0. V. I. John W. Johnston, 39th 0. V. I. Martin Hill, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C; disd. Lewis 0. Munroe, Co. I, 72d 0. V. I. Fred Frank, Co. H, 72d 0. V. I., e. 1861 ; disd. on account of wounds at Pittsburg Landing. A. D. FauBt, Co. A, 2d 0. V. C; disd. Henry Armstrong, Co. K,103d 0. V. I.; died in the service at Frank- fort, Ky. Danforth Ainsworth. Henry J, Eeutter, Co. H, 1st Colo. Ter'y ; died at Camp Weld, Den- ver City, Colo., Nov. 12, 1861. Frank Hills, Co. B, 186th 0. V. I.; disd. Frank Hills, Co. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept., '64. E. Spillman, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G. H. W. Whitney, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G. J. Spillman, Co. A, Ist O. S. S. G. D. Billings, Co. B, 69th 0. V. I. J. G. Hickox, Co. D, 178th 0. V. I. John Esgate, Co. C, 166th 0. V. I. George Bsgate, Co. 0, 68th 0. V. I.; disd. Will Babccok, Co. C, 176th 0. V. I., e. Feb. 18, 1865 ; disd. July, '65. E. E. Smedley, Co. A, 2d 0. V. C; disd. Ed. Cohan, 195th 0. V. I. Henry Spillman, Co. K, 15th 0. V. I.; died at Mt. Vernon, Ind., May 21, 1862. M. Delos Warner, Mich. V. I.; died in service at Bowling Green, Ky. George E. Warner, Wis. V. I.; died in service at St. Louis, Mo. Morgan Andrews, Co. G, 84th 0. V. I.; died in service at Cumber- land, Md. C. E. Barnes. Romulus Barnes. Charles Babcock, Co. E, 166lh 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Wm. H. Beal, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G.: disd. Harris Bishop. Frank Brenner, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G. H. D. Bartean. Noble Bradley. Arthur Bradley. Philander Briggs. George Brainard. Patrick Cunningham, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I.; killed at Bowling Green, Ky. Charles Cushman. Homer Chase, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I.; died on boat on Miss. River. Noble Cook. Samuel Crocker. Jabez Chapman. Luther Davis. James Esgate. Hiram W. Floyd, 103d 0. V. L, e. June, 1861; killed at Altoona, Penn., on way home from service. Surg. J. L. Firestone. H. Featherly, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., c. June, 1861 ; disd. Frank Graham. Newton E. Gile, 6th U. S. Bat, e. Dec. 1860; disd. 1865. Robert Hall. Romaine Hamblin. William H. Hayes. A. Hasbrook. W. F. Eccleston. William H. Jacques. Alexander Hayes. Surg. E. G. Hard, appointed Aug. 12, 1863, Ist 0. V. H. A.; disd. Aug. 18, 1864. James Kelsey. George Kast, Co. G, 166th 0. N. G. N. H. McOlure, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; died at Ft. Richard- son, D. C. Augustus McTntyre. George R. Munson. George Miller. James Newins, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1804; disd. Sept.. 1864. Austin Nettleton. A. Parsons. Seymour Parsons. Ben Piper, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G. Charles Potter. Cant. Geo. Redway, lC3d 0. V. I.; e. Aug., 1862. Augustus Rasor, 124th 0. V. I. Hiram Rice. P. Bobbins. David A. Richards. Louis T. Rounds, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I.; died in service at Brunswick, his home. Lieut. M. S. Root, 103d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; read. Charles Rasor. Lyman Register. Henry Shuler, Co. C, 103d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1862 ; June, 1865. J. K. Stoaks. Thomas Simmons. J. B. Shane, Co. E, e. 166th 0. N. G.; died at Mahaska, Iowa. Frank Smith. Harry Shumway. Samuel L. Stoddard, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I.; died in service at Frank- fort, Ky. R. W. Stockwell, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861; disd. Frank Truman. Harlan Wellin. Fillmore Welling. G. D. Mclntyre. Joseph Welch, Co. G, 84th 0. V. I.; died in service at Pleasant- ville, Penn. August Kesselmeier, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; disd. July, 1864. Elisha Coy, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; disd. July, 1864. Ebenpzer Manning, Co. E, 3d Mex. war, e. June, 1846; disd. Sept., 1847. William H. Hickox, Co. B, 42d 0. T. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Dec, 1864. Samuel 0- Pancoast, Co. K, 16th 0. V. I.; disd. H. Buttolph, Co. E, 26th 0. V. I. John H. Wass, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861 ; disd. Oct., 1864. H. Bowman, 124th 0. V. I. George Brenner, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; Sept., '64. Frank Bagley Co. B, 1861h 0. V. I ; died in service. Joseph 0. Packerd, Co. D, 6th 0. T. C. ; wounded at Hatch's Bun, Va.; died in Cleveland, Ohio; buried by the Freemasons, at Weymouth, Ohio, his home. S. T. Harrington, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I.; died in Andersonville Prison. Henry Shane, Co. E, 100th 0. N. G.; died at Ft. Richardson, Wash- ington, D. C. Chas. B. Olcott, 6th 0. V. 0. Albert Isabell, 9th 0. V. V. A.; disd. David A. Richards, Co. 1, 180th 0. V. I.; died at Washington, D. C. Curtis Carpenter, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., e. June, 1861 ; died in service. Harvey Treman, died in service. L. N. Sackett. Edmund 0. Brown, Co. K, 166th 0. N. G., c. May, 1864; died at W. W. Mun'ger, Co. K, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Sept., 1862 ; disd. Sept., '65. 0. D. Chapin, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1862 ; disd. June, 1864. Lieut. Wm. 0. Sanders, Co. E, 166th O. N. G., e. May, 1862 ; disd. Sept., 1864. K. K. Rood, Co. B, 166th 0. N.G., e. May, 1862; disd. Sept., 1864. Chas. Barrett, 3d 0. Mex. war, e. June, 1846; disd. Sept., 1847. Stephen M. Hyatt, 3d 0. Mex. war, e. June, 1847. Wm. S. Booth, 3ri 0. Mex. war, e. June, 1846 ; disd. Sept., 1847. D. F. Miller, 1661h 0. N G., e. May, 1864 ; disd. Sept., 1864. W. F. Cooper, 166th O. N. G., e. May, 1864 ; disd. Sept., 1864. Dewight Hinman, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; disd. Sept., 1864. M. A. Curtis, Co. I, 67th 111. V. I., e. April, 1862; disd. Sept., 1862. M. A. Curtis, Co. H, 18th Mich. V. I., e. Dec. 18, 1863 ; disd. May 15, 1865. MONTVILLE. Daniel Sickman, Co. K, 42d 0. T. L, e. July 15, 1862; disd. Nov. 20. 1864. Daniel Sickman, Co. E, 96th 0. T. I., e. Nov. 20, 1864; disd. July, 7, 1865. H. H. Hard (seaman), No. 54 Miss. Squadron, e. Aug. 27, 1864; disd. June 20, 1865. Linus S. Thayer, Co. B, J 66th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. First Lieut. Lewis Fretz, Co. B, 166th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. James Righter, Co. G, 49th Penn., e. Aug. 31, 1861; disd. Sept. 15, 1862. Henry O. West, Co. E, 1st 0. V. L. A., o. Aug. 23, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 1, 1864, Joseph H. Nicely, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. June 12. 1865. D. N. Tillapaugh, Co. C, 144th 0. N. 6., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 1, 1864. F. H. Stannard, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. June 12, 1865. Corp. Thomas Y. NichoUs, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., o. Nov. 1861 ; died at Poe, Ohio, while in service. Isaac Eoshon, Co. F, 13th 0. V. C, e. Jan. 15, 1864 ; disd. July 16, 1865. William Grim, Co. H, 19th Mich., c. Aug. 1862; disd. June 10, '65. -vr— I \ ^0 n>t^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 349 . May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. O.May 2,1864; disd. . G., e. May ■!, 1864; disd. May 2, 1864, disd. Sept. Dec, Corp. Ira Bennett, Co. E, 166lh 0. N. G. 9, 1864. Sergt. George Thomson, Co. E, 166tli 0. N. G, Sept. 9, 1864. John Nichols, 2d 0. V. C. Charles Nichols, 103d 0. V. I.; kid. in battle. Henry Nichols, 103d 0. V. I. Daniel Nichols, 103d 0. V. I. George Nichols, Iowa regiment. Harrison Nichols, Michigan regiment. Albert^Nichols, Michigan regiment. Perry C. Nichols, 100-day service. Sergt. Gaylord Thomson, Co. E, leoth Sept. 9 1864. Winthrop Hill, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., 9, 1864. John Waffle, Co. B, 180th 0. V. I , e. 1864; disd 1865. George W. Reed, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 14, 1861; disd 15, 1863. George W. Eeed, Co I, 29th 0. V. V. I., ». Dec. 15, 1863 ; disd. July 26, 1865. Zacheus Famsworth, Co. 1, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 26, 1861 ; died at Winchester, Va., May 3, 1862. Irvine Flfleld, Co. H, 103d 0. V. I., b. Aug. 10, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Jesse B. Scott, Co. G, 15th Penn. V. I., o. April 18, 1861 ; disd. Aug. 18, 1861. Jesse B. Scott, Co. H, 72d 0. V. I., e. Deo. 1, 1861 ; disd. Feb. 18, '62. Sergt. George Kennedy, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; died in service, at home, July 15, 1864. R. C. Fenn, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, '64. Henry Burnett, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 3, 1861; disd. Dec, '64. Elia3 Roshon, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov 4, 1861; disd. Dec. 21, '63. Elias Roshon, Co I, 29th 0. V. V. I., e. Dec. 21, 1863; disd. June 16, 1865. Corp. Alanson Hewes, Co. A, 79th Bat. 0. N. G., b. July 21, 1863 ; disd. May 1, 1866. Joseph Heath, Co. B, 166th 0. N. G., o. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Samuel Styer, Co. K, 42d 0. T. I., e. July, 1862; disd. July, 1866. Samuel C. Eosenberry, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 1, 1861; disd. June 12, 1866. Cosom H. Kindig, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov. 12, 61 ; disd. Dec. 21, 1863. Cosom H. Kindig, Co. I, 29tb 0. V. V. I., e. Dec. 21, 1863 ; disd. July 5, 1866. Harrison H. Kindig, Co. H, 19th Mich. V. I., e. Aug. 9, 1862 ; disd. June 10, 1865. Abram 0. Kindig, Co. K, 12th Mich. V. I., e. Jan. 28, 1864; disd. Feb, 15, 1866. Nov. , e. Sept. 10, 1861 ; disd. . Aug. 14, 1862; disd. ■. Aug. 12, 1862; disd. June June Noah Krieble, Co. I, 44th Ind. V. I. 20, 1864. James Heaton, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., o 12, 1865. Orsemus Howe, Co. 1, 103d 0. Y. I., c 12, 1865. Charles Bennett, Co. F, 6th 0. V. 0., e. Dec. 26, 1863 ; disd. June 27, 1866. Chester W. Abbott, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. June 12, 1865. Nathaniel Case, Co. E, 3d 0. V. I., Mexican war, e. June, 1846 ; disd. Sept., 1847. Nathaniel Case, Wis. V. I.; disd. at end of service. James Heath, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 11 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Harrison Frizzell, 64th Artillery. Henry G. Frizzell, 64fh 0. V. A. James Grim, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Clarke Beach, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Abel Archer, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Curtiss Abbott, 12th O. V. I. Anthony Fretz, 12th 0. V. I. Mahlon Fretz, 12th 0. V. I.; died in service. Manoa Roshon, disd. Edwin Mabry, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 14, 1861; disd. Dec. 16, 1863. Edwin Mabry, Co. I, 29th V. V. I., e. Dec, 16 ; disd. July 26, 1866. Joseph Krieble, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2; disd. Sept., 1864. William Houseworth, disd. Jos. A. Overholt, Co. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864 ; disd. Sept., 1864. James Shane. Gordon Sanford. Daniel Kaufman, Co. E, 166th 0. N. G., e. May, 1864; died Sept., 1864. 0. P. Morse, Bat. B, 1st 0. L. A. ; disd. SPENCER. John Miller, Co. I, Ist 0. L. A., e. Aug. 29, 1864; disd. June 17, '66. John N. Munson, Co. H, 2d O. V. 0., e. Sept. 5, 1861; disd. Sept. 25, 1864. Corp. Alonzo H. Miller, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. Silas Harper, Co. I, lat 0. L. A., e. April 6, 1864; disd. June 13, '66. Reuben H. Falconer, Co . B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 21, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. Beers Pittinger, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., o. Sept. 21, 1861; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. David Grandy, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 21, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. John Stotler, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., 6. Sept. 21, 1861; disd. 1865. J. H. Daugherty, Co. 0, 176tb 0. V. I , e. Sept. 5, 1864 ; disd. June 6, 1864. Hart L. Stuart, Co. B, 23d O.V.I., o. Aug. 13, 1862; disd. June 30, 1866. Sergt. J. S Sooy, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 12, 1862 ; died at Chattanooga, Tenn. " Benjamin F. Lewis, Co. C, 176th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 22, 1864; disd. June 20, 1866. Reuben Falconer, Co. K, 8lh 0. V. I., o. May 25, 1861 ; disd. Aug. 18, 1861. A. I. Sovy, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 12, 1862; died at Chatta- nooga, Tenn. John J. Coolman, 2d 0. V. G, e. Sept., 1861 ; died at Platte City, Mo., Feb. 20, 1863 Leonard Bice, Co. K, 8th V. I., e. Jan., 1861 ; disd. July, 1864. William Kice, Co. K,8th 0. Y. L, e. Juue,1861; disd. James Dickrison. Co. K, 8th 0. V. I., c Sept. 21, 1861; disd. Reuben Wall, Co. B, 42d O. V. I., e. Sept. 21, 1861. Frank H. Roice, Co. F, 3d 0. V. C. Wm. H. Morrison, Co. D, 23d 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862. James Winters, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. Jonathan Everhart, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861. William Gilberts, Co. I, 291h 0. V. I , e.Nov., 1861. Thos. W. Daughertv, Co. C, 127th 0. V. I. G. W. Betz, Co. H, 104th 0. V. I. Gayer Henry, Co. D, 46th Wis. V. I. John Innman, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, 6. Sept:, 1861. Samuel Sooy, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept;, 1861. Oriando Smith, Co. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1861. John W. Hodge, Co. H., 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1861. Jacob Long, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 10, 1862; disd. June 16, 1866. David Haynes, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 12, 1862 ; died in 1863, at Franklin Tenn. First Lieut. 0. M. Stcadman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 12, 1862; kid. at Rome, Ga , May 27, 1864 ; body in hands of the enemy. C. C. Inman, Co. B, 124th 0. V. I,, e. Aug. 12, 1862; disd. June 12, 1865. SHARON. Norman Schoonover, Co. A, 2d 0. V. C, e. March 1, 1862 ; disd. March 1, 1865. Wm. H. Varnsy, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug., 1861 ; died at Fort Scott, Kan., April 9,1862. Corp. William McCoy, Co. I, 2d 0. V.C ., o. Aug. 13, 1861 ; disd. June 9, 1862. William McCoy, Co. A, 179th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 29, 1864 ; disd. Juno 6, 1866. David L. Homes, Co. A, 196th 0. V. I., e. March 2, 1866 ; disd. Sept 11, 1865. 0. K. Chatfleld, Co A, 196th 0. V. I., u. March 2, 1865 ; disd. Sept. 11. 1865. Charies NichoUs, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 14, 1862 ; disd. Dec. 18,1862. Charles Nicholls, Co. B, 13th 0. V. C, e. Feb. 22, 1864 ; died at Alex- andria, Va. Theodore C. Merton, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 12, 1862 ; disd. July 12, 1866. Henry S. Hayden, Co. A, 42d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 9, 1862 ; died at Young's Point, La., Jan. 25, 1863. William Tabor; killed near Milliken's Bend, La. James Winkler, Co. A, 196th 0. V.I., e. March 1,1866; died at Camp Chase, Ohio, April 6, 1865. Thomas Drory, Co. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Fob. 11, 1864 ; disd. about Nov. 1, 1864. Jacob Fulmer, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. June 6, 1863 ; disd. March 6, 1864. C. M. Fairchilds, Co. B, 166th 0. V.I., e. May 2, 1861 ; disd. July,'61. K 350 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 0. M. FMrohilds, Oo. H, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov. 1, 1861 ; died at Wash- ington, D. C, Sept. 11, 1862. Harvey J. Cornell, Co. A, 42d 0. V. I., e. Oct. 1, 1861 ; died at Pike- ton, Ky., March 8, 1862. W. H. Cornell, Co. H, 20th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; killed near Dal- ton, Ga., May 8, 1864. Corp. Samuel M. Borland, Co. I, 103d 0. Y. I., o. Aug. 2, 1862 ; died at Camp Nelson, Ky., June 4, 1863. Samuel Shanafelt, Oo. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1862 ; killed at Ohan- celloraville. May, 1863. Jay Chatfleld, Co. A, 196th 0. V. I., o. March 1, 1866 : died. Sept. 11, 1865. James H. Oassidy, Co. H, 104th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 7, 1862 : disd. July 8, 1865. Orestes T. Engle, Co. F, 4l8t 0. V. I., o. Aug. 16, 1801 ; disd. Dec. 31, 1863. Sergt. Orestes T. Bugle, Co. F, 4l8t 0. V. V. I., o. Jan. 1, 1864 ; disd. Nov. 27, 1865. Wilson L. Hazen, Co. D, 169th 0. V. I., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 4, 1864. Milton W. Turner, Co. H, 11th Micih. V. I., o. Feb. 8, 1865 ; died at Chattanooga, Tenn. John Fitzgerald, Co. G, 2d 0. V. C, e. Feb., 1862; disd. 1865. Henry Hazen, Co. H, 11th 0., e. May, 1861 ; disd. June, 1861. Henry Hazen, Co. H, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov. 1, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 1, '62. David Baughman, 6th Mo. L. A., e. Oct. 1861 ; disd. July, 1865. Josiah Faust, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 20, 1861; killed at Vicks- burg. May 19, 1863. Corp. Alphonzo Hazen, Co. B, 166th 0. V. I., o. May, 1861 ; diad. July, 1861. Sergt. Alphonzo Hazen, Co. H, 29th 0. Y. V. I. ; disd. June, 1865. Edgar L. Beech, Co. G, 150th 0. N. G., e. May 1, 1864; died at Sar- atoga Hos., Aug. 1, 1864. Samuel Kulp, Co. B, 6th 0. V. C, e. Nov. 1, 1862; disd. March 4,'64. Franklin J. Waltz, Oo. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 20, 1862 ; disd. June 6, 1865. L. A. Lewis, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 30, '64. Marion Waltman, Co. N, 3d Penn. L. A., 6. Feb. 22, 1864 ; disd. Nov. 9, 1865. Enoch 0. Hasting, Co. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 10, 1861 ; disd. July 12, 1862. Thomas Deshler, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 10, 1863 ; died near Castle Station, E. Tenn. Sergt. William H. Frater, Co. 1, 103d 0. Y. I., >f. Aug. 10, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Henry NichoUs, Oo. 1, 103d 0. T. I., e. Aug. 10, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Thomas Branigan, Oo. 1, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 10, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Arthur Bradley, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Clinton D. Waffle, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. July 10, 1863 ; disd. March, 1864. Clinton D. Waffle, Co. B, 180th 0. V. I., o. July 6, 1864; disd. Aug. 15, 1866. Eouey Kemp, Co. B, 4th 0. A., o. Feb., 1861 ; disd. July, 1865. S. F. Chamberlain, Oo. G, 116th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 1, 1862 ; disd. June 29, 1865. George Messmer, Co. B, 42d O. V. I., Sept., 1861 ; disd. Dec, 1863. George Messmer, 1st Wis. Ind. B., e. Dec, 1863 ; disd. July 18, '66. Edward Hunt, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. June 12, 1863 ; disd. Edward Hunt, 10th 0. Y. C, e. Aug. 24, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 24, 1864. Isaiah John, Co. 1, 107th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. Feb. 5, '63. Isaiah John, Oo. A, 196th 0. V. I., e. March 2, 1865; disd. Sept. 11, 1865. Bralley A. Udell, 5th Ind. 0. S. S., e. Dec. 5, 1862 ; disd. Jan., 1864. H. S. Schlott, 20th 0. V. B., e. Sept., 1863 ; disd. Juno, 1865. 0. 0. Gingery, Co. H, 104th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. June, 1865. Emanuel Gingery, Oo. I, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Aug., 1861 ; died at Fort Scott, Kan., Sept. 27, 1862. Alvin D. Miller, Co. B, 180th 0. Y. I. ; disd. Henrr G. Merton, Oo. B, 30th U. S. C, e. Sept. 16, 1869 ; disd. June 2, 1862. Justis A. Dickeraon, Oo. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug., 1861. Samuel Fulmer, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Aug., 1861. Frank Finney, Co. 1, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Aug., 1861. Marshal G. Freeborn, Oo. 1, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Aug., 1861. Fritz Mohn, Oo. I, 2d 0. Y. 0., e. Aug., 1861. Bradley Curtis, 6th 0. Bat. John Eeed, 6th 0. Bat. ; disd. Elijah Hamilton, Oo. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861. Marshal Houglan, Co. D, 29th 0. V. 1., e. Aug., 1861. William Statan, Co. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861. Washington Shanafelt, Co. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Aug., 1861. Wallace A. Green, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. Daniel R. Smith, Oo. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1861. Timothy Smith, Oo. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Sept., 1861. Henry Daykin, Oo. G, 72d 0. Y. I. John D. Plum, Oo. S, 72d 0. V. I. Oalvin Porter, Oo. G, 72d 0. Y. I. James W. Stuner, Co. 0, 18th 0. Y. I. Godhilf Eberhard, Oo. H, 72d 0. V. I. Second Lieut. E. Y. Turner, Co. H, 29th 0. Y. I., e. Oct. 22, 1861 ; disd. July 31, 1865. WADSWORTH VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP. Jacob L. Overholt, Oo. E, 166th 0. Y. I., o. May 2, 1864; died. Sept., 1864. Musician John Welty, Co. E, 54th O. Y. I., e. Feb. 3, 1862 ; died. Feb. 19, 1864. Musician John Welty, Oo. B, 64th 0. V. I., e. Feb. 19, 1864; died. June 8, 1865. Charles Hemry, Oo. D, 99th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 11, 1862 ; disd. Feb. 13, 1865. Wagoner B. F. Sclabash, Oo. G, 86th 0. V. I.; e. June 24, 1863; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. Wagoner B. F. Sclabach, Co. B, 180th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 16, 1864; disd. July 12, 1865. Sergt. Uriah Fink, Co. L, 1st Penn. V. E. C, e. July 31, 1861 ; trans. Sergt. Uriah Fink, U. S. S. C, e. Dec. 27, 1864; disd. Aug. 17, 1865. Sergt. John D. Eoss, Oo. F, 0. N. G., e. April 20, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Sergt. N. Hilliard, Co. A, 179th 0. Y. I., „. Sept. 16, 1864; disd. June 17, 1865. Jacob H. Rickert, Oo. F, 166th 0. Y. I., e. May 7, 1864; died. Sept. 9, 1864. Alfred L. Gorman, Co. 0, 9th Penn. Y. C, e. Sept. 16, 1861 ; died. Dec 31, 1863. Alfred L. Corman, Co. 0, 9th Penn. V. V. 0., e. Jan. 1, 1864; died. July 18, 1865. A. L. Treat, Co.G, 16th 0. Y. I., e. April 22, 1861; disd. Aug. 18,' 61. Corp. A. L. Treat, Oo. C, 67th 0. Y. I., e. Dec. 21, 1861; died. Dec. 28, 1804. Wm. H. Rogers, Co. E, 2d 0. Y. H. A., „. July 8, 1863; disd. Aug. 23, 1865. John B. Hunsberger, seaman Miss. Squad. U. S. N., e. Jan. 7, 1864; disd. Jan. 7, 1865. James H. Yan Orman, Co. K, 8th O. Y. I., e. May 22, 1861 ; disd. March 24, 1863. James H. Van Orman, 13th O. V. C, e. Feb. 22, 1864 ; disd. Aug. 10, 1865. Abraham Krider, Co. K, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 22, 1861; disd. Dec. 2, 1864. Jacob E. Krider, Co. E, 42J 0. Y. I., „. Nov. 22, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 2, 1864. Aaron M. Eoss, Co. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 19, 1861; disd. Sept. 30, 1864. Louis A. Gilbert, clerk, Co. A, 169th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 7, 1864; disd. June 23, 1835. Joseph Tyler, landsman Miss. Squad. U. S. N., e. Aug. 24, 1862; disd. Nov. 15, 186i. P. M. S. Joseph Tyler, Miss. Squad. U. S. N., e. Nov. 15, 1862 ; disd. May 30, 1863. Theodore D. Wolbach, Co. B, 16th 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 21, 1861; disd. Oct. 31, 1864. Eli Overholt, Co. H, 29th 0. Y. I., e. Oct. 28, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 3, 1863. Capt. Allen P. Steele, Co. I, 2d 0. Y. C, e. Aug. 13, 1861 ; resd. Aug. 23, 1862. First Lieut. Allen P. Steele, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., o. June 14, 1863; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. Austin Steele, Oo. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. April 22, '61 ; died. June 25,'61. Austin Steele, Co. H, 8th 0. Y. I., e. June 25, 1861; died at Wash- ington, D. C, March 28, 1864. John J. A. Daye, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 25, 1862 ; disd. Feb. 22, 1863. First Lieut. Joshua Hile, Oo. D, 0. V. I., e. Sept. 10, 1861: disd. July 19, 1865. Henry Shelly, Co. 1, 119th Penn. Y. I., «. Aug. 14, 1862; disd. June 19, 1865-. B. F. Sonanstine, A. McL. S., O. Y. C, e. Aug. 25, 1862 ; disd. June 13, 1865. Joseph T. Lyle, Co. H, 104th 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 7, 1S62 ; disd. June 17, 1865. William J. Reese, Oo. K, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 21, '61 ; disd. Aug.,'63. H. B. Toder, Oo. 1, 103th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 9, 1862 ; disd. June 12, '65. Atwood Merritt, Oo. G, 108th N. Y. S. Y. I., e. July 26, 1862; disd. Dec. 3, 1862. Harrison Sours, Oo. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Aug. 11, 1862 ; trane. Dec, '64. ^ ® y^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 353 Harrisiin Sours, Co. E, 90th O. \'. I., e. Dec, 1864 ; disd. July, 7, '06. Corp. T. W, Soreene, Oo. C, 6th 0. T. B., e. Nov. 16, 1861; disd. Dec. ' n, 1863, Q. M. S,T W. Sereene, 6th 0. T. B., .-. Dec. 27, 1863; disd. Sept. I, 1865. Wm. Freeborn, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. June 20,1863; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. William H. Nice, Co. B, 149th Ind V. I., c. Feb. 8, 1865; disd. May 13, 1865. L. G. Mills, Co. C, 2d Mich. V. I., e. April 21, 1861; disd. July 21, 1864. Capt. L. G. Mills, Oo. C, 179th 0. V. I., „. Sept. 6, 1864; disd. June 17, 1865. VV. A. Biildwin.Co. B, 180!hO. V. I., c. Sept. 16, 1864, disd. July 25, 1865. Sebastian C. Goss, Co. D, 90th 0. V. I., <■. Aug. 12, 1862; disd. April 18, 1864. David \V. Corl, Co. F, 45th 0. Y. I., e. June 26, 1862; disd. June 12, 1865. Frank H. Boyer, Co. H, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct. 28, 1861 ; disd. Nov. 3, 1864. Frank H. Boyor, Co. H, C H. V, R. C, e. April 4, 1865; disd. April 3, 1866. B. F. McCov, Co. G, 64th 0. V. I,, e. Nov. 9, 1801 ; disd. Jan. 1 , 1864. B. F. McCoy, Co. G, 64th 0. V. V. I., e. Jan. 1, 1864; died at Chat- tanooga, Tenn , May 19, 1864. Samuel Ervine McCoy, Co. G, 64th 0. V. V. I., o. Nov. 9, 1861 ; died at Bardstown, Ky , March 15, 1862. Musician Curtis Waltz, Ist 0. L. A., e. Sept., 1861 ; disd. Sept., 1862. Absalom Brown, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Aug. II, 1862; trans, at dis. of 42d. Absalom Brown, Co. B, 96th 'J. V, I.; died at White River, Nov. 30, 1864. Second Lieut. Edward Andrews, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 5, '62; disd. May 19, 1863. Abraham Berger, Co. K, 77th Penn. V. I., e. Dec., 1862; disd. June, 1865. Henry B. Musselman, Co. r, 103d 0. V. I., e. Sept., 1862 ; disd, June 24, 1865. Christian Conrad, Co. I, 29th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Nov., '64. Christian Conrad, Co I, 29th O. V. V. I., e. Nov., 1864; disd. July 22, 1865. Jackson Eaton, Co. H, 8th O. T. I., e, April 22, 1861 ; disd. Jackson Eaton, Co. H, 8th O. V. I., e, June 22, 1861; disd. on ac- count of wounds. Uriah Helmick, Co. M, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1861 ; died at Ft. Scott, Kan., 1802. James McCoy, Co. G. 86th 0. V. I., o. July 14, 1863; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. Corp. Jacob P. Hofer, Co. G, 102d 0. V. I., e. Feb. 28, 1864; disd. Sept. 28, 1865. George W. Durliner, Co. H, 8th 0. V. 1., e. April, '61; disd. Sept.,'62. George W. Durling, 6th U. S. C; disd. March, 1864. A, M. Beck, Co. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Aug. 13, 1861 ; trans. Jan. 11, 1864. A M. Beck, 103d 0. V. I., Jan. 11, 1864; disd. Aug. 20, 1864. Chap. Francis S. Wolfe, 95th N. T. S. V. I., e. Oct. 12, 1861 ; disd. July 31, 1864. Capt. Pulaski 0. Hard, Co. D, 29th 0. V. I., e. Sept. 10, 1861 ; disd. March 12, 1862. Jonathan Bbner, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 13, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. Calvin Sowers, Co. B, 6th 0. V. C, e. Feb. 29, 1864; disd. June 10, 1865. Frederic Spoom, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 25, 1862; disd. Aug. 13, 1863. Ebenezer Bisaell, Oo. H, 2d 0. V. C, e. March 2, 1865 ; disd. Sept. II, 1865, Andrew Herrington, Co. K, 8th 0. V. I , April 20, '61 ; disd. July, '61. Andrew Herrington, Co. B, 42d 0. V. 1 , 6, Oct. 10,1861; disd. March 24, 1863. Thomas C. Hard, Co. 1, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug. 8, 1862 ; disd. June 12, 1865. James B. Huffman, Co. B, 116th 0. V. I., e. Aug. 14, 1862; disd. .Tune 22, 1865. Sergt. Henry A. Mills, Oo. I, 103d 0. V. I., c. Aug. 11, 1862; disd. June 24, 1866. Corp. Wm. C. Lyon, Co. E, 169th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 4, 1804. Egbert Freeborn, Co. B, 186th 0. V. I., e. Dec. 23, 1864; disd. July 12, 1865. J D Rimer, Co. B, 6th 0. V. C, e. Oct. 29, 1802; disd. July 9, 1865. William Coppleberger, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. July, 1863 ; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. George Findley, 5th Ind. 0. V. S. S., e. Sept., 1862; disd. July 18, 1865. Stephen Harris Perhamus, Oo. A, 104th 0. V. I., o. Aug. 6, 1862 ; disd. June 5, 1865 Emanuel Mattinger, Oo. C, 12th Mich. V. I., e. Nov. 2, 1861 ; disd. Dec, 1863. Emanuel Mattinger, Oo. 0, 12th Mich. V. 1., o. Dec, 1863; disd. March 6, 1866. Nathan Rouch, Co. G, 67th Penn. V. I., e. Feb. 7, 1862 ; diad. Feb. 7, 1864. Nathan Rouch, Oo. G, 67th Penn. V. I., o. Feb 7, 1802; disd. July 7, 1805. Corp. Pnttei-son ^^ Wilkir.s, l(i2d 0. V. I., e. July, 1862; disd. Dec. 30, 1806. Musician Horace Greenwood, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept. 14, 1861 ; disd. Sept. 4, 1862. Musician Horace Greenwood, Bat A, 0. V. L. A., e Feb. 6, 1864; disd. Aug. 29, 1865. Jacob Vanorsdall, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. May, 1861; disd. July, '64. Garret A. Vanorsdall, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. May, 1861; disd. July, 1864. Richard Packer, Co, H, 8th 0. V. I., e. May, 1861; disd. July, '64. Washington Darling, Co. H, 8th 0. V. I., e. May, 1861 ; disd. July, 1864. Quincy A. Turner, Oo. K, 42d 0. V. I., e. Nov. 22, 1801 ; disd. Dec, 1864. William McCoy, Oo. I, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1861. Charles Grutz, Co. G, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1801. Louis 0. Bonner, Co G, 2d 0. V. C, e. Sept., 1801. Thomas Folger, Co. H, 29th 0. V. C, e. Oct., 1861; disd. Hiram Boot, Co. H, 29th 0. V. I., e. Oct., 1861 ; disd. A. B. Freeman, Oo. G, 64th 0. V. I., e. Nov., 1861 ; disd. Joseph Lackey, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Oct., 1861; disd. John Murray, 0. \. I. Lampson 0. Curtis, Oo. D, 23d 0. V. I. James E. I oe, Co. F, 23d O. V. I. Robert A. Bosenberry, Co. I, 23d 0. V. I. John G. Barton, 23d O. V. I. L. G. Mills, Co. C, 23d 0. V. I. Edward Newman, Co. D, 37th 0. V. I. Charles Stautfer, Co. D, 66th 0. V. I. Heman Bjttle, Oo. F, 66th 0. V. I. Jackson Brown, Co. I, 72d V. I. John H. Auble, Co. I, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug., 1862.; disd. June 24, '66. WESTFIELD. Calvin Chapin, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Oct. 16,'64. Second Lieut. Ozias W. Foot, Co. E, 128th 0. V. I., e. Dec 16, 1863 ; disd. July 13, 1865. Harrison B. Owen, Oo. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; died at Ash- land. Ky., March 11, 1862. John C. Ramsey, Oo. K, 8th 0. V. I., o. April 21, 1861 ; disd. Aug. 18, 1862. John C Ramsey, Co. F, 166th 0. V. I., o. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Sergt. Jacob Wagoner, Oo. K, 103d 0. V. I., e. Aug. 8, 1862; disd. June 12, 1865. Francis Kidd, Co. E, 4Sth Bat., 0. V. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. Aaron Clark, Co. B, 42d 0. V. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd. Dec. 2, '64. Henry P. Naylor, Oo. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Richard Hogan, Oo. R, 8th 0. "V. I., e. May 26, 1801 ; transferred, Oct. 22, 1802. Richard Hogan, Oo. 0, Olh D. S. C, e. Oct. 22, 1862 ; disd. May 20,'64. Leonard H. St. John, Co. F, 166th O.N.G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864, Jonah Styles, Co. B, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Sept. 22, 1861 ; disd Sept. 1, '63. Jonah Styles, Oo. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Homer St. John, Oo. F, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864 ; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Leroy B. Owen, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e. Nov. 26, 1861 ; disd. Deo. 2, '04. Henry S. Wells, Co. P, 166th 0. N. G., e. May 2, 1864; disd. Sept. 9, 1864. Bben S. Chapin, Co. G, 42d 0. Y. I., e Nov. 26,1801; disd. Dec. 2,'64. Lorenzo A. Loomis, Co. E, 46th Mass. Y. I., e. Aug. 22, 1862 ; disd. July 29, 1863. Newton N. Reese, Co. G, 86th 0. V. I., e. June 20, 1863 ; disd. Feb. 10, 1864. David Collon, Oo. K, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; killed Nov., 1803, at Armstrong Hill, Tenn. Andrew Truman, Co. K, 103d 0. V. I., o. Aug., 1862 ; died Aug., '03, at Somerset, Ky. J. C. Kaynolds, Co. K, 103d 0. Y. I., e. Aug., 1862 ; disd. June, 1866. ^ ^N M tht^ 360 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. for export. Now, if this road enables the farmers of these five counties, to save five cents a bushel in marketing this grain, then they will put into their pockets $300,000 a year. I have no doubt this road will give an additional value to the products of these six counties of $1,000, 000 a year, as you will not raise anything that will not have a market value. " Previous to the opening of the Erie Canal, the cost of transporting a ton of merchandise from BuflTalo to Albany was $100, and the time twenty days. Upon the opening of the Erie Canal, the cost was reduced to $10, and now to $3. Ten barrels of flour make a ton, and, if it now cost $100 a ton for freight from Bufl!alo to Albany, you can figure up at your leisure how much wheat and corn would be worth a bushel in Medina County. ' Corn at 75 cents a bushel will bear transportation in the old way, 125 miles to market, and wheat at $1.50 a bushel 250 miles, while upon a rail- road corn will have a marketable value at 1,600 miles, and wheat 3,200 miles away.' Railways are great equalizers, for they make land far away from market almost as valuable as land near the centers of population. A few years ago, the tolls on the Ohio Canal were more per mile for freight than the cost of transportation on railroads is now. " Another thing of great value to be derived from this railroad is this : It will supply you coal for fuel at "cheap rate, and this will save your timber. The farmers of your own and of other counties cannot do a better thing than to save your forests. Good timber is becoming more and more scarce and valuable ; and how to save it is a question j'our State and county agri- cultural societies cannot too thoroughly discuss. In New England, I have seen stone walls in woods, when twenty years ago they divided cultivated fields. It pays to grow timber and wood on that land where it is too cold to grow almost anything, except good men and women, for export. " The transportation of grain by railroad, from the West, is rapidly increasing ; and this kind cf carrying is of great profit to the grain-growers, as the grain is shipped by rail from the dis- trict where it is grown, and taken, without change of cars, to the place of consumption in the East, thus saving two or three commissions. At a recent meeting of the officers of the Albany & Boston Railroad, it was stated by Mr. Chapin, President of the company, that its business was. rapidly increasing, and by reason of its connec- tions with the Western roads. It had carried the last year 4,557.700 bushels of grain, and that $5,000,000 were needed for additional rolling stock and improvements. In a few months the cars of the Lake Shore & Tuscar- awas Vallej' Railroad will be seen loaded with grain, eggs and poultry, in towns and cities of New York and New England. " Wonderful has been the growth of the North- west ; it has no parallel in historj^ When I started in 1832 from the hills of Berkshire, with my old friend. Judge Humphreville — who, for many years, has lived among you. and whom you have honored with high public trusts, and who is worthy of your honor and confidence — the only railroad between the At- lantic and the Mississippi was the railroad from Albany to Schenectady. Now, we have one railroad to the Pacific, and two others are in progress of construction. In a little more than a generation the Northwest has increased from 1,600,000 people to 13,000,000, and for this marvelous growth it is greatly indebted to rail- roads to which its own people have contributed but comparatively little. At $42,000 per mile, the railroads in the Northwest have cost $830,000,000, and from this large investment of capital, farmers derive the largest dividends — not only in the actual increase of value to their lands, but in the increase of price they obtain for every article their lands or their labor will produce. If this railroad adds only $3 an acre to the six counties south of Cuyahoga, it gives thL, HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 361 an additional value to the real estate alone, of $6,555,390. What was the land worth in the counties along the line of the Cleveland, Colum- bus & Cincinnati Railroad, at the time that road was put under contract, and what are they worth now ? There is life, business enterprise, industry, flourishing towns, and growing cities, and improved agriculture along the line of rail- roads ; and silence most profound, and dullness in the extreme, where the locomotive is not seen. "In 1850, the Northwest had 1,276 miles of railroad ; Ohio had 575 miles. Now, the North- west has 19,765 miles, and Ohio 3,448 miles. Forty years ago, there were 910 miles of rail- roads in the United States, now over 50,000 miles, and it is a remarkable fact that the large increase of railroad mileage was, in 1869, 4,990 miles. This is evidence of the faith that capital, the most timid of all things, has in railroads in the United States. While ou r popu- lation is increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 a year, our railroads are increasing about 3,000 miles a year. At $42,000 per mile, the cost of the railroads of Ohio has been $144,816,600. What has been the effect of this investment in railroads in Ohio ? In 1850, witli 575 miles of railroad, the value of real estate, $341,588,838, the value of personal property, $98,481,302 ; total value of taxable property, $439,966,340. In 1870, with 3,548 miles of railroad, the value of real estate is $1,013,000,000, and this does not include the value of real estate belonging to railroad companies, and taking the value of personal property as returned in 1869, $459,884,- 351, and the total value of taxable property is $1,452,960,340. The real estate in Ohio has been trebled in taxable value in twenty years, and the personal property has been increased more than four and a half times. Mr. Poor, in his carefully prepared statistics of railroads and their influence upon property, states in his 'Manual of Railroads for 1870-71,' 'that every railroad constructed adds five times its value to the aggregate value of the property of the country.' If this is so, and I believe the estimate of Mr. Poor not too high, as the in- crease in Ohio is much larger than the estimate of Mr. Poor, then the construction of the Lake Shore and Tuscarawas Valley Railroad, will add $20,000,000. Some of you may think this too nfueh, but it is not. When the line of this railroad is continued from the Chippewa coal- fields to the Ohio River at Wheeling, passing as it will, its entire length through one of the richest mineral districts in the United States, who can compute the wealth that will be devel- oped by means of this work? I do not think that $20,000,000 is too much to estimate the increase of value along its immediate line, within ten years from the day the road is through to Wheeling. " A town in these days, without a railroad, is of no account. It is ' off the track,' at least, of trade and travel. Medina is now in the line of promotion, and may hope for advancement, and may bid a long farewell to the lumbering coach — to stage wagons, to mud roads, and to patience-trying journeys. There are men here to-day who have been as long coming from Cleveland here as it takes now to go to New York from Cleveland. All hail the coming of the cars of the Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Val- ley Railroad ! Before another year is gone the road will be finished to Dennison, on the line of the Pittsburgh & St. Louis road, as I am told that Mr. Selah Chamberlain, the contractor, a man who knows no such word as fail, intends to have the whole line completed by the first day of October, 1872. " Let me say to you, business men of Cleve- land who are here in numbers so large and so respectable to-day, that the railroad will, in my opinion, be of more importance to all your in- dustrial interests than any line of railroad leading out of Cleveland. It is a Cleveland road, and one that cannot be ' gobbled up ' by the Pennsylvania Central to hold you at the #* u^ 363 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. mercy of that great corporation. It will bring you cheap coal, salt, iron, oil, fire-clay and agTi- cultural products in great abundance. Nour- ish it and give it your support. It will pay. "Friends of this railroad enterprise, j'ou have be^n fortunate in the men who have taken this work in hand, in the character of its officers, in the ability, energy and responsibility of the contractor, who is pushing right on with the work, and has not felt the blow which shook the credit and tested the strength of the strongest in the land, since this road was com- menced. Fortunate, indeed, has this country been in making connection at Grrafton with the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapo- lis, and the Lake Shore & Michigan Railroad companies. Without the arrangement made with these two great lines of roads, I do not see how this road could have been made. One of the best railroad men in Cleveland, told me, a few days ago, that the facilities obtained by this company for passengers, freight, coal and dockage in Cleveland, from the roads above named, would have cost, even if they could have been obtained, $2,000,000. I believe the stock of this railroad will be at par in two years, and its bonds are as good as any rail- road ever offered in the market, as the 40 per cent for freight and passengers to be paid by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis, and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern are, in fact, a guaranty of the bonds. " Well may you ring the bells and fire the guns and make merry and prepare a feast of good things, at the completion of the first link in the chain of railroad that is to connect j'ou with the Lake at Cleveland, and with the Ohio River at Wheeling. Onward is the word. And, if, in our rapid progress in all material prosper- ity, we do not, as a people, forget that virtue is the strength of a nation — that a correct public opinion is stronger than armies — and if the common schoolhouse, the meeting-house, and the town house, well filled with honest, intelli- gent people, ' who know their rights and dare maintain them,' shall be seen from every rail- road along our prairies, over the broad savan- nas, in our gorges, among our hills and valleys — then all will be well in the future of this Re- public, the world's best treasure and last hope." This was the oration of the day, and it will, at this day, probably, afford a consolation to many who would hardly be ready to indorse his opinion so far as it concerns the value of the stock. Gen. Duthan Northrop, T. W. Browning, C. G. Washburn, editor of the Ely- ria Democrat ; A. W. Fairbanks, of the Cleve- land Herald ; Royal Taylor, Esq., and Thomas Jones, Esq., were called for and made short responses, when dinner was announced. The invited guests were taken to the American House, where all the variet3' the market afforded was provided. Ample provision had been made to feed the crowd that gathered from the country, at Empire Hall. Here the ladies waited on some twelve hundred persons, who were bounteously fed. The dinner was the free gift of the citizens of the county, and, after all that cared to partake were provided for, there was a wagon-load of good provision that was dispensed among the poor, who were thus, at least, made to rejoice in the coming of the railroad. As soon as dark set in, the square began to blaze out with unwonted brilliancy. One after another illumination, was lighted in the business blocks, hotels and offices. Some were quite elaborate, and all were bright and light, re-, sponsive to the happy mood of the people. Some of the mottoes were, " Out of the wilder- ness ! Hurrah for the railroad ! Good-bye, old hacks, good-bjre !" " Welcome to the L. S. T. V. Railway. This is the way we long have sought !" " The motive power which develops the vital in- terests of our country — the locomotive !" The trees of the park were beautifully illuminated with colored lanterns, while " rockets, serpents, wheels, Roman candles, nigger-chasers, zig-zags, -:F\'. l^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 363 whizzers and whirligigs, and Are balloons " amazed and delighted the assembled crowds. A iine pyrotechnic display was made on the balcony of PhcBaix Hall, where a piece of fire- works, after a little fizzing, blazed out into the large letters, " L. S. & T. V. R. K" The day's festivities closed with a grand ball at Phoenix Hall. The excursion train was furnished by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapo- lis Company. It was brought to G-rafton by " Cuyahoga," Engineer Blush, and from Grafton to Medina by the " Maryland," Engineer Welsh. The conductor of the train was Mr. C. Lang- don. The returning of the train was set for 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but it was nearly 5 before it got started. Each guest was furnished with a ticket which read as follows : Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Valley R't. OPENING EXCURSION. Wednesday, November 15th, 1871. PASS THE BEARER TO MEDINA AND RETURN. W. S. Streator, President. Excursion Train will leave tiie Union Depot at 10.30 o'clock A. M. Returning, leave Medina at 4 30 P. M. Among the guests in attendance upon this occasion were : Selah Chamberlain, J. F. Card, H. M. Claflin, E. G. Loomis, C. L. Russell, Di- rectors of the new road ; L. T. Everett, its Treasurer ; and Judge Tyler, of Cleveland, whose services as lawyer for Medina's interests made him especially welcome as a guest on this occasion. Dr. W. S. Streator, the President of the road, was detained at home on account of sickness, to the great regret of all. Of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Company, there were the President, Oscar Townsend ; Superintendent, E. S. Flint ; As- sistant Superintendent, Robert Blee, and others ; from Cleveland, there were Mayor P. W. Pelton, and several councilmen ; T. P. Handy, D. P. Rhodes, A. Cobb, B. P. Morgan, B. Mill, N. B. Sherwin, Gen. John Crowell, T. L. Jones, A. W. Fairbanks, Philo Chambeiiin, William L. Ter- rell and others. The press was represented by W. F. Hinman, of the Cleveland Herald ; P. H. Mason, of the Cleveland Leader ; Thomas Whitehead, of the Cle^'eland Plain Dealer ; C. G. Washburn, of the Elj'ria Democrat j J. M. Wilcox, of the Berea Advertiser ; J. A. Clark, of the Wads worth Enterprise ; and Judge Sloan, of the Port Clinton Union. The following letters were received from some who were not able to be at the celebration : Elteia, Ohio, November IJi, 1871. Committee on Invitations : Gentlemen — I am in re- ceipt of your favor inviting me to attend the celebra- tion of the opening of the Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Valley Railroad to Medina, on the 16th inst. I sin- cerely regret that judicial labors on that day will pre- vent my acceptance of your friendly invitation, and deprive me of much enjoyment to be derived by being present at your celebration. Though absent in the body, I will be with you in spirit and join in your congratu- lations. I am and remain very truly, Yours, W. W. BoYNTON. Akkon, Ogio, November 13, 1871. H. G. Blake, Esq.: Dear Sir — Your favor of the 10th, inviting me to be present at the opening of the L. S. & T. V. R. R., received. I am sorry I cannot, on account of business, be present to join in your grand re- joiciQg on the 15th. Akron, proud of her own success, joins, however, in spirit with Medina and hopes that her new road will add greatly to the wealth and pros- perity of her inland neighbor. Respectfully yours, L. S. Evekett, Editor of the Akron Times. Upper Sandusky, Ohio, November 14, 1871. Hon. H. Gt. Blake, Committeeon Invititions, Mdina, Ohio: Dear Sir — Your kind note of the 10th inst., inviting me to be present at the inauguration of the L. S. &. T. V. B. R. at your village on the 15th inst., received yester- day, and have delayed answering the same in the hope that I might be able to so arrange my business as to allow my absence, but I regret to say that 1 am disappointed. I would delight to be with you on the happy occasion of welcoming the " Iron Horse " to your place. I have many pleasant recollections of Medina and my brief r ^1 \ht^ 364 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. residence there. Heartily congratulating you and the good people of Medina upon your final success in secur- ing a railway line, and thanking you kindly for the cordial invitation extended to me, I remain Very truly yours, P. TUNEO. The sequel to this chapter is found elsewhere, and, while it does not realize the pleasant the- ories propounded in regard to the value of stook held forth in these speeches, yet the great out- come to the county has been grandlj^ beneficial, and, with this example freshlj' before their eyes, the citizens in other parts of the county are quite as eager to invest in the building of a new railroad. The " Fourth of July " is of very ancient ori- gin, and it is firmly believed by a considerable portion of the people in this country, that Adam " raised Cain " on that day very much as is the fashion of this age. While this belief is prob- ably cherished principallj' by the younger por- tion of the community, a very general respect for the day obtains among the older portion, and " Fourth of July celebrations," of late years, have not been so rare as generally to become a matter of historical mention. But the occasion to which reference is had in these pages, was an exception, which, like that floral phenome- non, the century plant, blooms but once in 100 years, and then with a glory so short-lived that its odor is lost in a day. The " Centennial Fourth" was a subject of national considera- tion, and in the State of Ohio, at the suggestion of the Governor, it was made, in most of the counties of the State, a special occasion for the review of the history of the county. State and nation, and that of these fragments nothing should be lost, many of the county authorities have taken measures to preserve them for fut- ure ages. On this occasion in Medina, both the history of the county and the nation were reviewed. Of the historical paper presented by Judge C. G-. Codding, this whole volume ma}' be considered an elaboration, and the sketch of national history, the oration of the . occasion, presented by J. H. Greene, we append in full at the repeated request of friends of this enterprise : " Mr. President and Fellow Citizens : A Fourth of July celebration without an ' ora- tion,' would be like the play of Hamlet with the part of Hamlet left out. The committee were unable to secure the services of a speaker from abroad, and their partiality assigned to me the duty of taking this part. I can prom- ise you no studied rhetoric or polished oration, such as would well befit the occasion, but, if you will give me your patient attention, I will try to give you a little plain talk on the theme that is uppermost in all our minds and hearts to-day — the commemoration of the one hun- dredth birthday of our nation. It is an event, the anticipation of which has stirred the blood of the most sluggish, and kindled the enthu- siasm of all, until to-day American patriotism flnds expression in celebrations that fill the land with jubilant voices. " We celebrate the birthday of the youngest of all the nations of the earth. It*is true, that in our time we have seen all of Germany gath- ered under the flag of Prussia — but those States have before been in league. It is true, that in our time we have seen the Italian na- tion emerge from the Papal dominions — but it was Italy re-united, not created. The South American Republics are yet in a chaotic state. Under the strong influences radiating from our successful experiment in the North, the South- ern continent may, in our time, crystallize into a nation. But, to-day, there is none to dispute with us the palm of youth. " A hundred years is a brief period, and compared with the age of other nations, we are but an infant. Par back in antiquity, nations arose, flourished through thousands of years, and fell to pieces by wars, calamities or the slow processes of decay. Others have survived all -^1 lL- HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 365 the vicissitudes of time, and still exist, hoary with many centuries. China, containing nearly one-half the population of the globe, has been a compact empire for four thousand years and over. Egypt, under various rulers, has existed for more than three thousand years, without radical change in territorial area or character of the people. Persia dates back to the same misty antiquity, and is Persia still. ''The modern nations of Europe are from five hundred to twelve hundred years old. And away up in the Northern seas — on the border- land of that unknown Polar countrj', to discover which so many heroic lives have been sacri- ficed — only within the past year Iceland cele- brated her one thousandth birthday, and it was the good fortune of America to be represented in the festivities of the Northmen by Bayard Taylor, who so well represents the courage, ad- venture and culture of his countrymen. " Compared with maturity like this, we can realize the brevity of our single century ; yet side by side with the nations that have grown gray and old, we come, to-day, with our hun- dred years, and challenge the records of an- tiquity or of modern history to furnish a par- allel to our marvelous growth and develop- ment. " ' We boast our hundred years ; We boast our limits, washed by either sea ; We boast our teeming millions, and that we All, all are free! ' " But, while it is true that as a nation we are only one hundred years old, as a people we are much older. " The forces and ideas which culminated in the Declaration of Independence and the Revo- lution, had been in operation on this continent for at least a hundred years ; and the causes which resulted in the colonization of America, had convulsed Europe for a hundred years be- fore that. Civilization was then passing through the ordeal of a death struggle between eccle- siasticism and the toleration of individual thought. All the principles of civil, political and religious liberty, upon which the fabric of our government has been built, were fought for and died for under the shadow of despotisms which exercised unlimited sway over the bodies and souls of men, while Columbus was yet searching for the shores of the New World. " The seeds of American liberty were planted in the dykes and ditches of Holland in the six- teenth century. When William the Silent — the Washington of the Dutch Kepublic — fought for and established religious toleration in the Neth- erlands against the sway of Rome, and the cruel Philip of Spain, the battle was for us and we reaped the victory. Although separate na- tionality and independence was not in the thought of the Puritans and Pilgrims, it was in their every act. The Declaration of Independ- ence itself was foreshadowed in the spirit of that small colony which could put on record, while surrounded and occupied with nothing but hardships and dangers, the resolution that they would abide by the laws of God until they could find time to make better ones ! " The hundred years of colonial life previous to the Revolution was a period of preparation. The circumstances and condition of the people were fitting them, unconsciously, for an inde- pendent national existence. Necessarily, they were trained to habits of self-reliance; and, although they had no right of choice in the selection of their Governors and Judges, and no voice in framing the measures which affected their relations to the Crown or their inter-colo- nial interests ; yet they had almost unlimited control of their local affairs. Their religious, educational and material interests were confided to their care ; and the town meeting became a source of power at the earliest period in our history, greater than Parliament or Congress, and has continued such to this daj'. It natur- ally follows that the habits of self-government thus formed should make them more and more ""^ 3 ^ ^ it^ 366 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. restive under the restraints of a Parliament and King, separated from tliem by tlie vast ocean ; and the rightfulness of their exclusion from the control of their own affairs in larger matters, became a question of absorbing inter- est. Objection to taxation without representa- tion, brought on the struggle for independence. " But separation from the mother country was scarcely thought of, much less supposed to be probable, except by a few prophetic souls. The right of representation — the right to a voice in the choice of colonial rulers, the right to levy their own taxes — these did not seem to imply separate national life. The kind of gov- ernment that would have suited the colonies, under which they would, no doubt, have been willing to remain, and, content and satisfied, would have been some such system of parental government, as that which the United States extends over its Territories to-day. Some of the best statesmen of England, with a strong popular sentiment to back them, entertained and advocated views in favor of a radically modified colonial system of government. The hope that this result would be reached, was ever uppermost in the minds of the colonists ; and their loyalty to King and attachment to mother country were of such a nature that no revolution could have been inaugurated, had the issue been separation and independence. And, even after the struggle had begun, after the great bell that was 'to proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof,' had been rung in Independence Hall for patriotic purposes, there were not wanting earnest, able and honest men to assure the timid, that separation was not the aim of the Colonies. But George III and his Ministers, and the controlling element in power were in- flexibly determined to rule America with a rod of iron. They entertained no notions of mild government for the colonies. And to their severity, to their uncompromising hostility to show anything like favor to the American colo- nies, more than to any other cause, are we in- debted for the full measure of freedom and independence which we enjoy to-day. " The story of the Revolution is a melancholy page of history. He does no good service to the rising generation, who, on this centennial anniversary, paints the picture of that seven years' struggle in glowing colors. Since time began, there never was a people so .little able to cope with a powerful foe and carry on a pro- tracted war as were the Americans of 1776. It needed the Boston massacre, the destruction of tea in Boston Harbor, and the battles of Lex- ington and Bunker Hill to unite and solidify the patriot sentiment of the colonies in favor of independence. " The country was without friends abroad or resources at home. The war was not a series of brilliant campaigns, of daring adventures, or great victories ; but for the Continental army was a series of reverses and weary retreats. The large cities of the country were successively in the possession of the enemy, from which they emerged at their convenience to chase the " rebels." Oh the sorrowful sight that history presents of the patriot army with such a char- acter as Washington at its head — flying, flying — retreating, retreating — almost continually, before the well-fed, well-clothed, well-appointed British armies. His troops were half-naked half fed, poorly armed, and not half-paid. Their recompense, if it ever came, would be the grat- itude of succeeding generations. For them there was only hardship, weary, wounded bodies, poverty and death. About most wars there is the glory and charm of ' battle's magnificently stern array ' — the ' pomp and circumstance of glorious war ' — to kindle the ardor and inspire the enthusiasm. But there was no romance in the Revolutionary war. It was the dreary, heart-sickening struggle of a down-trodden, des- perate people. " Often the wretched army was on the brink of dissolution — often on the point of disband- ;Rr* LlA PIISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 867 ing from sheer despair. The body which, by courtesj', was called Congress, was powerless to aid it. It could only appeal to the already beggared colonies for help for the famishing soldiers, and for recruits for their wasted ranks. " But for Washington, irretrivable disaster must have overtaken the cause. Through all the dilBculties of those days, his patience and his serenity seem to us, at this distance, almost divine. He held the country up to the work which it had put its hands to do. He never despaired or became discouraged when every one else lost heart and hope. He snatched victory from defeat. He bore the calumny and envious earpings of disorganizers calmly, never once losing sight of the interests of the country. ''American Independence would at some period have been secured ; but, to George Washington is it almost entirely due that the Revolution was successful 100 years ago. " It seems miraculous that success could have been reached through such a sea of diffi- culties. Even the superhuman energies and efforts of Washington must have failed, for the time at least, had it not been for the aid fur- nished by France through the agency and per- sonal endeavors of La Payette — a name that will be pronounced even to-day with quivering lips and moistened eyes — a name forever honored in America, and forever enshrined in the hearts of her people. The story is old — it is ' as familiar in our ears as a twice-told tale ' — but we would be ingrates, indeed, if on this day of all others we neglected to recall his services and honor his memory with the tribute, feeble though it be, of our grateful praise. " The long struggle for freedom and inde- pendence closed, and victorious peace crowned the sufferings and trials of our forefathers. The foremost nation in the world reluctantly conceded the independence of its colonies, and withdrew its forces. "The Continental army was not invincible, but it won a victory for progress and civilization, against difficulties that seemed insurmountable. Our hills and mountain fastnesses and South- ern swamps fought for us. Our inaccessible forests and bridgeless rivers were our allies. Our very feebleness, which compelled us to worry and harass the enemy, rather than en- gage him, except on fields of our own choosing, was our very strength. The King and Parlia- ment of Great Britian, by their harshness and bitterness against our cause, fought for us. A divided public opimion in England helped us. The God of battles was on the side of the weak and the weak won. "We come now to that period in our history about which the least is known — a period run- ning over as many years of peace as there had been of war, from the close of the war to the adoption of the new constitution — a period, which it has been said, the historian would gladly consign to eternal oblivion. " We, who have gathered here to-day, have still fresh recollections of the closing scenes of a war of far greater magnitude. It may, there- fore, be worth our while to revert briefly to the condition of the army and country at the close of the Revolution. " The country had been drained of its re- sources, and was helplessly bankrupt. The people wer(> wretchedly poor, and the nation, if it could be called a nation, was without credit. Politics were in a chaotic state. The authority of the Confederate Congress had dwindled to a low ebb. It could vote to raise money, but the operation was like calling spirits from the vasty deep — would they come ? The States were in a league, not in a union as we have it now ; and so slight was the compact that it was seri- ously proposed each of the thirteen States should send ambassadors to treat with foreign powers. They were distracted by jealousies of each other, and consumedly tardy in granting power of any kind to the General Government. Tax-paying was almost optional with the indi- j) <^ ^f £^ 368 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. vidual. and the tax gatherer was considered as a standing joke. The treasuary vaults were empty — not a dollar in hand for the public service. The currency of the confederacy was worthless. Two hundred millions of paper money had been issued by the G-overnment, but 88 millions had been taken up and canceled by the States in paj^ment of taxes, at the rate of forty dollars for one. Congress attempted to call in the balance by issuing new bills, but the new bills rapidly depreciated to par with the old. Down went the paper monej' until it touched 500 for 1 in gold, and then lower and lower it sank until one thousand dollars of the Continental mone}' was gladly exchanged for one dollar in gold or silver ! A lower depth could not be reached, and when the slang phrase was invented by the Yankee patriot, ' not worth a continental ! ' the rag babj' of the Rev- olution disappeared. "Our ambassadors in Europe — Franklin, John Adams and Jay — were begging on their knees for help, thankful for every miserable pittance that was doled out at exorbitant rates of interest ; and our Minister of Finance had no other means of raising funds than to draw on the Ambassadors and sell the drafts. The private fortunes of the prominent patriots had been swallowed up to sustain the arm}-. That was no meaningless exclamation — no ' glitter- ing generality ' in the Declaration of Independ- ence, where they pledged their lives, their for- tunes and their sacred honor. Their lives and their fortunes were freelj' offered upon the altar of freedom, and their sacred honor will remain untarnished to the end of time ! "The patriot army was to be disbanded. The soldiers had not been paid for months or years, and the only prospect before them was starvation. No wonder they mutinied in Phila- delphia and surrounded Congress with their determined bayonets ! It was all that Wash- ington and G-ates could do to suppress the ris- ing storm in their camps — and there is no more pathetic picture of the whole Revolution than that scene in camp where Washington stood among the discontented veterans, eyes dimmed with tears, wiping his spectacles and speaking simply and pathetically, 'Fellow-soldiers, you perceive I have not only grown gray, but blind in j'our service.' "They had fought the fight to the end, and, instead of marching to their homes as victori- ous conquerors, to the sound of martial music, and under the shadow of waving flags, with the plaudits of a grateful people cheering them on, the soldiers of the Revolution were penniless, in rags, and the object of fear and reproach by the people. On many obscure country roads and lonely by-paths, the ' Old Continental in his ragged regimentals,' with his well-'S'orn flint-lock on his shoulder, and his empty haver- sack by his side, trudged his weary way from camp and garrison to the home he had left years before, to the home in ruins or in wasteful de- cay, and to friends on whom labor and care, and poverty had left their marks. " The soldiers of the Revolution went out from the army, and down into civil life, down into the toils and struggles of rebuilding and repairing the wastes of war, down into poverty and drudger}', and down into the pages of his- tory, where the record of their glorious lives will forever shine as a beacon light for liberty. " Independence was achieved and liberty se- cured, but the union of the States was yet to be accomplished. The era of statesmanship had arrived. Traditional policy must be sup- planted, by experiment, in new lines of political action. Public opinion must be educated to accept radical changes in society and govern- ment. The political action of the States was independent of each other. Bach claimed and exercised sovereign power. Even in so impor- tant a matter as the treaty of peace with Great Britain, each State claimed and exercised the right o^atifying or rejecting so much as it saw fit. If the resources and power of the thirteen '\^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 871 original States liad been equal to their inde- pendence and assurance, they would have formed the greatest confederacj- the world ever saw! '• It seemed & hopeless task to such states- men as Hamilton and Madison to convince the States that their verj- existence depended upon a closer union, and they were denounced as monarchists for advocating a central govern- ment. Washington incurred wanton and severe abuse, and yet, he said there were not ten men in the countrj- who wanted a monarchy. John Adams drew maledictions upon his head by the remark that the English Constitution was one of the grandest achievements of the human race. "There was widespread opposition to a standing army, and a distrust that the recently disbanded soldiers would become a privileged pensioned, idle class. The Order of Cincinnati, which the officers of the Kevolution formed at the close of the war, was fiercely assailed by civilians, as the beginning of a military aris- tocracj'. ' So general was the apprehension that the military would overshadow the civil authority, that the regular standing army of the United States was reduced to eighty men, twenty-five of them at Pittsburgh, guarding public stores, and fiftj'-five of them stationed at West Point ; while the highest officer of the army was a Captain!' '' The struggle of statesmen for national unity, vigor and power, was as long and as des- perate as the struggle of the patriot soldiers for independence. The Constitution which has been handed down to us, was a battle-field fought over step by step, and inch by inch. It has its Concord and Bunker Hill, its Valley Forge and Yorktown ; and, as Washington led the forces and achieved the victory in one field of strife, justly earning the title of Father of his country, so Alexander Hamilton marshalled the forces in the other, carried the day by the force of logic and statesmanship, and fairly earned the no less honorable distinction of be- ing the Father of our political system. " The right of the General Government to col- lect the customs duties ; to maintain an army ; to enforce treaties ; to coin money ; in short, ever}' fundamental principle which has been engrafted into the organic law, giving the na- tion vigor and strength, if not life itself, was vehemently opposed. " It was tedious work to get the consent of the States to the holding of a convention to frame a Constitution for consideration ; and the adoption of the instrument was altogether problematical. But, finally, in 1789, six or seven years after the close of the Revolutionary war, the States, or a majority of them, one after an- other, at wide intervals of time, and with reser- vations and evident reluctance, adopted it. Then, and not till then, did the United States of America become a nation — then, and not till then, could it be said that ' Liberty and Union were one and inseparable — now and forever I' " We need to take a retrospective glance to rightly appreciate our present advancement, and fullj' realize how wonderful and rapid has been our progress. " Although the impulse which led to the col- onization of America was zeal for religious tol- eration, it is onl}' in our day that it has become a fixed and unalterable and practical principle. " Our forefathers of colonial times believed in tfee right of private judgment, provided private judgment coincided with their doctrines ! They established and maintained a connection be- tween church and state, and the influence of the religious system prevaded and dominated the rising political, educational and social in- stitutions of the country. The reality and in- tensity of the feeling may be inferred from the declaration of John Adams ; ' That a change in the solar system might be expected as soon as a change in the ecclesiastical system of Massachusetts ! Massachusetts was not alone — in all the colonies there was a union of the s "V ^1 •lil 372 HISTOBY OF MEDINA COUNTY. political and religious systems, either directly, or indirectly in the way of religious tests as qualifications for citizenship or official prefer- ment. " What a revolution in thought has occurred we realize to-da}^ in the abandonment of that S3-stem in nearly every State of the Union — the only lingering relic to remind us that it ever prevailed, being the exemption of church prop- erty from taxation — and that, too, must ere- long cease to be a relic — for the whole system was long ago ' smitten with decay in the Old World, and it cannot flourish in the New.' " The sun still shines in the heavens, and the planets revolve with the same unvarying pre- cision and serene indifference to our affairs as they did in the days of John Adams ; but the ecclesiastical system of Massachusetts, and all the other colony States, has experienced a change ; and more nearly than ever before con- form to the requirements of the great founder of Christianity, who solved the problem of church and state, in one sentence, 1,800 years ago, when He gave the advice to " Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.' " The divorce of the nation from the ecclesi- astical system has not made us a Godless na- tion ; on the contrary, throughout the length and breadth of the land, to-day 40,000,000 of people, irrespective of faith or creed, fervently respond to the invitation extended by the Pres- ident of the United States in his Proclamation issued last week, ' to mark the return of this day by some public religious and devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bless- ings which have been bestowed upon us as a nation during the centenary of our existence and humbly to invoke a continuance of His protection.' " Our educational system is peculiarly Amer- ican in origin, character and growth. Common schools were established in the colonies at a very early date. Documents over 200 years old are found on record, respecting the estab- lishment of schools, which presented a plan em- bracing ' local responsibility, State oversight, moderate charges or free instruction, and recog- nition of the primary school, the grammar school and the university.' The watchword of Connecticut 100 years ago — 'that the public schools must be cheap enough for the poorest, and good enough for the best ' — is our watch- word to-day ; and the common-school system of our fathers, expanded and improved — ' dif- fering in details but the same in outline — furnishes education of the children of our people in every State, from the Atlantic to the Pacfic' " It is true there has been a controversy from the beginning in regard to religious instruction in the schools, and we are called upon at the close of the first century of the Republic to set- tle the vexed question. Can we doubt that it will be settled, so that ' instruction shall be free, unsectarian, non-partisan, and open to all, without distinction of race, birth-place, or so- cial standing ? ' '' Perhaps we are not so well prepared as the older nations to confer the benefits of what is called the higher education ; bnt our progress in this direction has been remarkable when we consider what an immense amount of pioneer work has had to be done. The nine colleges of 1776 have increased to five hundred and fifty in 1876, and millions of dollars in gifts are an- nually given to American institutions of learn- ing. In no other country in the world has a college been established for the education of deaf mutes. We have no less than forty-five institutions for the education of that class of unfortunates ; and twenty-seven institutions for the education of the blind. Our cities and towns are provided with free libraries ; and the modern newspaper, grown to be a compendium of all knowledge no less than the record of current events, finds its way to every home in the land. ' As a nation, if we are not the best. •i^G — — "►" 'iL HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 373 we certainl}' are the most generally educated of any people in the world.' " In literature, our Shakespeare and Milton and Burns — our Dante and Goethe — have not appeared ; but for the English Goldsmith we have Washington Irving ; for the cynic Carlyle, Emerson the thinker ; for Chatham and Sheri- den and O'Connell, we have Webster, Choate and Phillips ; for the historians Macaulay and Froude, we have Bancroft and Motley ; and for the poets and song-writers of all countries and climes we have our Longfellow, Bryant, Whit- tier and Holmes. " If the work that has been done in this coun- try in the field of original scientific research and discovery will not compare with that of Germany, France and England, it is because we have not had the leisure to devote to the pa- tient, monotonous and apparently objectless labor, without which results are not reached. For the most part the business of our lives has been to get roofs to shelter us, and food and raiment to sustain us. If it was literally true that our forefathers secured a foothold and es- tablished a home on this continent, with — " ' One hand on the mason's trowel, And one on the soldier's sword,' — it is no less true that we, their descendants, have had to fight and build and struggle to subdue the mighty West. " 'We crossed the mountains, as of old The Pilgrims crossed the sea, To make the West, as they the East, The homestead of the free.' " Yet Franklin, Kittenhouse, Fulton, Morse, Henry, Howe and ' Old Probabilities ' are Amer- ican names suggestive of discoveries and appli- cations in science without which the civilized world would be much more than a century be- hind its present progress. Our science has been immensely practical, not abstract ; and we have applied the science of the age and of all ages, until we outstrip the oldest, the largest and the most powerful nations of the world in the extent of our material prosperity. " What a growth has been ours ! What pros- perity we have reached ! In no spirit of vain boasting, but with grateful hearts and joyful pride, do we point to the blessings that crown this centennial year of the Kepublic. " The inventive genius of the world has been laid under contribution to aid our mighty enterprises and to relieve our over-burdened hands and brains of much of the drudg- ery of labor. Our resources have been devel- oped at a marvelous rate, and to an extent that ha,ti made us prodigal of wealth ; but yet, they are practically inexhaustible. Our territorial area embraces nearlj' the whole continent. Our commerce spreads over every sea, the grimy smoke of our steamships curling upward from every port in the known world ; and the steam whistle that calls the mechanic to his dail}' labor in our villages, is heard in the remotest interior of Japan, as the key note of a newer and bet- ter civilization. The .3,000,000 of people who, one hundred years ago, were invincible in the holy cause of liberty, have multiplied to nearly fiftjr millions ; the thirteen States to thirty- eight ; and our national wealth is practically bej'ond computation. " The borders of the Great West have been pushed from the AUeghanies to the lakes, and from the lakes to the prairies, from the prairies to the plains, and from the plains to the mount- ain ranges, on whose further slopes the surf of the Pacific beats a perpetual rhj^thm. " Our telegraphs and railroads have annihi- lated time and space. Where the emigrant of 1849 trudged for months beside his heavily loaded wagon, crossing the American desert to reach the El Dorado of California, the steel locomotive and palace cars of the fast train now speed over the same distance in three days. and a half, and the telegraph fairly transmits to our ears the whir of its wheels, as it flies from station to station. IV i\^ 374 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. " It is said of us that we are given to boast- ing ; but how can we recount the story of our progress, so that it sliall not seem to imitate the romance of Aladdin's lamp? Our most severel}' simple record tells of achievements that winged Mercury with pride could have re- counted to the gods ; or Puck; girdling the earth in forty minutes, could have joyfully re- peated to the astonished people of fairy land! Our soberest words seem like wild exaggera- tions. '• Embarrassments and periods of depression we have had, but they have been temporarj', and, in the end, beneficent, as the one will be through which we are passing now. " Our j'outh, the principles underlying our sj'stem, the arts of peace we have cultivated, and our community of interests and simplicity of social customs, have been measurabl}- our safeguards against national misfortunes and calamities which follow national departures from the laws of right. But we have not es- caped the penaltj' of an}" wrong action. Our brief and inexpensive war of conquest resulted in increased sectional strife, and only gave us a viper that stung the bosom that warmed it. " By the sacrifice of the best blood of the nation, and the expenditure of untold treasure, we extirpated slavery and atoned for our former neglect of the rights of the black race. His- tory will bear testimonj- to the redeeming fact, that, during all the years the sj'stem of slavery disgraced our civilization, it was only tolerated, not protected by the organic law of the land, and that the judgment and conscience of the larger part of our people held the practice in abhorrence. " To-day the nation is free in reality as well as in name. The hands that were raised to dis- member it for the sake of perpetuating a crime against humanity were beaten down by the up- rising of a people determined that the Union, founded upon justice and liberty, and cemented by the blood of the patriots of the Revolution, should not be impaired or destroyed. The tat- tered battle flags of our loyal regiments, the flower-strewn mounds in our gravej'ards, the armless veterans in our streets, speak eloquently of the terrible earnestness of the struggle. The amended constitution guaranteeing the rights of the enfranchised race, and their eleva- tion to citizenship, and equality before the law, tell of our reparation for their wrongs. And this flag, ' with not a stripe erased, or a star obscured,' waves over the length and breadth of the land to-daj', the symbol of beautj' and glorj', vindicating our courage and honor before the whole world. " It would be recreancy to the great memo- ries of this day to leave unsaid that there are blots on our record the odium of which can never be effaced — crimes against liberty, against humanitj', against civilization. The treason of Benedict Arnold, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the torture of our soldiers in the prison- pens of the South, and S3'mpathy for the cause which demanded and the miscreants who com- mitted the atrocity, are crimes that deserve, and to the end of time, will receive, the execra- tion of the civilized world. Over th& memory of individuals whose misdeeds are committed from sudden impulse, passion, or the ordinary motives of depravity, we throw the mantle of charitj' and oblivion ; but for those whose crimes, like these, humiliate and involve a na- tion in their consequences, ' History has no forgiveness and the memory of man no forget- fulness.' " In conclusion, fellow-citizens, I trust to ■violate none of the proprieties which all parties on this day cordially unite in observing, by conjuring you to let your condemnation rest with emphasis upon corruption, intriguing, and faithlessness in the administration of public af- fairs. Demand the unconditional abandon- ment of practices not strictly in accordance with the dictates of simple truth and plain honesty. Corruption, prostitution of power to ■V 3f 'J^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 375 purposes of self-aggrandizement, fraud, and a long catalogue of vices of a darker hue have fastened themselves upon every government, like barnacles on a ship, since governments be- gan. Absolute purity and fldelity in the exe- cution of public trusts it were vain to expect ; but the people of a nation who excuse or pali- ate the slightest deviation from the straightfor- ward performance of duty in their public serv- ants are themselves responsible, and justly suffer the consequences. Honesty and faithful- ness in the every -day life of the citizens of the State, will secure honesty and faithfulness in official life. We have no trained class of pub- lic functionaries, and need none. No need of a complicated civil service system, when we can go into our offices, stores and factories, into our shops and on our farms and choose at a venture men educated, self-poised and capable of filling an}' office from President down. The strength and glorj' of the nation, which to-day enters upon a new era, depend not upon the greatness of its rulers, but upon the virtue, industry and intel- ligence of its people ; and for the untried fut- ure this is the ' promise and potency ' of a national career, the highest and completest that human society can reach. Let us hope that the impulses which go forth from this day to influence our national character, may give strength to our love of justice, as well as a brighter glow to our patriotism. " As we look back over our history from the vantage ground of a hundred years, we see that the nation of to-day is not the nation of yester- day, but the outgrowth of conditions and strug- gles which can never be repeated. And he who stands in this place on our next Centen- nial Fourth of July, to review the century hid- den now l^y the vail of the future, will see that progress has been made, not by repeating our experience, but in new directions — our age and our acts furnishing the impulses which lead into new pathways of enterprise and honor." CHAPTER VII. MEUIXA TOWNSHIP — DESCRIPTION AND TOPOGR.iPHY — COMING Of THE WIIITIJ.S — LOST IN THE WOODS— INDUSTRIES OF THE PIONEERS— E.VRLY INCIDENTS— RELIGIOUS AST) EDUCATIONAL — VILLAGES. AN unbroken forest, that, when, clothed in its robes of summer luxuriance, was almost impenetrable to the rays of the noonday sun and shut out his light from the virgin earth beneath ! No sound, other than the war of the tempest, the howl of the wild beast, the yell of the Indian, had ever echoed through its gloomy aisles, until the advent of the sturdy pioneer. Far off in his New England home, reports had come to him, as he toiled among his sterile hills, of a land Ij'ing away to the West, that flowed, at least figuratively, with milk and honey, and had determined him to seek in this fabled land the wealth it promised. As he alighted from his lumbering wagon, drawn hither by oxen, the whole range of his vision took in a wild and tangled forest, nothing more. No human liabitations, no churches, no villages, no schoolhouses, dotted the landscape, or nestled in the heavily timbered groves. It was a pic- ture little calculated to inspire enthusiasm in the new comer, and less determined men would have despaired at the uninviting prospect un- folded before them. But their strong arm and indomitable energy have triumphed and wrought a grand transformation in the sixty odd j^ears that have come and gone since the first white man squatted in this section of the country. In ^l ._\^ 370 HISTORY OF MEDIXA COUNTY. the pages preceding, matters pertaining to tlie county at large liave been taken up, and tlie difterent threads of its history fully carried out. In this chapter, our business is with Medina Township, and everj'thing in its history will be treated of in its proper place. The township of Medina lies just north of the center of the county, and is bounded north by Brunswick Township, east by Granger, south by Montville, and west by York. It is a little less than a full township, being onlj' about four and a half miles north and south, b^^ four and a half miles east and west, and is designated as Township 3 north, Range 14 west. It is somewhat rolling and even hilly in places, but not enough so to render much of it unfit for cultivation. It is sufficiently rolling, however, to require little or no artificial drainage. A heavy growth of timber originally covered the entire township, comprising the different species indigenous to this section of the State, viz.: oak beech, maple, hickory, ash, with a little poplar and walnut, together with some of the smaller shrubs. The soil is mostly of a clayey nature, and produces corn, oats and wheat bountifully, and also is adapted to grazing, and is used con- siderably in that way. Some attention is paid to stock, particularly cattle, and the dairy busi- ness is one of the large and valuable industries of the township, though not so extensively car- ried on now as it was a few years ago. The township has an excellent natural drainage. The most important stream is the Rocky River, which traverses it in almost all directions ; a branch flowing from northeast to southeast, bj' way of Weymouth, then, taking a curve, it passes on to the northwest, leaving the township near the northwest corner. It has any number of branches and tributaries, most of which are small, and many of them nameless on the maps, but afford to the land most excellent drainage, and to the farmer an abundance of stock water. In early times. Rock}' River was utilized liy the pioneers, who built a number of mills along its tortuous course, for which it furnished good water power. One railroad passes through a corner of Medina Township, which, since its completion, has been of great benefit to the people as a means of bringing markets nearer home, and as affording a mode of travel and transportation superior to what they had before enjoyed. Medina Township was settled principally from the old Nutmeg State, consequent upon the fact, perhaps, that this entire section, known as " the Reserve," belonged originally to Connect- icut, as full}' noted in another part of this work. But few of the early settlers of Medina, there- fore, but were " Connecticut Yankees," as they were termed bj' the people from other States. They brought their natural thrift and energy and persevering will with them, qualifications essentially necessary in the wilderness life that opened up before them. These characteristics bore them safel}' over the trials and privations of border life and led them through aU difficul- ties to final prosperity and happiness. The larger portion of the land in this town- ship was owned by one Elijah Boardman, a native of New Milford, Conn. In 1795, he be- came a member of the Connecticut Land Corn- pan}', and was thus made the proprietor of large tracts of land in the Western Reserve. A few others owned small tracts in Medina Township, among whom were Homer Board- man, Judson Canfield, Z. Briggs, Roger Skin- ner and perhaps some others. The township was surveyed, in 1810, into eighty-one lots of equal size, the better to suit purchasers of that daj', who were generally men of small means. The first cabin erected in the towhship was on Lot 22, by a man named Hinman. He and his brothers cleared about three acres ; built a small cabin, in which they lived for a short time. But fearing the Indians, who were troublesome in this region in consequence of the war of 1812, then in progress, the Hinmans left their T HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 377 little improvement in one of the periodical scares of the time, and never returned. The first permanent settler in Medina Town- ship was Zenas Hamilton, a native of Dan- bur}', Conn. He had made a purchase of some land in the township and determined to occu- py it, and so, in the latter part of the summer of 1814, he made preparations to move hither. He left Harpersfleld, N. Y., where he had been living for a short time, and, in October, 1814, arrived in Medina Township. He went into the deserted cabin of Hinman, Lot 22 being a part of his purchase. As soon as he could build another and more commodious cabin, he moved his family into it. This latter cabin, however, was not a palace b}' an}' means, but strictl}- of the primitive and pioneer pattern, being innocent of any iron, even a nail. It was built of logs or poles, one-storv high, with clapboard roof, and puncheon floor and door, the puncheons fastened with wooden pegs in- stead of nails, and the boards of the roof held to their places with " weight-poles." Mr. Ham- ilton and his family were alone in Medina Township — " monarchs of all they surveyed" — for a year and a half before another family ar- rived in the neighborhood to relieve them of their utter loneliness. Their fare at best was meager, and sometimes required the utmost exertions to obtain a sufficiency to satisfy the cravings of hunger. To such extremities were they often reduced, that they would put corn into a leather bag and pound it into a coarse meal or hominj'. At other times they were forced to shell out wheat and rj'e by hand, and boil it, to maintain life until the}' could get meal from the mill, twenty or thirty miles dis- tant, by measurement, but, taking the roads of the times into consideration, some fifty or sev- enty-five miles. No one of the present day can begin to realize their trials and privations. Experience was necessary to form a just idea of them. Hamilton was quite a hunter, and through this means was enabled to supply his family with plenty of meat. Deer and bears were numerous, and during the first few years he killed fifteen bears, besides a great number of deer and turkeys. These additions to the family pantry were of great benefit, and served them in the place of pork and beef The fol- lowing incident is told of him, which shows his prowess in hunting : He was out in the forest one day, and, approaching a large oak tree, dis- covered a bear at the foot, eating acorns, and, as he looked up, saw in the tree the old one and her two cubs, getting off' the acorns. Knowing that, as soon as he fired at the one on the ground, it would be the signal for the rapid descent of those in the tree, he prepared for the emergency, by taking some bullets in his mouth and making every preparation for has- tily re-loading his gun. He then shot the larger bear at the foot of the tree, then hastily put some powder in his gun, spit a ball into the muz- zle, gave it a "chug" on the ground, causing it to prime itself (this was before the invention of percussion caps), and in this way shot the others before they could get down and away, thus piling them in a heap at the foot of the tree in a verv short time. Mr. Hamilton was, for many 3'ears, a promi- nent and active member of frontier society, and a most worthy citizen. His cabin was the gen- eral stopping-place of early settlers, until they could find a shelter, or erect a cabin of their own. He died near the township center, many j'ears ago, and was mourned by a large circle of friends. The next settler in Medina Town- ship to Hamilton was James Moore, who arrived in the earlj' part of March, 1816. In a narrative published b}' him, he says: "At this time, Zenas Hamilton and family were the only inhabitants in the township. While I was getting material together on Lot 52 for a cabin, James Palmer, Chamberlin and Marsh arrived, and assisted me in putting up my cabin, being the third in the township ; this must have been in the fore part of April, 1816. If^ ft 378 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. I cut and cleared, without team, three acres, where David Nettleton's house now stands, and planted it with corn, and left it in care of Jacob Marsh, and the last of May, 1816, I started for Boston, returning in October of same year. During my absence, several cabins were erected. In April, 1816, Mr. Hulet, in the west part of Brunswick, was, after Zenas Hamilton, my nearest neighbor in that direction, and Mr. Mott, east on the old Smith road, each about seven miles from my cabin." Mr. Moore had come to the new country, and prepared a home for his family, who came on with Andrew Seaton and family in 1818. They were (Moores) from Massachusetts, and remained upon the place of his original settle- ment, viz. : Lot 52, until about 1829, when in partnership with one of the Northrops, he erected a substantial log house on Lot 73, where they remained until 1832. They cleared up a good farm on Lot 73, putting up all needed buildings, planting fruit trees, etc., when they sold out to Daniel Northrop. After selling the farm opened on Lot 73, he, in company with Erastus Luce, purchased a farm in the north- west part of Medina, near Abbey ville, built a fine mansion, improved the place highly, and in a few years again sold out. He seems to have been a man who was not long contented in a place, as we learn of several removals made from one section of the township to another, when he flnallj' sold out and removed to Lake County, 111., where he resided for a number of years, and where he lived at last accounts of him. Mr. Moore gives the following incident connected with his trip to this township : " We spent several days in running lines, but, finding that wherever I selected a lot it was reserved, I made the best excuse I could and left for Mr. Doan's, and soon became acquainted with Capt. Seymour, who volunteered to show me the mill site, where he and Mr. Doan would soon erect a mill in the township of Medina. Accordingly, the Captain, with tin cup, rifle, and a most formidable butcher knife, led the way, and, as if by instinct, found his way some ten or eleven miles through a dense forest. After viewing the mill site, we descended the branch of Rocky River, as far as Lot 52, and, after some examination, found our way to Zenas Hamil- ton's, where we spent the night. In the morn- ing the beech-tree, conspicuous as the seat of justice of Medina County, was visited; and, if size gives importance, this tree was truly im- portant. It stood some forty or fifty feet a little north of east, in front of the old court house.'' Another of the pioneer families of Medina Township, was Abijah Marsh's. They were from Windham County, Vt., and came to this township in November, 1816, in wagons, and were forty-two days on the road. Upon his arrival, his family consisted of the parents, two daughters, one of them named Lydia, a woman grown, and four sons, from nine to eighteen years of age. Jacob, an elder son, had come out the winter previous, and entered some land adjoining Zenas Hamilton's on the north, and had cleared some five acres during the summer. The family moved into a vacant cabin a little south of Hamilton's, until they could build on the land that had been entered by Jacob Marsh. Says Mr. JIarsh in a communication to the Ga- zette : " The inhabitants of the township at that time were Zenas Hamilton, living about three-quarters of a mile north of the center of the township, and Rufus Ferris, who settled a few months before near where the county seat is now located. There were two bachelor es- tablishments, one near the present site of Bag- dad, occupied by Capt. James Moore, and a sailor named Copps, the other about one and a half miles northeast of Mr. Hamilton's, occu- pied by James Palmer, and one or two of his brothers. These were all the residents of the township when we arrived in the fall of 1816." A circumstance occurred soon after the arrival of the Marsh family, in which one of the daugh- ^l>^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 379 ters (L3'dia) figured prominently, which will be given in connection with pioneer incidents, further on in this chapter. In 1820, Harmon Munson and wife and Joseph Pritchard and family came in and settled near the center. The Munsons are an old and respected famih' in the county. Within three years from the first settlement made in Medina Township by Zenas Hamilton, the following additional settlers arrived from Connecticut and made improvements ; Kufus Ferris, Noah M. Bronson, Joseph, N. B. and Duthan Northrop, the Warners, William Pain- ter, Lathrop Seymour, Gad Blakslee, and per- haps others. Mr. Ferris, who was the agent of Boardman, the owner of the land, arrived in the township on the 11th day of June, 1816. He settled about half a mile north of the public square of Medina, where he erected a comforta- ble log house, and, as he was the land agent, his house soon became the stopping-place of new- comers. He was originally from New Milford, and, upon his arrival here, built a sort of shanty, into which they stowed their things, while they did all their work in the open air, and Mrs. Ferris did her cooking and baking every day by the side of a fallen tree. Ferris had a num- ber of men at work, and pushed forward the chopping and clearing so rapidly that they soon had corn and wheat growing where but a short time before was an unbroken wilderness. In 1817, Ferris had the first frame barn put up ever built in the township. He employed J. and N. B. Northrop to do the work, and " help " for raising the huge affair was partty obtained from Liverpool and Brunswick Townships. Not being able to complete the building the first day, the hands remained overnight and finished it next "morning. The following inci- dent is related of this barn-raising : " Ferris, be- ing fond of fun, prepared too large pails of milk-punch, sweet but strong with whisky, and, in a short time, six or eight of those who drank most freely, were on their backs feeling up- ward for terra firma." The raising was finished in the morning, and when completed " Uncle John Hickox," as he was called, went up on the end rafter and walked the " ridge-pole '' to the other end and down again to the " plate.'' This barn was afterward used in which to hold some of the early courts of Medina County. Mr. Ferris was a man of considerable promi- nence in the neighborhood, and much respected among his fellow-citizens. ^Ir. Bronson came from Plymouth, and settled here in October, 1816. Hiram Bronson came to the township with the family when small. His mother rode most of the distance on horseback, and carried her infant. He has served two terms in the State Legislature, and has been a prominent citizen in the community. He drove the first cattle from Medina Township to market, and hauled the first flour from the same place to Cleveland ; also hauled potash there with ox team, bringing back salt. These trips usually occupied five days. Of the Warners, there were David, George, James and E. A. Warner, who came about 1817-18. The Bronsons and Warners are old and respected families, and many descendants are still living in town and county, and are among the most worthy citi- zens. Mr. Bronson, in company with one of the Warners, purchased Lots 37, 54 and 55, which they improved, and upon which they settled. The Northrops, one of the prominent fami- lies of the township, came in 1816-17. Duthan came first and built a cabin on Lot 30, for his father, Joseph Northrop, who had stopped with his family at Nelson, in Portage County. He waited there for snow, that the trip might be more easily made by " sledding." The last of January, 1817, became on to Medina, and went into the house with Ferris until his own could be finished. It had been put up by Duthan, and covered, and now, in order to make mud, or mortar, for the purpose of daubing the cracks, they had to heat water, and dig through the snow, then eight inches deep. But patience and s \ " liL 380 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. perseverance triumphed, and thej' moved into their own cabin on the 6th of February. It was without floor, door or chimney, and the weather was very cold. There was, however, plenty of wood convenient, and thej' managed to keep comfortable, and in a few days a stick chimnej' was added to their primitive home. Puncheons were then hewed, and a door was made ; bedsteads were manufactured from poles, a few rude stools, and their household furni- ture was complete. Mr. Northrop, as we have stated, was from Connecticut. He was born in Brookfield, and his wife in Stratford ; he died July 21, ISIS, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and his wife December 26, 1851, aged eighty-two years. His family consisted of Nira B., Betsey (Mrs. Johnson), Duthan, Eliza (Mrs. Barnes), Morris and Mary. The latter died unmarried. Morris and Gen. Duthan Northrop are still living — the others are all dead. Gen. Northrop lives at Mentor, and is a neighbor to Gen. Garfield, whom he knows well. Nira B., Betsey and Morris all lived to celebrate their golden weddings ; Duthan's wife died a short time before their fiftieth marriage anni- versary. William Painter, Gad Blakslee and Lathrop Seymour came in the spring of 1817. Painter and Blakslee were from Plymouth, and Sej'mour from Waterburj-. Blakslee died years ago, and of Painter we were unable to learn anything definite. Capt. Sejnnour was a prominent man in the community. He left Connecticut with his family in the latter part of September, 1807, in company with four other families with ox teams. Through mud and mire thej^ finall3- arrived at Buffalo, where they took passage in a small, dirty vessel, and, after a tiresome voyage of sev- eral weeks, arrived at Erie, Penn. At this place Mr. Seymour left them and started for Euclid, while his wife continued her journey on foot, in company with another family. Horses were procured at Euclid, and Seymour met them forty miles from Erie, and took them to Euclid, where they spent the winter, and in the spring went to Cleveland and remained there three months. They then removed to Columbia, where they suffered severelj' with the ague, and dur- ing their stay there lost a child. They next went to Huron, and, war being declared between the United States and England, soon after, :\Ir. Seymour enlisted as a soldier, and his wife was left alone most of the time with her children. In 1814, Mr. Seymour having served out his time in the army, they moved to Liverpool, where they boarded the hands that worked in the salt-works. Prom this place, they again went to Columbia, and in March, 1816, came to Medina to look at a mill site, which he and Mr. Doan had lately purchased. In April, 1817, he moved to Medina and settled permanentlj-. He took his family into a little log shanty, so small that when their beds were spread down they covered the entire floor. In company with Doan, he built a saw-mill in the fall of 1817, and the next year built a grist-mill at Wej'- mouth. These were the first mills in the town- ship. Capt. Seymour and his family suffered all the privations common in a new country at that early period. Once thej- were without bread for three weeks, and had to live on meat, potatoes and milk. This was before Seymour built his mill at Wej^mouth, and the nearest mill was four days distant with ox teams. Capt. Seymour died in December, 1835, but his wife survived him many j'ears, living to a good old age. Chamberlin and INIarsh, who came to the township with James Palmer in the spring of 1816, did not remain long, but soon removed to Sullivan. James Palmer, who, as we have said, came with Chamberlin and Marsh, built a cabin on Lot 16, and opened a large farm, which he reduced to a fine state of cultivation ; and upon which he lived until his death, which oc- curred in February, 1850. He is described by those who knew him, as a just and upright man and worth}' citizen ; highlj' esteemed and re- ■4 A — :r^ \^ '-4^ 882 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. neers of Medina Township, and among the old- est in the county now living. He is a native of New York, and, during the war of 1812, bore his share of the privations of soldier life. In 1818, he came to Ohio, and in Maj' of that year located in Medina Township. He found, upon his arrival in a new countrj^, a striking contrast to the civilized communitj' he had left ; the cabins were few and very far between, and of the rudest construction. He built the first double-log house on the present site of Medina Village, and with one Hickox, who was a mar- ried man, opened a tavern, the first in the neighborhood. In this tavern court was held, before the building of a court house. Capt. Badger took the contract for clearing oflT the public square, in 1819, and, also, for the build- ing of the first court house. He is still hving in the village of Medina, though, in a few years after he came to the countj', he removed into Montville Township, where he lived until he settled in Medina, some j'ears ago. We are in- debted to him for raan}^ particulars relating to the historjr, both of Medina Township and the county at large. The Nettletons were among the early settlers of the township. Five mem- bers of the family came in between 1818 and 1832, and three of them celebrated their golden weddings. But emigrants were now coming in rapidly, the vacant land was being taken up, and settle- ments made to such an extent as to preclude the possibility of the historian keeping pace with them. Soon there was not a vacant lot in the township, and the settlers' cabins were found in very close proximity to each other. For the first few years, the pioneers had to suffer more or less for the actual necessities of life. Bread and potatoes were extremely scarce, in consequence of the distance to where they were to be obtained. At one time, N. B. Nor- throp went fifteen miles and paid $10 for twen- ty bushels of potatoes, and $5 to get them hauled home. Some time previouslj', he had gone twenty miles for a load of wheat, paid $1.50 per bushel for it, got it ground and then paid a like sum to get it home. He also, it is said, paid $3 for the first bushel of salt, $34.50 for the first cow, and $26 for the first barrel of pork. At another time, Mr. Northrop and F. A. Abbott paid $11 for a barrel of Liverpool salt, and it fell short one-tenth. All this falls far short of the privations actually endured by the hardy settlers, who had staked their all upon hewing out a home in the wilderness. Says Howe, in his historical collections of Ohio, referring to Medina : " Owing to the want of a market, the products of agriculture were very low. Thousands of bushels of wheat could at one time be bought for less than 25 cents per bushel, and cases occurred where ten bushels were offered for a single pound of tea, and re- i fused. As an example : Joel Blakslee, of Me- dina, about the year 1822, sowed fifty -five acres in wheat, which he could only sell by bartering with his neighbors. He fed out most of it in bundles to his cattle and swine. All that he managed to dispose of for cash was a small quantity' sold to a traveler for 12^ cents per bushel, as feed for his horse. Other products were in proportion. One man brought an ox- wagon, filled with corn, from Granger, eight miles distant, which he gladly exchanged for three yards of satinet for a pair of pantaloons. It was not until the opening of the Erie Canal, that the settlers had a market. From that time the course of prosperity has been onward. The earlj- settlers, after wearing out their woolen pantaloons, were obliged to have them seated and kneed with buckskin, in which attire they attended church. It was almost impossible to raise wool, in consequence of the abundance of wolves destroying the sheep.'' In addition to all these little annoj'ances and discomforts, many- dangers existed. The woods were full of wild beasts, some of which would not hesitate to at- tack human beings when pressed by hunger, and if a person chanced to get lost in the for- ^1 ^W HISTORV OF MEDINA COUNTY 383 ests, they ran great clanger of being devoured by them. The following incident, which occurred in 1816, is told in a communication written by the brother, of the lady who figures in the affair, and published in the Medina Gazette, De- cember 17, 1869 : ' About two weeks after our settlement [the Marshes] in Medina, the Palmers went to Sullivan to assist in surveying that township into lots, and mj' sister, Lydia Marsh, went there to keep house for them in their absence. My brother generally went over to stay with her during the night. One evening he went over just at dusk, and, not finding her in the house, went out to the cow-j-ard, suppos- ing she was milking the cow. He found the milk-pail hanging on the bar-post, but Lydia and the cow were absent. My brother re- mained until after dark, shouting and calling her name, but, hearing no answer to his re- peated calls, returned home and gave the alarm. i Mr. Hamilton turned out, and we procured the assistance of Moore and Copps. Mr. Ferris lived five miles away, and was not called upon. The search for her was kept up through the night, between Palmer's and where Weymouth is now located, as the cattle were in that direc- tion, and we rightly judged that it was in an at- tempt to find the cow that she became lost. A horrid din of all kinds of sounds was kept up at Palmer's house during the night, and the party who prosecuted the search in the woods kept shouting, but no trace of the lost one could be discovered. In the morning, we all assembled at our cabin, and, after hastily swal- lowing some breakfast, held a consultation as to the best mode of procedure. We were somewhat alarmed, and there was just cause for our fears. It had rained in the fore part of the evening, but before midnight turned cold, commenced snowing and froze hard. We supposed she had become exhausted with fa- tigue and benumbed with cold, and, if she had not already perished, would soon, if not found. The plan adopted was to send a message to arouse the inhabitants of Liverpool, the nearest settlement of much extent, and renew the search at once. A person was dispatched to Liverpool, and we had taken a few steps toward Palmer's, when Lydia suddenly made her ap- pearance, looking some years older than she did the day before, but otherwise safe and sound. We called our messenger back, who was not yet out of hearing, and all repaired to the house to hear her story. We were some- what excited ; the sudden transition from fear- ful foreboding to the certainty of her safety was not calculated to produce coolness on our part. In the first excess of joy at her safety, we all had to have our jokes at her forlorn ap- pearance before we could listen to her story ; but, when the excitement had subsided, she gave us the history of her wanderings. The Palmers had one cow and a yoke of oxen, which ran in the woods. The cow usually came up at night and was shut in a small yard. There was a bell on one of the oxen, but none on the cow. Mr. Palmer had told Lydia, if the cow failed to come up at night, not to go into the woods after her ; but she disobeyed his injunction and hence was lost. The afternoon was cloudj', and Lydia, busy with her work, did not no- tice the lateness of the hour until it began to grow dark in the house. She then took her milk-pail and hastened to the cow-yard. The cow was not there, but she heard the bell over toward where We3'mouth is now located, and, as it did not appear to be more than half a mile distant, she hung her pail on the bar-post and started after the cow. It grew dark rap- idly, and when she found the oxen the cow was not near enough to be seen. She depended on the cow to lead her home, and hunted for her until it was quite dark, and, in wandering around in the search, she became uncertain which wa}- home was situated. In her dilemma she started the oxen, in hopes that they would lead her home ; she could follow them by the "^ a i V ^ 384 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. sound of the bell, but could not see them at the distance of ten feet. The oxen, however, had no idea of going home, and, when she became convinced the}' would not, she left them and undertook to And the way without them. She was in error as to the place where she left the oxen. She supposed it was north of Palmer's, on or near the line of Brunswick, and this mis- take led to another, which cost her eight or tea miles' travel in the morning. A drizzling rain had set in early in the evening, and, in the almost total darkness that surrounded her, she fell into a creek and of course was thoroughly wet. The wind had got into the north, the snow was fall- ing, it was freezing rapidly, and she began to realize some of the discomforts of being lost in the woods in a stormy night. About midnight, she stepped on ground that seemed to have been trodden down harder than that she had traveled over, and, feeling with her hands, found ruts made by wagon wheels, and knew she was in a road. It was too dark to think of follow- ing it, and she concluded to wait until morning. Sitting down by the side of a tree, she pulled off her stockings, wrung the water out, wrapped her feet in her clothes, and awaited the coming of daylight. She supposed she had struck the road between Hamilton's and Liverpool, and, if her absence was not discovered, she intended to get back to Palmer's in the morning, and not let anybody know she had been lost. To- ward morning, she heard the roosters crowing but a little way off to the north, but, believing they were in Liverpool, she did not go to the house in the morning, as she would have to tell them she had been lost, and she had some hopes of being able to keep the secret of her night's experience in the woods. Her stock- ings were frozen in the morning so she could not get them on her feet, so she put on her shoes without them and started south. The place where she stayed overnight was about eighty rods south of our cabin, and a little fur- ther from Hamilton's, where she heard the chickens crow ; and of course she went directly from home. She first took the road running southeast from the center, and followed it about three miles, as near as we could judge from her description, then came back and took the road to Ferris' and followed that to the river, and then knew from our description of the crossing where she was, turned about and came home." The above incident took place within a few miles of the county seat of Medina County. As we look around us at the farms and pleas- ant homesteads, standing so thick that one may travel all day and never be out of sight of some farmhouse, it is rather difficult to real- ize all that is contained in the words, " lost in the woods," and that, too, only sixty or seventy years ago, when, for miles and miles, the forest was dark and almost impenetrable, ex- cept to wolves, bears, panthers and other raven- ous beasts, and the cabin of the settler was to be found at rare intervals. The j'oung lady who figured as the heroine of this rather un- fortunate circumstance, resided for many years in Medina County, the wife of Uriah M. Chap- pell. They, at different times, lived in Wads- worth, Guilford and York. Medina Township was one of the first created after the formation of Medina County, and was originally organized by order of the Commis- sioners of Portage County, before Medina Coun- ty got her machinery into good running order. The order issued by the Portage County Com- missioners to hold an election, was dated March 24, 1818. This election was for township oflS- cers, and organization was effected by appoint- ing Isaac Barnes, Noah M. Bronson and Abra- ham Scott, Judges ; and Samuel Y. Potter, Clerk of Election. The following township officers were duly elected : Joseph Northrop, Abraham Scott and Timothy Doan, Township Trustees ; Isaac Barnes, Township Clerk ; Rufus Ferris and Lathrop Seymour, Overseers of the Poor ; Abijah Marsh and Benjamin Hull, Fence St ^ PIISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 385 Viewers ; James Palmer, Lister ; Rufus Ferris, James Moore, Zenas Hamilton and William Painter, Supervisors ; Samuel Y. Potter and Ransom Clark, Constables, and James Bloore, Treasurer. These first officers have long since paid the debt of nature, and not one is now liv- ing. As will be seen, settlers were so scarce in the township that there were not men enough to fill the few offices, but several had to take two ofBces apiece. Thus was the township legallj' organized, and the first officers elected to administer its affairs according to law. Zeuas Hamilton was the first Justice of the Peace for Medina Township. The following incident of his ideas of equity and justice is related in Northrop's history of the county : -' Joseph Northrop had bought a pig from a Mr, Wood- ward, of Bath. As the money was not sent quite as soon as Woodward had expected, he sent his claim ($2) to Zenas Hamilton, with orders for him to sue on it. But Squire Hamilton, rather than send a summons, went two miles through the woods, informed Mr. Northrop of the fact, and told him that if he would say that the money should be in hand, three months from that time, he would do no more about it ; and thus the matter ended." In those primi- tive days, when people, in the simplicity of their hearts, were thoroughly honest, civil offi- cers were frequently much more ready to save their neighbors trouble and expense than to pocket a paltry fee for a small lawsuit. At the beginning of the settlement of Medina County, the people encountered many difficul- ties in obtaining bread. The nearest mills were twenty and thirty miles distant, and required from five to ten days to make a trip with ox teams, which were then the usual means of hauling and milling. The first mill in Medina Township was a saw-mill erected by Seymour & Doan, in 1817. The nearest grist-mills were at Middleburjr and Stowe, which, in the best of weather and the best condition of roads, was a four days' journey with ox teams. The next year they built a grist-mill adjoining their saw- mill, which had been erected where Weymouth now stands. This was the mill site mentioned by James Moore in his narrative pertaining to the early settlement of Medina. Moore & Stevens erected a saw-mill early in the year 1818, at Bagdad, near the center of the town- ship. It was soon afterward purchased by James Warner, who, with his son-in-law, Ste- phen N. Sargent, put up a grist-mill in 1820, just below the saw-mill. These early mills were a great benefit to the pioneers, and relieved them of the long, tedious journeys to mills at a distance. The township and town of Medina are now supplied with as fine mills as may be found in the State of Ohio, and the people of to-day, who have the best of mill facilities at their very doors, can, with difficulty, realize what their forefathers had to encounter here sixty or seventy years ago, in the one simple feature of procuring meal and flour. The early roads of Medina were merely trails through the forest, in which the underbrush was cut out to enable wagons to pass. One of the first of these was from Liverpool to Squire Ferris', and which passed Zenas Hamilton's. Another of the early roads branched off from the one above mentioned, at the Center, in a southeasterly direction, striking the " Smith road," near the corner of the township. The people had only ox teams, and these rough roads cut through the woods, after being passed over a few times, became impassable from mud, compelling them to continually open new ones. Some years later, a road was opened from Cleve- land to Wooster, and afterward extended to Columbus, known as the Columbus and Cleve- land stage road. This road passed through Medina, and was, in the early days of the coun- try, a great thoroughfare of travel, being a stage route between the north and south parts of the State. Medina has improved, however, in respect to its roads, as well as in many others. Good roads now pass through the f S f^ ^t ik^ 386 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. township in eveiy direction, with substantial bridges spanning all the little streams, so that locomotion is not retarded in any respect, but uninterrupted travel maj' be enjoyed with the outer world, without danger of sticking fast in the mud, or being drowned in some swollen stream. The first birth, death and marriage, in a new settlement, are objects of considerable interest to the people. The first-born in a neighbor- hood grows up an individual of great impor- tance ; the first wedding is an event that is long remembered, while the first funeral and the first grave in a lonel}' wilderness engenders sad and mournful reflections that shadow the commuuitjr for j-ears. Of the first birth in Medina Township, there are conflicting state- ments. One authority' says : " The first per- son born was Matthew, son of Zenas Hamilton, June 9, 1815." This is doubtless correct, as Zenas Hamilton was the first actual settler in the township and located as earlj' as the fall of 1814. It is told of this first born of Medina Township, that, when he arrived at maturity, he studied medicine and went West, where he had worked himself into a good practice as a ph^'sician, and, in crossing a river one day, to see a patient, was drowned. The first girl born is claimed to have been Eliza Sargent, now Mrs. Judge Humphreville, who was born in August, 1818. This first birth of a female is contested by Samantha Doan, now Sirs. Slade, whose post office address is Collamer, it being claimed that she was born in June preceding the birth of Eliza Sargent, which took place, as given above, in August. The first death is said to have been a j'oung daughter of Asahel Par- malee, from Vermont, while stopping in the settlement on their way to Sullivan. It oc- curred early in the spring of 1817. Another of the early deaths of the township, occurred at the raising of a log barn for Giles Barnes, August 12, 1819. Barnes lived on Lot 71, and, in rais- ing a heavy barn, a man named Isaac J. Pond, in taking up a rafter, was killed. He had got up on the house with the rafter, and was stand- ing on the end of the "butting-pole," when it rolled and he, losing his balance, fell, and the rafter struck him on the head, causing instant death. His little son, Henry N. Pond, was three months old that day, and his mother, the wife of Mr. Pond, on hearing of his sudden death, fainted away. The remains of the deceased were interred the next daj', and the bereaved ones had the sincere sympath}' of the entire communitj^ The grave was on Lot 53, a little west of where F. A. Abbott lived. It is a sad coincidence, that the child, Henry N. Pond, re- ferred to above, was, 'some thirty years later, then the head of a family of his own, killed by the fall of a dead tree, while at work in his field. Both father and son were much-re- spected and worthy citizens. Thus, as the sea- sons roll on, so do the shady and sunny sides of this life appear. The first couple married in the township were G-iles Barnes and Eliza Northrop, on the 23d of March, 1818. It was a time of gxeat rejoicing, and the whole neigh- borhood turned out en masse to celebrate. In- vitations had been sent out to all the dwellers in the township to attend. The ceremony was performed by Kev. E. Searle, an Episcopal clergyman, and the first preacher in the town- ship. The festivities were continued to a late hour ; but, as "the boys " had provided a good supplj' of torch bark, when the ceremonies and rejoicings were over, the}' went to their homes, lighted on their way by their bark torches. Some were said to have been a little " high " from the effects of the wine they had drank. This, however, was not considered in the least extraordinary (even for some clergymen at that day), under such circumstances as a frontier wedding. Whisky did not contain so much poison then as at the present daj', hence was not so dangerous. The cause of education in Medina Township is coeval with its settlement by white people. '^. :r^ A, L>^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 389 They came from a section of the country where the education of the youth was considered one of the first and greatest duties of the time. The first school taught here is said to have been taught by Eliza Northrop, in the old log meeting-house built by the people in 1817- In the summer of the same year, she taught school, and among her pupils were Joseph, Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary Hamilton; George, Lucius, Carlos and Lester Barnes ; Banner and Harrison Sej^mour ; Jared and Mary Doan ; Anna, Cynthia, Philemon, Ghloe, Ruth and Madison Rice ; Clement and Freeman Marsh ; Frank and Philander Calender, and Lois and Liusa Palmer — twenty-three all told. Proba- bly not one of the pupils of this pioneer school is now living. More than sixty years have passed since it was taught. In that period the school system has been much perfected, and school facilities increased according to the de- mands of the time. The following statistics from the last report of the Board of Education, show the present state of the schools of Me- dina Township : Balance on hand September 1, 1879 $615 79 State tax 270 00 Irreducible fund 17 30 Township tax for school and schoolhouse pur- poses 506 35 Total $1,409 44 Whole amount paid teachers 5603 50 Paid for fuel, etc 165 10 Total expenditures 768 60 Balance on hand September 1, 1880 $640 84 Children between the ages of six and twenty- one years ; Males, 81 ; females 91 ; total, 172. There are in the township five comfortable schoolhouses, valued at 13,000. The best and most competent teachers are employed, and good schools are maintained for the usual term each year. The religious history of Medina Township dates back almost to the first settlement. The first preacher was the Rev. R. Searle, an Epis- copal minister. He was here as early as the spring of 1817. The first public religious service, of which we have a reliable account, was held at the house of Zenas Hamilton, on the 1 ] th of March in the above year. At this meeting. Rev. Mr. Searle preached the first ser- mon delivered in the new settlement. He had been the Rector of St. Peter's Church, Plymouth, Conn. Services were also held the next day, when Rev. William Hanford preached ; he was a missionary from Connecticut. A short time after this, Rev. Searle organized St. Paul's par- ish of Medina. This was what is now St. Paul's Church of Medina Village, though organized originally in a distant part of the township. Some of the first members were Rufus Ferris, Miles Sej'mour, Benjamin Hull, Harvey Hickox, David "Warner, William Painter, George War- ner, M. B. Welton and Zenas Hamilton. The first church edifice was erected in April, 1817. Says Mr. Northrop in his history of the county : '' On the 10th day of April, 1817, the people assembled with teams and tools, at the place appointed, near the present residence of Chaun- cey Blakslee, where Herbert Blakslee now lives, and about a mile northeast of the present town house, cleared away the underbrush, cut the timber, hauled it together, and put up a log meeting house ; cut the tree, made the shingles, covered it, etc. About noon, notice came that Mr. Searle would be there and preach a sermon at 4 o'clock in the afternoon that daj'. We did our best to be ready. We prepared seats hj placing poles between the logs and stakes drove in the ground, and had it all ready in due time. Mr. Searle came and fulfilled his appointment ; nearly all were present who could get there. The exercises were accompanied with appropri- ate singing, and all passed off in very pleasant pioneer style." It was in this house the first school was taught as already noticed. It was a kind of union church, and was occupied bj^ all denominations who were represented at the time in the community, though the Episco- ^RT J^l ±L b> 390 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. palians and Congregationalists were largely in the preponderance, and, as a general thing, it was used half of the time by each of these denominations. Some time after, a log church was built at the Center, and in it meetings were conducted, in the greatest harmony, until it was burned. A town house was then built, which was used also as an Episcopal Church, until it, too, was burned. A meeting house was then built by the Congregationalists at Bagdad, and meetings held there and at the village, alternately, for several years. Among the early Congregational ministers of Medina Township were Rev. William Hanford, Rev. Simeon Woodrulf, Rev. Lot B. Sullivan and Rev. Horace Smith. The first Congrega- tional Church was organized at the house of Isaac Barnes, on the 21st of February, 1819, by Rev. William Hanford, from Connecticut, who had been sent oat by the church as a mis- sionary. He was assisted in the organization by Rev. Simeon Woodruff, one of the first Pas- tors of the church. Among the original mem- bers of this organization were Joseph Northrop and Charity, his wife ; Isaac Barnes and Mar- tha, his wife ; N. B. Northrop ; Giles and John Barnes. Mr. Hanford preached for several years, both to this society and in Medina Vil- lage ; this society was finally moved to the vil- lage, where further notice will be made in con- nection with the Congregational Church. Rev. Lot B. Sullivan was also an early minister of this first Congregational Church, and served one year as Pastor, dividing his time, one-half to it and one-half to the church at Wellington. Rev. Horace Smith was with the churches of Medina and Granger Townships for about six months as a missionary sent out by Hamp- shire Missionary Society, Massachusetts. Rev. S. V. Barnes came about 1827, and was instru- mental in getting up a great revival in the east part of the township, and afterward in the village and vicinity. He was the stated minis- ter in Medina and Weymouth for a number of years. Says Mr. Northrop : " Religious, moral and temperance reform were gaining the as- cendancy ; schools were improving ; and every important enterprise was cherished, and urged onward to success. Thus we seemed to see the wilderness and solitary places literallj' bud- ding and blossoming as the rose, and, indeed, becoming vocal with the praises of the Most High God." The church history of the town- ship centers principally in the village, although the first societies were organized outside of it, and so the histories of these early religious so- cieties will be resumed in the chapter devoted to Medina Village. Another incident from Mr. Northrop's history of the county, and we will pass from this branch of the subject : " During the time of the rectorship of Mr. Searle, in con- nection with St. Paul's Church in Medina, a somewhat exciting difficulty occurred among some of the members, and, at the same time, the Episcopal Methodists at the village mani- fested considerable engagedness in their prayer meetings, and in reply to some remarks of Squire Ferris upon the subject, Seth Roberts said that the devil had really come to Medina, had got the Episcopalians all by the ears, and frightened the Methodists to their prayers ; and the " Presbyterians look on and sing, ' Sweet is the work, my God and King.' " When this township was first settled by the white people, there were still a few roving bands of Indians in this section of the State. They were friendly, however, although, when Zenas Hamilton made his settlement in Medina, the war of 1812 was raging, the Indians that occupied the country along the Rocky River were not hostile. For a few years after settle- ments were made in the township, the Indians remained in their old hunting-grounds, but were, it is said, most inveterate beggars. Mr, Northrop says they were induced to leave from the following circumstances: "Mr, Hulett, of Brunswick, was at Nelson, Portage County, sr:^ -14:^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 391 and, saying something about the Indians being a nuisance, Capt. D. Mills, the old pioneer hunter, well known to the Indians, told Jlr. Hulett, that if he would tell them that Mills, Redding and some others that he named, were coming out there, and would make way with every In- dian they could find, he thought they would leave. Mr. Hulett did so, and sure enough, they packed their horses and left, and never re- turned." Thus it has ever been, since the occupation of this country by the European, the rights of the Indian have been utterly disregarded, his lands and hunting-grounds wrested from him by the pale-face Christian, and he driven back step by step, as the increase of his white foe demanded more room. And yet we curse the Indian as a barbarous savage, that ought to be exterminated from the face of the earth, wholly forgetting that to us are they indebted for much of their barbarity and fiendish crueltj'. There is no doubt but that we would be as sav- age as thej', were we placed under similar cir- cumstances. We do not set ourself up as the champion of the "noble red man,'' nor the apologist of his cruelties, but merely to note an historical truth, that, where Indians were treated as human beings, they displayed a noble mag- nanimity, and returned gratitude for gratitude to a degree never excelled even by the Anglo- Saxon. Wild beasts of every description were plenty when the country was new. Wolves particu- larly were plenty, and were- a great source of annoyance to those who made an attempt to raise hogs or sheep. The following incident is related as an illustration of the depredations committed by these pests of the pioneer days : G-ad Blakslee, an early settler of Medina Town- ship, had procured a fine flock of sheep, and the wolves killed eighteen at one time. It was found that they inhabited the " wind-fall," in the south part of the township. They got Zc- nas Hamilton to go and assist in making a trap, in which, together with a large steel trap, they caught nine old wolves, besides a lot of 3'oung ones, and one more old one, the next year. This thoroughly cleaned them out in that locality, and the people were no more annoyed by them. Wolf hunts and bear and deer hunts were a common sport and pastime with the earl}' settlers, and they used to collect in great numbers for the purpose of engaging in one of these periodical hunts. As other chapters of this work detail some of these hunts, we will make no further mention of them here. The progress of the new settlement for the first few 3'ears, was necessarily slow. There were no markets for produce, and the settler did not exert himself to raise bountiful harvests, but merely sufficient for his moderate wants. A few bushels of corn and wheat sufficed, while the forest furnished him his meat. Besides liis trusty rifle, the principal tools he had to work with were his ax, his drawing-knife and his shaving-horse. To these, in a settlement of any extent, were added an auger or two, a broad-ax, and an implement called a " frow," which was used for splitting out clapboards. The original members of this pioneer settle- ment have all gone to their last repose. They were the men of the " Golden Fleece " — the " Argonauts," whose lives were full of romance and adventure. Time has mellowed the asper- ities of their character and of their deeds, and enveloped them in a haze of purple and golden light. The generation of men who settled in the limits of IMedina Township during the first fifteen or twenty years, have gone only recentl}', or linger j-et for a moment to look their last upon the green fields of time. Their children are the ))usiness men and women of to-day. The little place, rejoicing in the high-sounding name of Bagdad, as a town, was never much of a success. It was designed originally for the town of the township, and, we are told, even as- pired to the honor of becoming the county seat. Failing in this, it rapidly dwindled into insig- «<4® #* ^£ 393 HISTORY or MEDINA BOUNTY. uificance, and, like ancient Rome, tiie spider "wove her web in its palaces, the owl sung his watch-song in her towers.'' A mill or two, a small store, a carding-machine and fulling-mill constituted all the town the place ever pos- sessed. James Warner built a mill here — first a saw-mill, to which was afterward added a grist-mill. Deacon Northrop built a saw-mill a little lower down the stream, and a few 3rears later sold it to Gad Blakslee. A store was kept for a time, but did not last long, A church was built here b3' the Congregational people, as already noticed ; and a carding-machine and fulling-mill was built, and run bj^ water-power from the mill. The fulling-mill, we believe, is still in operation. This is the only trace left to tell where once stood the great city of Bagdad. Sic transit gloria, etc. Wej'mouth was one of the earlj' points of settlement. It was here that Lathrop Sey- mour built a mill at an early day, as men- tioned elsewhere. Sometime after building this mill, he sold it to one Jairus Stiles, who operated it many j^ears. After this mill went down, Sej'mour put up a sugar factor}^ near the same spot. His son had been arway at school, and learned enough chemistr3' to know that by a certain process potato starch would jdeld a certain amount of sweet. Upon this information, Seymour erected a factory for the purpose of manufacturing sugar from potatoes, or from potato starch. It proved a failure. It was then changed into a mill, and in that capacity proved more valuable than as a sugar factorj'. There is a grist-mill on the old site, which was built about 1850-52, and which is now owned and operated by Norman Miller. It is a good mill, is in good running order, and doing a flourishing business. The first store in Wej'mouth was kept by Doan & Adams, in an early day. J. P. Doan erected the building in which Brastus Brown now lives, for a storehouse. Adams was a brother-in-law to Doan, and came from Euclid, and in partnership with him opened a store, a business thej' continued several years. The next store was kept bj' a man named Sale, in a building erected bj' Lathrop Sej'mour. Sale was a native of the Isle of Man, and, after met- chandising here for several j'ears, died of hem- orrhage. A post office was established at Wey- mouth very early, and Stephen N. Sargent commissioned as Postmaster. H. B. Seymour, however, attended the office, and was virtually the Postmaster. The present representative in this department of Uncle Sam is Lewis R. Mann. He also keeps a store. Another store is operated bj- Amos R. Livingston. This is at present the mercantile business of Wey- mouth. There are two blacksmith-shops and a wagon-shop. A cheese factor}' was erected in May. 1870, by Sedgwick & Clark. Saj^s the GcLzetff, referring to it : " The building was erected and apparatus finished at a cost of 13,000. Make up 4,300 pounds of milk daily into cheese, turning out ten and eleven cheeses each day. The milk is obtained from 200 cows. There is a continued flow of water through the factory, which is a neat and complete establish- ment.'' This comprises the business of the place. In earlj' times, it was a noted point in the lumber business. But, with the disappear- ance of the timber, and railroads passing through other portions of the county, its days of prosperity have passed. Years ago, there was a great deal of teaming from Wooster to Cleveland, and the road passed through Wey- mouth. Flour was hauled from Wooster, and goods brought back in exchange. So from Weymouth lumber was hauled to Cleveland and exchanged for goods, which were sold to the settlers. The name Weymouth was bestowed on the place liy Judge Bronson. When they applied for a post office, it, of course, must have a name, and, by request, Judge Bronson called it for Weymouth in Massachusetts. Like Bag- dad, Weymouth came near being the county seat. But, for the fact that those owning the IK ■^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 393 land about Weymoutb lacked sufficient public spirit to donate land for public buildings, the place would no doubt have been selected as the seat of justice. Ah, what might have been ! "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been.' " Weymouth has always been the seat of learn- ing and education. One of the early school- houses of the township was built here. The present large schoolhouse was originally built for other purposes. The upper story was fin- ished and used as a hall, for a lodge of the Sons of Temperance. The lower story stood a year or two unfinished, when it was purchased by tlie School Board, and from that time on used as a schoolhouse. In August, 1873, the board, under a law creating separate districts, bought the entire building and opened a high- school department, and since that time the children of Weymouth and vicinity have en- J03"ed school facilities equal to those of any other portion of the count}'. The present teach- ers are : William I. Bracj', teacher of the high school ; Miss Kitty Thomas, teacher in inter- mediate department, and Miss Mary D. Per- kins, teacher in the primary department. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Wey- mouth was organized on the 15tli of June, 1834, by the Kev. George Elliott. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse for several years after organization. About the year 1840, a church was begun, but was not completed and dedicated until in 1856. Eev. Mr. Elliott, who was instrumental in forming the church, was its first Pastor. Numericall}', the society has never been very strong, and of late j^ears has decreased in membership, until at present there are but about twenty on the church books, and they are without a Pastor. Neither does the church support a Sunday school. The Congregational Church was organized in January, 1835, at the house of Lathrop Sej'- mour. They worshiped in private houses and in the schoolhouse, until about 1838-39, when they erected their church building. Since it was originalh' built, it has been remodeled and enlarged, until, at this time, it presents a fine appearance and is quite a handsome little temple of worship. The societj- was originallj' organized by Kev. S. V. Barnes. Their last Pastor was Kev. 0. W. White, who died last summer (1880), and since that time thej' have been without a regular Pastor. The present membership of the church is between seventy- five and one hundred, and a good Sunday school is maiutained, under the superintend- ence of John Mcn-rell. It is well attended by the children of the town and vicinitj'. Medina Center is the crossing of two of the principal roads, and the geographical center of the township. One of the early churches, as already noticed, was built here, and afterward burned. A town hall was erected, which was also used for church purposes, until churches were built in other portions of the township. The town house, at present, stands alone at the Center. Not far from it is a very handsome little cemetery, where a number of " stones and lettered monuments " show the affection of the living for the dead. This brings us down in the history of the township, to the laying-out of the village of iledina, the capital of the county. The differ- ent departments of its historj', however, will be treated of in another chapter. Ll^ 394 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. CHAPTER VIII. MEDINA VILLAGE— LAID OUT AS THE COUNTY SEAT— ITS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT- FACTURERS— THE GREAT FIRES— INCIDENTS— RELIGIOUS AND EDU- CATIONAL-SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC. -MANU- MBDINA, the seat of justice of Medina - County, is situated on the Cleveland Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling Railroad, near the geographical center of the county, and is twenty-four miles south of the city of Cleve- land. It was originally called Mecca, and is so marked on the earlj' maps of the State, from the Arabian city famous in history' as the birth- place of Mahomet. Some years later, it was changed to its present name of Medina, being the seventh place on the globe bearing that name. The others are Medina, a town of Ara- bia Deserta, celebrated as the burial-place of JIahomet ; ?iledina, the capital of the Kingdom of Woolly, West Africa ; Medina, a town and fort on the Island of Bahrein, near the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf; Medina, a town in Estremadura. Spain ; Medina, Orleans County, N. Y.. and Medina, Lenawee County, Mich. At present, Medina contains about 1,-100 inhabit- ants. The village of Medina was laid out in 1818. The plat is dated November 30, of that year, but was not recorded until January 6, 1820. The following is written upon the margin of the original document : " A plat of land sit- uated in the township of Medina, given by Elijah Boardman to the county of Medina.'' As stated in the preceding chapter, most of the land in Medina Township belonged to this Boardman, who was a native of Connecticut. When the county was formed, and Medina se- lected as the seat of justice, Mr. Boardman made a donation of land to the countj' for that purpose. The original plat comprised 240 lots, or about 237 acres, which was the donation made by Boardman. At the public sale of lots, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 were reserved by the county for the public buildings. John Freese was Re- corder at the time the town was laid out, and the record of the plat is in his handwriting. Abra- ham Freese was Countj^ Surveyor, and survej^ed and laid out the future capital of the county. Since the town was originally laid out, numer- ous additions have been made, until Medina now covers ground enough for a city of 5,000 inhabitants. The first house built within the corporate limits of Medina was a log build- ing put up by Capt. Badger, on the present site of the Barnard Block. He also put up another house near hy soon after the erection of the first, and these were the first buildings erected in the new town. The first building put up by Badger was kept as a tavern, the first in the town of Medina, and was opened for the accom- modation of " man and beast," in the fall of 1818. Mr. Badger was unmarried at that time, and a man named Hickox lived with him, and together they kept tavern. The first court held in Medina County was in the second story of this log cabin. This humble frontier tavern was a place of great resort. It was the great news emporium of the neighborhood. The peo- ple gathered here to exchange their bits of gos- sip with each other, and to elicit from traveler guests the fullest digest of the news of the clay. Here, also, announcements were made of the logging-bee, the house-raising, the dance ; and, when the public met to arrange for a grand hunt, they deliberated in this old log tavern. It was within its hospitable walls that the older members of the communitj' occasionallj' dropped "■V :t- liL^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 395 in, and, basking in the genial glow of the wood fire (we had no coal then ; it had not been in- vented), and with a well-filled pipe, and a glass of toddy, perhaps, the merr}' song or thrilling frontier story went round the circle. The front- ier tavern was a jolly place, and, that they have become obsolete, the more is the pity. Another of the earl}- taverns of Medina was the Chidester House. This was the stage house, after a line was established from Cleveland to Wooster and Columbus, and, like the frontier tavern, was a place of considerable resort. About stage time, everj'body flocked to the tavern to see the stage come in, just as the boys of the pres- ent daj' gather at the depot about train time, to see who can swear the biggest oaths, chew the most tobacco, squirt out the greatest quan- tity of juice, and use the most obscene lan- guage. As the stage rattled up with the blow- ing of the horn, and the prancing of the " fler}^, untamed steeds," the people stood around open- mouthed, ready to pick up anj' stray scrap of news from the outside world. The Chidester House was long a famous stopping-place, and a well-known tavern in this section of the State. Medina is well, supplied with hotels at present, the " American," the "Union" and the "Bren- ner," being the principal houses of entertain- ment. The first goods sold in the new town was by a man named Shoals, who opened a small store in 1819. He built the first frame house in Medina, which was designed for a store house, and, in which, upon its completion, he opened a stock of goods, and for several years kept up the business. His store stood upon the present site of the court house. The next stores were kept bj' Sherman Bronson, and a man known as " Judge " Smith ; but which of the two was first in the mercantile field is not known, but it is believed that Bronson was first. Both, however, were early merchants of the place. A post office was established very early, and Ru- fus Ferris was appointed by the Federal Gov- ernment as its representative in this depart- ment. He kept the office at his residence, which was in the north part of the town. The mail was brought from Ravenna, sometimes on horseback and sometimes on foot, the carrier trudging through the forest with the mail-bag on his shoulder, stopping at Medina on his way to Norwalk. After the opening of the turnpike from Cleveland to Wooster and the establishing ■ of a stage route, the mail was brought by the stage. Dr. B. B. Clark succeeded Ferris as Post- master. Capt. G-reene, the present Postmaster, and his gentlemanlj^ clerks, will probablj' turn up their fine Grecian noses, as they recall the small and insignificant establishment from which theirs has sprung. It would now re- quire several men to carry all the mail that passes through the Medina office in twenty-four hours. From this small start, and everything must have a beginning, the town grew apace, was burned down, grew up again, was again burned, and still again. Phoenix-like, it rose from the ashes. In a copy of the Ohio Free Press, and Medina County Advertiser, of December 17, 1833, the following advertisements appear, which show something of its business at that early period of its existence ; B. Durham, store ; A. D. Kinney, a minor ; the Medina Lyceum ; dissolution of co-partnership ; G. W. Howe, druggist and doctor ; Oviatt & Bron- son ; Leonard & Harris, hatters ; King & Gunn, pork dealers ; Leonard Case, lawj^er ; Smith & Seaton, cabinet-makers ; B. Durham, a column advertisement of a new store ; stray heifer ; Administrator's Notice ; Blannot & Wilder, boot and shoe makers ; James Brown, tailor ; Mansion House, W. R. Chidester, pro- prietor ; new tannery, Idv King & Shaffer ; stray heifer ; for sale, by D. Northrop ; Ad- ministrator's Notice ; marble tomb-stones, by Nathan T. Clark ; carriage making, bj' Sylvester Hawkins ; ashes, Oviatt & Bronson ; new goods. King & Gunn ; Smith, Root & Owen, merchants ; L. T. Searle, lawyer ; for sale, by w ±.1 'A 896 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Peak & Sargent ; new goods, bj' Oviatt & Bron- son ; strajr ox ; saddle and harness makers, Woodham & Rawson ; new goods, by Peak & Sargent ; for sale, by Oviatt & Bronson ; E. H. Garrett, boot and shoe maker ; advertise- ment of Ohio Register and Anti-Masonic Re- view ] new blacksmith establishment, by Hay- ward & Olin ; notice, Blannot & Miller ; Hayes' baker and roaster, by Chauncy Gilbert ; sad- dle and harness, by E. Dorgin ; tailoring, by J. J. Ruetzers ; patent ploughs, by Peak & Sargent. The Gazette, of May 10, 1872, says : "As a proof of Medina's business, we give the follow- ing statistics : Pour dry good stores ; seven grocery and provision stores ; one hardware and crockery store ; three drug stores ; two clothing stores ; two millinery stores ; two stove and tin stores ; one paper store ; two jewelry stores ; six shoe stores and shops ; two tailor-shops ; two cabinet-shops ; two furni- ture stores ; one photograph gallery ; a score of sewing machine agencies ; tliree hotels ; one saddle and harness shop ; one marble factor}^ ; two paint-shops ; one printing office ; one car- riage factory ; one wagon factorj^ ; three black- smith-shops ; one foundrj' ; one machine- shop ; one flour and feed store ; one coal-yard ; three lumber-yards ; two planing-mills ; one saw-mill : one feed-mill ; two meat-shops ; one brick-yard ; two liver}' stables ; two dentists ; nine law3'ers ; seven doctors ; four preachers ; four churches ; a fine schoolhouse ; two bar- ber-shops ; one telegraph office ; one railroad depot; two cheese factories, and flourishing lodges of Masons, Odd Fellows and Good Tem- plars." In the primitive days of the town, the people had their social gatherings, and all passed oflT very harmoniously. Their log-rollings, their house-raisings, and such little affairs were well attended, and good-fellowship prevailed through- out. Capt. Badger gives the following account of the first Fourth of Julj' ever held in Medina : "In 1819, the Fourth of Julj^ came, as it had come in former years, and it was resolved by the citizens who lived near, that it should be observed with appropriate honors. In the morning, a long pole was cut, and stuck in a hollow beech stump where the old court house now stands, and on its top, streamed gloriously and unrivaled in the air, a bandana handker- chief, being the best fac simile of the nation's flag that could be found and used. Those who participated in that memorable celebration were myself, R. Ferris, B. B. Clark, Caleb Chase, Erastus Luce, Thomas Currier and perhaps some others. We drove forks in the ground, prongs upward, then laid on pole-stringers, then put on cross-ties, and covered the whole top with peeled bark, on which we set some pro- visions, and, standing up around our hastily rigged and sumptuously piled table, discussed past events and the future prospects of our na- tion, our State and our county. Good whisky, being one of the necessary articles on such a day, was bountifully furnished and plentifully drank as a beverage. Sentimental toasts were drank, and always responded to by three hearty yells, and as manj^ drinks of liquor. Whisky, sweetened with home-made sugar, constituted the drink that was handed around in the fash- ionable circles in those days. In the evening, we returned to our cabins highly gratified with the glorious celebration of the nation's birth- day. We, on that day, gave narnes to all the streets or main roads that then centered in the village, by which names they are still called." It was thus that the pioneers enjoyed life in the wilderness. There is little doubt that the participants in that backwoods celebration, never, in after years, enjoyed one more thor- oughly than they did on that occasion. In 1820, the Fourth was celebrated in Medina on a far more extended scale than that of the previous year. A great many additional pio- neers had come into the county. The people in every township in the county, and a great many townships that were not in the county — and ^ HLSTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 397 perhaps never will be — were invited to come and bring their provisions with them, thus making a kind of donation party on a big scale. By noon, there was a large gathering and a cordial greeting ; the dinner was of the best the country then afforded, and all fared sumptuously. As on the previous occasion, sweetened whisky was the drink of the day, and, as the population had greatly increased, this time it was made in a wash-tub, and a pretty big one at that. As often as it was drained it was re-filled, and from that memorable tub — more memorable than Diogenes' tub — every person dipped in his tin cup and drank to his entire satisfaction. Many of the more sturdj^ men took it raw, declaring the sugar spoiled the flavor of the whisky, and, in consequence, the ground flew up and knocked quite a num- ber of them down before night. "It was," said one who participated, " a glorious day at the court house.'' Speeches were made, the Declaration of Independence was read. Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle were sung, and "the day we celebrate " was celebrated in glori- ous style. The next year another and still more extensive celebration was had in the town, but our space will not permit a description of all these old-time Fourths, and so we will call it a "go,' and pass on. The public buildings of the place were built at the expense of the county. As we have stated elsewhere, Capt. Badger took the con- tract to clear off the public square, in 1819, and the first session of court was held in the upper story of his tavern. As the county settled up, the village grew in proportion. The first court house — the old brick on the oppo- site corner from the Barnard Block — was built, and a jail reared its somber head near by, as mentioned in another chapter. (Jn 1835, the village attained to sufficient importance to ad- mit of being incorporated, and for this purpose a special act of the Legislature was obtained, as the law then required, and thus Medina be- came an incorporated town. But, as the rec- ords were all burned in the great fire of 1870, we are unable to give any particulars connected with its incorporation, or any of the first offi- cers. Nor could we obtain the name of the first Mayor. The affairs of the corporation are managed at present by the following gen- tlemen, viz. : Joseph Andrews, Mayor ; Hiram Goodwin, Clerk ; William P. Sypher, Treasurer ; S. Prazier, Marshal, and George Heyden, G. W. Lewis, P. C. Parker, Albert Munson, B. I. Saulsbury and R. S. Shepard, Councilmen. The town was now one of dignity, with a Mayor and Board of Common Council, and put on con- siderable stj^le, used a great deal of red tape and did things up in good order generally. One of the memorable events in the history of Medina, was the great sleigh-ride of 1856. This was for the prize banner, and originated by a certain township turning out on some particular occasion a large number of four- horse sleighs. First one township and then another captured the prize, until it finally be- came a county matter, attracting the attention of Summit, Cuyahoga and Medina Counties. In the contest, Medina turned out 140 four- horse sleighs (no other kind were admitted into the contest); Cuyahoga 151, and Summit 171, making 462, all told, and giving the prize to Summit County. The sleigh-ride of 1856 was to regain the prize. Each township made up its company, and all met at Medina on the ap- pointed day, and, when marshaled in force, num- bered 181 four-horse teams — being ten more than Summit had when she captured the prize. From Medina, the cavalcade of sleighs pro- ceeded to Akron in good order, where they were fittingly and appropriately received by the authorities. All passed off harmoniously and without accident, and Medina brought back the prize, which was presented to the commit- tee appointed to receive it, in eloquent terms. Thus ended one of the most remarkable sleigh- rides on record. ^1^ -^:dfi 398 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. k. But few towns in the State have been so un- fortunate in the waj^ of fires as Medina. In- deed, it has become quite cosmopolitan from the number of its conflagrations. It has been burned and re-built and burned and re-built again. Its last great fire was almost as calam- itous, when everything is taken into considera- tion, population, wealth and resources, as was the great fire which followed it the next 3'ear,. to Chicago. The first destructive fire in Medi- na occurred on the evening of April 11, 1848, twenty-two years before the last one. It broke out in the shoe store of Barney Prentice, in what was known at that time as " Mechanics' Block." It spread rapidly in all directions. From its beginning place, it went north, west, east, south ; north, laying Judge Castle's cor- ner in ashes ; south, taking Mechanics' Block, one room of which was occupied by Prentice, another by Loring, a tailor, and another by Mr. Bostwick, a tinner, and the dwelling by Peak. It stopped here for the want of buildings to burn. Going west it took in a house, standing where the Gazette was in the second fire j'ears after, owned by Mr. King, and back of Mechan- ics' Block, a large building owned by Judge Castle. Crossing from this to Blake's building, it went south and east ; south, destroying the printing office of Mr. Speer and a house owned by a carpemer ; east, taking Chidester's hotel and outbuildings, and Dr. Munger's house and barn, and Mr. Canfleld's barn. In all, six bus- iness houses, four dwellings, two barns ; total, twelve buildings. There was, at the time, no fire company, but a hook and ladder company had been formed. Many, however, were not available, as the rules of organization were im- perfect, and so the fire-fiend had pretty much its own way. The losses by this fire were heavy, considering the size and business of the town. Summed up, they were something about as follows : Judge Castle's loss was a couple of two-story frame buildings, valued at $9, .300, and insured in the Medina Mutual Fire Insui'- ance Company for $2,800. He was able to save about $2,800 worth of goods, together with forty-six barrels of pork. Hon. H. G-. Blake lost a two-story frame building, with law office and fixtures, valued at $7,000, and insured in same company mentioned above, for $3,000. Chidester lost a two-story frame building ; Charles Bostwick's share in the Mechanics' Block, $1,800 — insured in same company for $600 "; Mr. Loring's share in same block, $900, insured for $300 in the same company. The total loss, in round numbers, was about $40,000, which, as seen, was but partiallj^ covered by insurance, and that in a company that, at the time, was insolvent, or so nearly in that condi- tion that we believe very little of the insurance was ever paid. The eflfect of this fire was the erection of a better lot of buildings than the town had possessed before, as many of those burned were old, rickety wooden buildings, and were replaced by substantial bricks. It was in the great fire twentj'-two years later, that the town suffered the greatest destruction of propertJ^ The alarm sounded on the night of April 14, 1870, calling the people uncere- moniously from their virtuous couches, and, in a few short hours, almost the entire business part of Medina was in ashes, much of it for the second time. The fire started in an old wood building, a part of which was occupied as a barber-shop, by one Frank Charis, and owned by C. E. Bostwick. Says the Gazette : " When the fire was first discovered, it could easily have been extinguished bj' a few buckets of water, but, by the time these were procured, it was beyond any such fragile means of control. It spread rapidly over the burned district of 1848, and, reaching out on either side, house after house was licked info the flames and con- sumed. The heat was intense, and the air filled with flying sparks and burning cinders. It leaped across the street and caught the Phosnix Block, which was soon blazing from roof to cellar." This block contained Boult's ^! , ^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 399 dry-goods store, McDowell's drug store, Blake & Woodward's law office, with Phoenix Hall in the upper story. The Whitmore Block, on the east, followed next ; then the International Ho- tel, and, after burning barns and outbuildings in its rear, it stopped in this direction for want of further available material. West of Castle's corner, it spread to the Gazffte, then to Bar- row's cabinet-shop, when it stopped on that street. South from Phrenix Block, it took in several frame buildings, viz. ; Asire's dwelling and cabinet-shop. Eagle Hotel, and then stopped in that direction, and, nearly opposite, it stopped at Beaton's grocery. ," Thus far," says the Ga- zette, "the fire was confined to the burned dis- trict of 1848, but it did not stop here. It crossed the street into the Selkirk Block, and from there spread rapidly north along the west side of the square, taking everj^ building but two on the street." Those burned were Good- win & Hinman and Lampman, in Selkirk Block ; Dr. S. J. Smith's drug and book store ; Dr. Mur- ray's and J. B. Young's offices, up stairs ; Tiffany & Co.'s drug store ; Root's jewelrj' store ; San- ders & Sturges' tin store ; with Walker's and Robinson's offices, and Sacket's photograph gallery, up-stairs ; D. A. Wells' jewelry store ; S. H. Bradley & Son's hardware store ; A. Mat- teson's grocerj^ ; J. W. Blaust's shoe store ; Humphreville Block, Dr. Hard's office. Com- mercial Bank, Sypher's shoe-store, and G-. W. Hobart's grocery-store, when it wore itself out and stopped in this direction. There were no lives lost in this calamitous event, but several parties were more or less injured. The Gazette, in summing up the results of the fire, says: "The number of buildings burned, including all stables and barns, amount to about forty. A great many others caught fire, but were saved by the superhuman efforts of the people. At 3 o'clock A. M., A. W. Hor- ton mounted a horse, and went to Seville, where there was a hand engine. Some sixtj' or sev- enty men responded, and were soon on their way to Medina, where they did good work in keeping the fire under, as it was about subdued when they arrived. Thejf remained as long as there was need of their services.'' The follow- ing table of losses, and owners of destroj^ed propertj' is taken from the Gazette s report of the fire : William Asire, total loss about $7,000 Insurance 900 A. Andrews, loss in money and clothes, about... 300 H. G. Blake, total loss about 10,000 Insurance 8, 000 .J. M. Beebe lost household furniture, Talue not known. J. A. Retlig lost property to the amount of 300 C. E. Bostwiok, total loss about 2,300 J. B. Beckwith, total loss about 500 Dr. J. L. Bean, total loss about 700 E. Brenner (hotel), total loss about 2,500 R. H. Bradley & Son, total loss about 9,300 Insurance 5,500 T. A. Blackford, total loss about 6,000 Insurance 1 ,000 G. A. L. Boult, total loss about 8,000 Insurance 4,000 G. D. Billings (Dentist), total loss about 700 Mrs. Maria Bennett, total loss about 100 Mrs. H. M. Butler lost furniture and clothing. John Ba,rrow, total loss about 1,500 J. W. Blanott lost boot and shoe store. C. Castle, total loss about 4,300 Insurance 2,000 W. H. Canfield, total loss about 200 Frank Charis, total loss about 300 Commercial Bank, loss about 1,700 E. J. Fenu was insured for $3,000 and received for loss 460 J. H. Greene [Gazette), loss about 4,000 Goodwin & Hinman loss over insurance 600 A. Griesinger, loss over insurance 800 A. Houck (International Hotel), loss about 6,500 .J. W. Hatch total loss about 1,000 S. Humphreville loss about 2,000 High & Bradway total loss 6,000 J. F. Hobart, insured for $700 and received for loss 100 George W. Hobart, loss above insurance about.. 800 Mrs. 0. M. Johnson, loss above insurance about 200 L. Leon, insured for $5,000, and received for loss 730 <^ a i\^ 400 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. S. P. Lampman, loss $500, no insurance. Odd Fellows, on furniture in hall, insured for $400, received $100 J. P. Miller, insured for $1,000, saved goods amounting to $3,000, loss 2,000 McDowell Brothers, loss over insurance 3,500 Dr. P. E. Munger, loss $100, no insurance Dr. L. S. Murray (no insurance) 300 A. Matteson, total loss over insurance, about... 1,300 0. & S. S. Oatman, loss about $2,000, no in- surance. A. I. Root's jewelry store, loss over insurance.. 1,000 Renz & Breiyier, toial loss about 5,500 Insurance 1 ,000 Dr. J. W. Robinson, total loss about 500 No insurance. W. 0. Sanders, total loss about 4,500 No insurance. R. P. Seaton, insured for $1,000, received for loss 302 Selkirk Bros., loss about 4,000 No insurance. H. Shuler, loss about 700 No insurance. W. H. Sypher, insured for $300, and received.. 100 William Shakespeare, tailor's tools, loss about 50 Dr. S. J. Smith, loss over insurance 2, .500 L. W. Sacket (photographer), loss 1,500 No insurance. Tiffany & Co., insured for $6,000, loss 2,500 S. B. Woodward, loss 500 No insurance. D. A. Wells, insured for $900, received for loss 750 H. J. Walker, loss over insurance 1.200 P. Warren (American House), loss over insur- ance 200 .T. B. Young, loss about 1,000 No insurance. Mrs. .J. Wliitmore, loss over insurance 1,300 The people of Medina, although their town was, for the second time, laid in ashes, did not sit down in idleness, but went to work at once in good, hard earnest. For the purpose of re- building the town, an association was formed and duly incorporated by filing the necessary papers with the Secretarj' of State, with a capi- tal of $100,000, known as the "Medina Build- ing Association,'' and with the following incor- porators : H. (}. Blake, John Rounds, S. H- Bradley, A. W. McClure, N. H. Bostwick, H. J. Walker, A. I. Hoot and W. 0. Bradway. This association was formed in imitation of a similar one at Chardon, Ohio, a town that had been re- cently burnt, and re-built bj' means of a build- ing association. The Medina Building Associa- tion, however, did not amount to anj^thing, and soon went by the board. Upon looking over the ground, and their financial balances, the people found themselves able to rebuild with- out the assistance of an association. As early as in May, several of the sufferers had commenced the work of rebuilding, or at least of clearing away the rubbish, preparatory to laying the foundation of their new structures. Among these were McClure & Rounds, A. I. Root, W. 0. Sanders, S. H. Bradley, H. G. Blake, Houck & Son, A. Griesinger, Renz & Brenner, and High & Bradway. The ('r'cr-if/'^', of July 15, 1870, contains this notice of the preparations for rebuilding the burnt district ; •• Prom the start, Mr. Blake an- nounced his determination to rebuild Phoenix Block. Messrs. Rounds & 3IcClure, learning that 3Ir. Tiflfanj' was not intending to rebuild, bought his lot for the purpose of putting up a block. A. I. Root, Sanders & Sturges, and S. H. Bradley also announced their intention to rebuild. This secured buildings to cover ground which had been occupied b}- the Ainsworth Block. Matteson's lot was purchased by Mr. Boult, and then the ground-work for the new Union Block was complete. Shortly after. Dr. Smith purchased the Selkirk lots — south corner of the square — large enough to accom- modate two stores. One of these has been sold to E. J. Fenn, who will build next summer. Thus in a short time after the disaster, arrange- ments were made which would secure the re- building of that side of the .square this year, as far up as the Humphreville lot. Shaw, Lewis and Pancoast have bought this lot, and, in con- nection with J. F. Hobart, have made arrange- ments to build Commercial Block. Thus the :^ A HISTOR.Y or medi:na county 401 li^ west side of the square has been disposed of and will be re-built this summer. Nearlj' as encouraging state of things exists in the burnt disti'ict south of the square. Mr. Chamberlin bought the Castle corner, and, with Mr. J. P. Miller, one-half of that block will be finished this season, the other half next year. The Messrs. Oatmau are intending to put up a build- ing for their meat market. The Mechanics' Block, by Renz & Brenner, and G-riesinger, is being built upon the last lot of the burnt dis- trict. Across the street, the Eagle Hotel is nearlj' rebuilt.' So far as adding to the beau tj' of the town, the great fire, like that of Chicago, was beneficial; inasmuch as it was the means of building of it up with a much better class of buildings than generallj' found in a place the size of Medina. All the blocks and buildings alluded to in the foregoing sketch have been put up, and are of a character any town may well be proud of Union Block, on the west side of the square, presents a front of 131 feet and is from 60 to 100 feet deep, two stories high. It is divided into five stores, and was finished March 1, 1871. The brick was burned here for its construction, and the lumber and lime bought in Cleveland. It is a block credit- able alike to builders and owners, and cost, in round numbers, about $25,000. Mechanics' Block was commenced in June, 1870 ; the brick was furnished by E. Hale, of York. It is forty- four feet front, sixty feet deep, with tin roof, and cost about $7,000. It is a handsome business block, and is owned by Renz & Brenner, and A. Griesinger. Commercial Block was com- menced in August, 1870. T. D. Allen was the architect, and McMullen Brothers the contract- ors. It is seventj'-four feet front by fifty feet deep, built of brick, two stories high, and cost some $12,000. It is one of tire handsomest blocks in the city. The Phoenix Block is another of the fine structures, that, like its memorable namesake, arose from the ashes of the great fire. Refer- ring to its history, the Gazette says : " The corner of the square, occupied bj' the imposing new three-story brick block of Hon. H. G. Blake, has an eventful historj-. In early years, it was the emporium for the trade of the neighborhood, and, at the present day, holds its own as a business, center. The fire of 1848 swept oft' the frame buildings which had accu- mulated there, and thej' were replaced bjf a handsome brick block, by Mr. Blake, who was then, as now, the owner of the corner, and then, as now, public-spirited, energetic and liberal." This block was destroyed again by the fire of 1870, but efforts were made at once for rebuild- ing it. It occupies a space of 75x88 feet, is of brick, three stories high, with basement under entire building. The first story is divided into ; stores, one room of which is occupied by the Phoenix Bank. The second story is mostly of- fices, while the third story is divided into two large halls ; one of them, and an elegant one it is, is used by the Odd Fellows ; the other, Phoenix Hall, 44x88 feet, is a verj' fine theater, well furnished with stage, scenery, etc., and will comfortably seat 500 persons. Manj^ other blocks and substantial buildings were put up after the fire. The Barnard Block, Asire's fur- niture store, the Brenner House, and a number of others. These fine buildings, as we have said, give to Medina an elegant appearance seldom found in a town of 1,500 inhabitants. In February, 1877, another fire occurred, which, for a time, caused the greatest alarm and anxiety. The Empire Block and two or three other buildings adjacent were burned, re- sulting in a loss of several thousand dollars. The fire, however, was subdued and did not spread beyond the buildings mentioned. Great " wailing aiid lamentation " was heard in con- sequence of there being no organized fire depart- ment beyond a bucket brigade. It seems strange, that with all these fires, the people did not sooner wake up to the necessitj^ of a well-systemized fire department. But, on the , vs ;|^ Ml 403 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. principle, apparently, that the lightning never strikes twice in the same place, this all-impor- tant move had up to this time been neglected. But the oft-repeated reminders of their negli- gence, finally aroused them to a sense of the emergency, and, in July, 1877, the Council authorized the" issuance of bonds to the amount of $3,000 for the purpose of purchasing a fire engine, and made the following appointments in the newly created department, viz.: E. Bren- ner, Chief Engineer ; 0. M. Jackson, First As- sistant, and Samuel Scott, Second Assistant. In August of the same year, a two-horse engine was purchased, and arranged so that it could be drawn by men also. It is known as ■' No. 4 Silsby Rotaiy Steam Fire Engine," and was built at Seneca Falls, N. Y. Three streams of water can be thrown, with a capacity of 425 gallons per minute. It was furnished com- pletely and performs effective service with very low steam. The hose cart, purchased at same time, carries 500 feet of rubber hose, all in good stjde and shape. Thus the Medina fire department is fully organized, and ready to meet the fire fiend with some show of advan- tage. Medina, as a manufacturing town, does not make any great pretensions. There are, how- ever, a few establishments that do that kind of business, and hence require some notice in these pages. Among the manufacturing es- tablishments, past and present, we may no- tice the stone and hollow ware factory, cheese factories, jewelry factories, Boot's bee estab- lishment, carriage factory, foundry, planing- mill, grist-mill, etc., some of which have passed away among the things that were. The stone and hollow ware manufactory, is one of the most extensive industries in Medina. The buildings were erected in the fall and winter of 1874-75, and business operations commenced in the early spring of 1875. The original pro- prietors were Thomas Jones, D. M. Thomas and John Smart, of Troy, N. Y. The establish- ment is a three-storj' brick, 68x21 feet, con- sisting of store, farnishing-room, engine-room, mill-room, etc. There is an average of some thirt3--flve hands employed, and a large amount of work is turned out annuallj*. It is now owned, we believe, bj' W. H. Bradway. The cheese factories are also an extensive industry in Medina, as well as in the entire county. A factory was erected in 1866, bj' B. JI. McDow- ell & Bro., which did a large business. The Guzett,', of September 2, 1870, said: "Each year since it started, there has been an increase in its business. The milk of 700 cows is re- ceived daily and made into cheese, the daily receipt being 14,000 pounds of milk, which is made up by seven hands." The Excelsior Cheese Facto r}- was built in 1873-74, on the site of the factorj^ which had been burned. It is a frame building, with brick basement walls, and is owned \>y 0. B. Chamberlin & Co. The main building is 28x82 feet, and was erected at an aggregate cost of $5,000. It has a front of- fice and receiving-room 12x20 feet, and engine- room on west side which is fire-proof The manufacturing room is 20x30 feet and contains three vats, a water reservoir and water pipes. The press-room is 12x28 feet ; the dry-room is 28x40 feet, with basement of same size. The capacity of the establishment is sufficient to work up the milk of 1,000 cows, turning out a large number of cheeses daily. The grist-mill of 0. C. Shepard was built in 1872. The grist-mill is 30x40 feet, the saw- mill is 20x60 feet, and the engine-room is 27- x37 feet ; the engine is forty-five horse-power. The grist-mill contains two run of buhrs — one for wheat and one for corn. There is every con- venience for handling and unloading grain, and the saw-mill has all the modern improved ma- chinerj', together with the circular saws, one of which is fifty-four, the other thirty, inches in diameter. The planing-mill of W. H. Wood & Co., formerly owned by Warner & Smith, and built by them in 1874, is a large institution. Is HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. and gives employment to several hands. The carriage factory of Stoaks & Bergej' was quite an establishment, but has been burned since the work of preparing this histor}- has been in progress. The manufacture of silverware bj- D. A. Wells was at one time a large business in Me- dina. He used a considerable amount of sil- ver in the work turned out, which consisted of tea, table, dessert, mustard, sugar and cream spoons ; also pie, cake, butter knives, forks, oys- ter ladles, etc., with a variety of other articles. From four to six hands were employed, and a large business was done for a number of years, but in the beginning of 1873, Mr. Wells failed, and the establishment was closed. A. I. Root also carried on an extensive business in the manufacture of silverware, previous to his em- barkation in bee culture, to which he now de- votes his attention, as noticed elsewhere. His business consisted in the manufacture of silver spoons, knives, chains, rings, etc., etc., and as much as 4,500 pounds of gold and silver were used in a single year when his business was in the zenith of its glory. A bubble that rose ver}' suddenly to the bus- iness surface of Medina, and as suddenly burst, was the " Manchester Oil Company." It was regularly organized with John Sisler, Presi- dent ; A. C. Conger, Secretary ; Levi Stump, Treasurer ; David Stump, General Superin- tendent, together with five other citizens of Manchester, who constituted the company. The companj' leased 300 acres of land from Truman Arthur, Rev. Clark, Freeman Stoddard, Lucien Clark, Martin A. Harding and Mr. Aply. This land was on Rocky River, three miles north of the village, and preparations were at once made for sinking a well. The work of boring was commenced in due time, and at a depth of 248 feet below the surface, oil was ob- tained, in what was supposed paying quanti- ties. The requisite machinery was put in and about a barrel per hour was pumped out, while it was verily believed that when fully in run- ning order, it would yield fifty barrels a day. This set the country, and the town on fire (fig- uratively), and the oil excitement was raised to the highest pitch. People believed that Medina County was literally fioating in a lake of petro- leum. The oil produced by this well was of a superior quality, and sold readily at $15 per barrel on the ground. Gas issued from the well in such a quantity as to admit'of its being used profitably. The water that came out with the oil was strongly impregnated with salt. Those owning land in the immediate vicinity considered their fortunes made, while the en- tire community saw the most unbounded pros- peritj' ahead, resulting from " strikin' ile." But alas for human calculations. The enterprise failed as suddenlj' as its short career had been brilliant. The flow of oil ceased, a hole was bored to a considerable depth, which proved a tore (a joke), a large sum of money was left in the hole, together with the machinery used, and the company retired from the " Rockj' River Oil Regions " in thorough disgust. Alas ! The most extensive establishment, perhaps, in Medina, is the apiary of A. I. Root. He commenced the culture of bees in 1865, in a very small way, and somewhat as an experi- ment. The motive that led him into the busi- ness is thus told in his book upon the subject of bee culture : '' About the year 1865, during the month of August, a swarm of bees passed overhead where we were at work, and my fellow-workman, in answer to some of mj' in- quiries respecting their habits, asked what I would give for them. I, not dreaming that he could bj' any means call them down, offered him a dollar, and he started after them. To my astonishment, he, in a short time, returned with them hived in a rough box he had hastily picked up and at that moment I commenced learning my a b c in bee culture. Before night I had questioned, not only the bees, but every one I knew, who could tell me anything >r (i J) fy Ml J) J. 404 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. about these strange new acquaintances of mine. Our books and papers were overhauled that evening, but the little that I found only puz- zled me the more, and kindled anew the desire to explore and follow out this new hobby of mine. Farmers, who had kept bees, assured me that they once paid, when the country was new, but of late years they were of no profit, and everybody was abandoning the business." Mr. Root, however, who possesses a mind of his own, and, as he saj's, "some head-strong notions," went to Cleveland a few days after securing his swarm of bees, and, visiting the book stores, looked up all the works on the subject. The one which to him seemed to con- tain the most valuable information on the sub- ject was a work by Langstroth, the German bee culturist. With the facts contained in this book, he set out in the business in earnest. He now has one of the most extensive establish- ments of the kind in the country. As his busi- ness increased, and he learned more fullj' the habits and nature of bees, and the best modes of their culture, his ideas were given to the public through the columns of the Bee Journal, when, finally, to more fully meet this end, he printed a circular, giving in it all the facts and information of which he had become possessed. This circular eventually grew into a quarterly' publication, issued at 25 cents per annum. This was changed into a monthlj^, called Glean- ings in Bee Cidture, and published at 75 cents. In 1876, it was enlarged, and the price raised to$l. From the small beginning mentioned, the business has wonderfully increased, and at the present time Mr. Root has seventeen acres of ground tastefullj' laid out and arranged in the most excellent manner for the purpose for which it is designed. The following descrip- tion of it is given by himself ; "The apiaries cover about two and a half acres ; there are seven of them, which will accommodate 500 hives. We have at this writing (1879) 228 hives, mostly em^jloyed in queen-rearing. Three or four hojB and girls are constantly employed in rearing and shipping queens. Others are emplo3^ed in making the hives and implements, while others still are employed on the Journal and making this book. In fact, there are now seventy or eighty of us altogether. Almost every trade and industry is represented in the building and on the grounds. We have all kinds of wood work, a tin-shop, carpenter-shop, blacksmith-shop, machine-sliop, printing office, book-binderjr, sewing room, paint-shop, var- nishing and japanning room, a room where the comb-foundation is made, a room where leather is worked considerably in making smokers, and, indeed, we have almost ever3'thing except a grog-shop." But this establishment must be seen in order to thoroughly understand the working of it. The building is a modern brick, large and commodious, and is in keeping with everj- thing else in this model establishment. In connection with the manufacturing inter- ests and commercial growth and prosperitj' of ^Medina, a few words upon the banking institu- tions may not be out of place. The first insti- tution of this kind established in the village was what was known as " The Land Company's Bank," with David King as President. This bank was established prior to 1840, and was a bank of deposit merel}', and not of issue. At another time, a private bank was operated bj' Canfield & Ladd, but after several years' busi- ness, they failed in June, 1861. In the latter part of 1872, the First National Bank of Medi- na was organized, with a capital stock of $50,- 000. The officers were : L. B. Nettleton, Presi- ident ; W. W. Pancoast, Cashier : and Olne}' Allen, Daniel Ford, L. C. Sturges, H. Jones, L. B. Nettleton and W. W. Pancoast, Directors.' This institution grew out of the old Commer- cial Bank, a private bank organized after the failure of Canfield & Ladd. In May, 1874, the First National Bank suspended operations. The Phoenix National Bank was organized -f- lliL^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 407 in the beginning of 1873. It succeeded the old Phoenix Bank, a private institution. The capi- tal stock of the Phoenix National is $50,000, with the privilege of increasing it to $200,000. The President is J. H. Albro, R. M. McDowell, Cashier. At the organization, however, H. G. Blake was made Cashier, and R. M. McDowell, Assistant Cashier, but, upon the death of Mr- Blake, Jlr. McDowell succeeded him as Cashier. The Directors of the organization were J. H. Albro, John Rounds, S. G. Barnard, B. H. Wood, H. G. Blake, N. T. Burnham, R. M. Mc-« Dowell, A. H. Hawley, and C. J. Warner. This bank is still in operation, and is the onlj- bank- ing institution in the town at the present time. It has good rooms and office in the Phcenix Block. The educational historj^ of Medina dates back almost to the lajang-out of the village, and was inaugurated in the proverbial log-cabin schoolhouse, the first temple of learning erected in the town. This was so similar to that given in the preceding chapter of the early schools of the township, that it is unnecessarj^ to re- peat it here. At an early day, and long before the establishment of the present common-school system, select schools were held in Medina, also female schools, high schools, common schools, and, indeed, all kinds of schools. As early as 1841, we find an advertisement in the countj' paper, of " Medina Female School," by Miss Charlotte A. Weld. It is announced that she will open her school at the residence of J. W. Weld, in the village of Medina, on the 19th day of April, 1841, for the instruction of Jlisses and young ladies, in the following branches, to wit : '• Reading, writing, spelling, creography, English grammar, natural philoso- phy, chemistry, algebra, Latin, and the rudi- ments of French, mental philosophy and geom- etry.'' The terms for this vast array of studies, were from $1.50 to $3.50 per quarter, according to the studies pursued. A postscript is added to the advertisement, in which parents are noti- fied that full pay will be required for all pupils who attend so much as one week, unless their absence shall be caused by actual sickness. In 1845, we notice an advertisement in the Democratic- Whig, of Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, for a select school, " in the building two doors north of Hiram Bronson's store," where " all branches will be taught on moderate terms." In the same paper of October 6, 1 847, is an advertisement of William P. Clark, of " Medina Select School," in which " all elementarj' branches will be taught, together with instruction in French, Ger- man and music by Miss JaneF. Bradford." In 1856, S. G. Barnard advertises " a select school for those desiring to qualify themselves to teach," for which the class will be charged $4 each for the term. Thus the cause of educa- tion advanced by degrees, and the common- school sj'stem was perfected. Facilities were improved and enlarged in Medina, until they reached their present state of perfection. The imposing, and even elegant, school build- ing of Medina was completed and opened for the admission of pupils in the fall of 1872. It was begun in 1871, and the board, which was at the time composed of John Rounds, A. R. Whiteside and L. B. Woodward, determined to build it themselves, believing they could do it cheaper than outside contractors. The design of the new building was drawn by T. D. Allen, architect, and, when it was erected, according to his plans, made, as all must acknowledge, a very handsome school building. The board, how- ever, after proceeding with the work for a time, concluded they had captured a big, white ele- phant, and finally let the contract to complete the building, to William Hickox, of Medina, who agreed to finish it, pay for the work already done by the board, and all for $19,000. The, building is of brick, with cut-stone basement — two stories above basement — which is of itself eight feet high. The first story is thirteen feet, and the second story fourteen feet, surmounted by a galvanized iron cornice four and one-half V ^ ^1 408 HISTOBY or MEDINA COUNTY. feet wide, tin roof, galvanized iron window caps, etc. The dimension of the building is 84 feet fronting west, by 64 feet deep, with a tower 16 feet square in the front center, surmounted by a belfry and spire. The basement contains four rooms, besides a hall ten feet wide, for coal, wood, and play -rooms. The first story contains four large schoolrooms, entered from main hall through cloak-rooms, and each room has a small one for the accommodation of the teacher. The second story contains two large school- rooms, with a recitation-room for each ; also a room for Principal, connected with which is an apartment for books and apparatus. The rooms are fitted up with the latest improved furniture, well heated and ventilated. The halls are ten feet wide, with grand staircases from basement to second story. Upon the whole, it is a tem- ple of learning of which any town may well be proud. Medina Village forms a special school dis- trict, and the following are the statistics gleaned from the last report of the Board of Education : Balance on hand, September 1, 1879 % 2,629 07 State tax 597 00 Irreducible fund 38 37 District tax for school and schoolhouse pur- poses 4,916 71 Fines, licenses, etc 243 62 Total $ 8,424 77 Whole amount paid teachers $ 1,881 00 Amount paid for superintending 1,000 00 Paid interest on redemption of bonds 3,452 88 Amount paid for fuel, etc 642 00 Total expenditure §6,975 88 Balance on hand, September 1, 1880 % 1,448 89 The roster of teachers for the present year is as follows Prof W. R. Comings, Superintend- ent ; Miss Josephine Manning, Assistant Super- intendent ; William A. Pitch, A and B Grammar and Music ; Miss Kate Hills, Junior Grammar ; Miss Delia B. Alden, Third Primary ; Miss S. M. Wasburn, Second Primary ; Miss Bertha A. Barnard, First Primary. The Medina Normal School was an institu- tion that, for several years, was carried on in the village of Medina, and was of considerable importance while it lasted. It was established in 1872, by H. N. Carver, who embraced in his catalogue of branches all those usually taught in schools of this character. A special depart- ment was included for those desiring to qualify themselves as teachers. In reference to this institution, the Gazette, of August 29, 1873, says : " The theory of instruction is in accord- ance with the times, its central idea being to teach habits of thought, which will be not only available in the school life, but of universal application in the life outside. There is a great deal of loose talk in educational circles, about this matter of learning, to think with clearness anS accuracy. It is true that no appliances which can be devised, can possibly discipline a mind so that it shall be strong, active and serv- iceable, unless that mind takes the work upon itself with the earnest determination to use all the powers already possessed, for the fullest development of its possibilities. But it is no less true that the instruction of one who has thus disciplined himself, and who is thoroughly familiar with the best methods of exciting mutual activity, and directing it in proper channels, are eminently more valuable than the best efforts of a mere professor of books." At the close of the third year of this school. Prof Carver published the following report of its successful operation : " The classes pursuing the studies of the scientific course have num- bered from ten to sixteen ; those of the classic, from four to eight, and, almost without excep- tion, the work throughout has been of the most thoroughgoing kind ; the class in calculus, for example, have mastered every topic as dis- cussed by Loomis, with collateral topics from other authors, Olney, Robinson, etc., sufficient to assure themselves of their ability to read and master these authors at their leisure. The same general course has been pursued in the Ll^ :1^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 409 other branches of mathematics, and in all the sciences. The other classes in the common branches, book-keeping, etc., have done equallj^ well ; and, judging from a long experience, I think it would be difficult to find a body of j-oung people who have done a j'ear's work more substantiallj^ than have the pupils of our school." Notwithstanding this flattering report of its general working, the school began to de- cline, and, about the j'ear 1877-78, was finallj'' and permanently closed. Christianitj- received the earlj- attention of the citizens of Medina, and led to the estab- lishment of church societies, while j'ct the population of the place consisted of but a score or two individuals. The first church organized, perhaps, was St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Medina. It comprised the parish formed by Rev. Mr. Searle, mentioned in the previous chapter, and, although the first church was built in the township some distance from the village, yet, as the latter increased in popula- tion, the church was moved to the village. Among the original members of this church were Capt. Badger, Sheldon Welton, Eben Wel- ton and wife, J. Welton, Noah Bronson and wife, Rev. Searle and wife, George Warner, James Warner and wife, and perhaps others. Upon the organization of the society in the vil- lage, services were held in the court house, until a building was erected. The exact time of the erection of the building is not known at the present date. The edifice is a frame, and, upon its completion, was dedicated to the service of God by Bishop Mcllvaine. Rev. William Granville was Rector at the time of the dedication ; Rev. Searle was the first Rector of the church, and the original organizer of it. The next Rector after Mr. Searle, was Rev. Alva Sanford, who was followed by Rev. Will- iam Granville in 18.33. Rev. Mr. Stamer a^nd Rev. Mr. Kennedy each was with the church for a year or two ; then came Rev. George Davis, who served for about twenty-five years. The present Rector is Rev. Mr. Culloch ; and the church has a membership of about ninety, and a good Sunday school is maintained through- out the year. Capt. Badger is perhaps the only one of the original members of this church now living, and, from him, most of its history was obtained. The Congregational Church of Medina was originall}' organized in the township, as was St. Paul's Episcopal Church. It dates its organi- zation back to 1817, as given in the preceding chapter. Soon after its formation, a church was built at Bagdad, but the increase of popu- lation of ^Medina was the means of bringing the church to the village. The first church, a brick edifice, was built in Medina in 1833 — the corner-stone being laid in August of that year. The usual box of relics was placed in the corner-stone, but, when the building was torn down recently, the box had disappeared, leaving no trace behind. When the church was built, Rev. Simeon Woodruff was Pastor. Since his day, the Pastors have been nearly as fol- lows : Rev. Samuel Lee, from Vermont, came in the fall of 1834, and remained until July 1837, and was succeeded by Rev. Talcott, who remained about a year, when Rev. B. C. Bald- win came. He died here in 1844, and Rev. I. Hart succeeded, remaining one year ; then TXex. William Baldwin for one year, followed bjr Rev. F. H. Brown, who remained about six years. Rev. D. A. Grosvenor came next, and re- mained some six j'ears, followed by Rev. G. W. Palmer, who staj'ed about two years, and was succeeded by Rev. Howenden, who also stayed two j'cars ; then Rev. Dempsey was with the church one j'ear, when he died. Then came Rev. C. N. Pond, who remained three or four years, succeeded by Rev. E. J. Alden, remain- ing five years ; then Hex. A. T. Reed, who stayed about five and a half years. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. H. J. Ryder, the present Pas- tor. A new church edifice is now under con- tract to be finished by the 1st of August, .3 ^ 410 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 1881. The old church has been torn down to make room for the new one, and the societj' holds its meetings in Phoenix Hall. There are at present about 150 active members. A flour- ishing Sundaj' school is maintained under the superintendence of Mr. A. I. Root. The following incident in the history of this church, occurred during the spiritual supervision of Rev. Mr. Brown, and is related by one of the old members. Mr. Brown was a man who was remarkably fond of a fine horse and a good dog, and it is said that he could discover the good and bad points of a horse as quick as the most experienced turfman. To such an extent did he carry this trait, as to elicit the remark from an old parishioner one day, that, " Parson Brown's father spoiled an excellent horse-jockey in his effort to make a preacher." Mr. Brown was the owner, at different times, of good horses, and, while possessor of his best one, perhaps, a circus came to Sledina. When the cavalcade of " calico " horses made the grand en- trance into town, the Parson was (by chance, of course), out driving, and, apparently unconscious of his position, had dropped into the rear end of the procession, and thus passed through the principal streets, until a member of his flock, somewhat ashamed of the part his Pastor was playing, met him on a crossing, and asked him if he had "joined the circus." This, with other acts of his, caused dissensions in the church, and efforts were made to obtain the preacher's resignation. This he declined to offer, and instituted proceedings in the church against a number of the unruly members. Having, by some means, a majority of the members on his side, he was enabled to ma- nipulate matters according to his own wishes. To give character to the proceedings, he had procured the services of an old minister (who, it is said, had reached second childhood) to sit with him during the trial as assistant modera- tor. One day, when about to ''call off" for dinner, the moderator, Mr. Brown, invited Dea- con Northrop " to lead in a short prayer." The following is said to be a verbatim copy of the prayer offered bj' the Deacon on that occa- sion : '' Oh Thou who knowest the hearts of all men, we pra}- thee forgive whatever savors of Poperj- in the moderator, or of servility in the church. Amen." Finally, the church suc- ceeded in getting rid of their troublesome Pas- tor, and has flourished in peace and harmonj- ever since. The Methodist Episcopal Church was orig inallj' organized about 1819-20. They built a little church in South Medina at a very early daj', which was used until the erection of the present edifice, in 1859, which is a substantial frame building. They sold the old church building, which was converted into a private residence. After passing through different hands, it was flnallj' moved up near the Union Hotel, and was burned some j-ears ago. Rev- Mr. Parrah is the present Pastor of the Method- ist Church, and has in his charge about one hundred members. A flourishing Sunday school in connection with this church, under the super- intendence of jMrs. Parmalee, is well attended. There is, or was, an organization of Protestant Methodists in Medina, but of them we were un- able to learn anything definite. The Baptist Church of Medina was established on the 23d of August, 1833. The original members were Eden Hamilton, T. M. Fenn and jMary, his wife ; James H. Holcomb and Lucj', his wife ; Stephen Bonnel and Harriet, his wife ; Anson Hamilton, Sarah Hamilton, Anna Ham- ilton, Elizabeth Hamilton, Eunice Graham, and Adelaide and Maria W. Fitch. Elder J. New- ton was the first minister, and began his labors February 20. 1834, and was succeeded in the following August bj' Elder James Hoovey, who was succeeded September 30, 1836, by Elder Asa Straight. Next came Elder Jesse Mason, June 17, 1837, and was followed by Elder Muda- man January 11, 1839, and he in February by Elder Corwine, and he by Elder Clark in Octo- ^i ~® "V J^l l^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 411 ber following, and he bj- Elder D. A. Kandall in May, 1840. He continued until June, 1843, when Elder Solomon Dimick came ; Elder Kan- dall again succeeded him ]March 1, 1844, and Elder Torbett followed him on June 1, 1846, re- maining until March 5, 1853, when Elder M. Shank took charge. In March, 1860, he was followed by Elder J. W. Covey, and he by Elder Smith Goodwin, March 2, 1861 ; Elder J. A. Davis succeeded him July 4, 1863, and Elder J. V. K. Seeley succeeded him June 10, 1865. He remained until November 1, 1872, when Elder J. B. Sutton came as supply, remaining until May 3, 1873, when Elder Bickward came as supply. Elder G. W. Nead followed him October 1, 1874, and remained until November 30, 1878, when Elder Randall came back for the third time — this time as supply. Novem- ber 23, 1880, Elder W. T. Galloway came, and is still in attendance. The first building was commenced in the fall of 1845, the corner-stone being laid on the 11th of September, by T. M. Fenn. (Previous to this, the society- worshiped in the old court house.) The frame was raised April 4, 1846, and the building completed and dedicated, August 12, 1847. It is a frame building, and cost in money $1,650, besides much of the work, which was donated by mem- bers. At present, there are about seventy-flve active members. A good Sundaj' school is car- ried on, of which Charles B. Hord is Superin- tendent ; the average attendance is eighty chil- dren. The Church of the Disciples is of recent or- ganization, being formed in 1877, by Elder T. D. Garvin, of Columbus, as the "Disciples' Church of Medina." The cause which led to its being established grew out of a great revival held here in the fall of that year (1877), in which there were some fifty or more conversions. The organization was effected with forty-two members, and Union Hall was the place of wor- ship. Elder George Peckham was the first regular Pastor, the present one — the Rev. Mr. Garvin, brother to the one mentioned above as the organizer of the church. The society has recently completed the most beautiful church edifice in Medina. It is built of brick, is of modern architecture, and was dedicated to the worship of God in the latter part of the year 1880. It has a large membership, and a flour- ishing Sundajr school. A Catholic Church was organized some ten 3'ears ago in Medina, with a small membership. It is visited by priests from Liverpool and Grafton. A neat little frame church was built about 1877-78. What the membership is at present, we were unable to learn. A church was organized years ago in Medina by the Universalists. The circumstances which led to its formation were as follows : Rev. J, P. Avery, a Congregational minister, announced upon a certain time, that he would preach in Medina on the subject of Universalism. This caused the Universalists, to speak in the slang of the period, to " get up on their ear," and so they went to work and organized a church so- cietjf. They commenced a church edifice on the northeast corner of the public square, which was never finished, as the society was short- lived, and was disbanded in a few j^ears. The United Brethren bought the unfinished build- ing, but their membership dropped off in a year or so, and their organization ceased, and the building was sold to the Free-Will Baptists, who finished it. Thej' used it for a short time, but they became numerically weak, and finally disbanded. The building was again sold, and has since been used as a business warehouse. The secret and benevolent organizations, kindred in spirit and in works to the Christian Church, come now appropriately in order. Freemasonry, the most ancient of all the secret orders, is also one of the most honorable. Of all its mysteries, there is nothing in it more wonder- ful than its perpetual youth. Human govern- ments flourish, and then disappear, leaving only desolation in the places where their glory used •^>^ !) ""V i^ 412 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. to shine. But the institution of Freemasonry, originating so long ago that no history tells of its beginning, has survived the decay of dj^nas- ties, and the revolutions of races, and has kept pace with the marvelous march of civilization and Christianit}-. The institution was planted in ^Medina in a ver3' earlj' day, following close in the wake of religion itself. Medina Lodge, No. 58, A., F. & A. M., was organized in 1820, by M. W. John Snow, Grand Master and "\V., Abram I, McDowell, Grand Secretary. The following were the charter members, and among them will be recognized many of the earliest settlers of the town and county ; Rev. R. Searle, Rufus Ferris, Seth Blood, Noah M. Bronson, Lathrop Seymour, W. L. Peets, Julius Chidester, Ransom Clark, Lemuel Thayer, Jason Hubbell, B. M. Atherton, Abra- ham George, F. A. Atherton, George L. Chapman and Abraham Freese — the latter gentleman be- ing named in the charter as the first Worshipful blaster. The lodge suffered during the Morgan excitement of 1828-30, and was forced to sus- pend work for a time in consequence. At the time it became extinct, A. Miles was Worship- ful Master. The paraphernalia were all given over to John Freese for safe keeping, who was the Secretary. While the Lodge remained dormant, Mr, Freese died, and the property fell into the hands of enemies. Subsequently, the jewels and some of the books were restored but the charter was '' forever lost," as was * * * * in the death of the man of Tj^re. On the recommendation of the committee in the Grand lodge to whom the matter was referred, the charter was re-issued in 1843, since which time the lodge has flourished. It has now about ninety active members, and is officered as follows : D. Hinman, Worshipful Master ; E. G. Hard, Senior Warden ; F. B. Clark, Jun- ior Warden ; T. S. Shaw, Treasurer ; E. J. Fenn, Secretary ; H. F. Handy, Senior Deacon ; N. W. Pij)er, Junior Deacon, and W. 0. San- ders. Tiler. Medina Chapter, No. 30, Royal Arch Masons, was organized under authority of M.'. E.'. W. B. Hubbard, Grand High Priest, and E.-. B. F. Smith, Grand Secretary, and was chartered as a regular working Chapter, October 22, 1845— the first meeting being held January 29, 1846. The charter members were Nathaniel Eastman, Stephen V. Barnes, Philo Welton, D. H. Weed, Nathan High, Samuel Shaffer, Alex. Beatty, Augustus Pardee and E. J. Bruce. The char- ter designated Nathaniel Eastman as the first High Priest ; Stephen V. Barnes, King, and Philo Welton, Scribe. The membership at present is forty- two, with the following officers: Hiram Bronson, M.-. E.-. High Priest ; P. C. Parker, E.-. King; C. P. Chamberlin, E.-. Scribe ; Aaron Sanders, Treasurer ; T. S. Shaw, Secretary, and W. 0. Sanders, Tiler. Since the organization of the Chapter, the following members have served as High Priests : Na- thaniel Eastman, one term ; D. H. Weed, one term ; Alfred Davis, one term ; Hiram Bron- son, six terms ; John A. Rettig, fourteen terms ; W. J. Foot, two terms ; A. C. Smith, two terms ; 0. S. Codding, one term ; Orlin Oatman, one term ; J. K. Bergej', two terms, and Aaron Sanders, one term. Medina Council No. 48, Royal and Select Masters, was organized October 12, 1867, by Will M. Cunningham, Grand Puissant of the Grand Council of Ohio, and John D. Caldwell, Grand Recorder. The first oflScers were Th.-, 111. . John Rounds, Grand Master ; 111.-. John A. Rettig, Deputy Grand Master, and Comp. G. W. Noble, Principal Conductor of Work. The records show twent3-two members and the following list of officers : Th.-. 111.-. John A. Rettig, Grand Master ; 111.-. Orlin Oat- man, Deputy Grand Master ; Comp. E. J. Fenn, Principal Conductor of Work, and W. H. Hayslip, Recorder. Mr. Rettig has an exten- sive Masonic experience, and is the onlj' man we have ever known, or even heard of, who has been regularly elected to, and served out, the '^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 413 terms as Worshipful Master of two Lodges at the same time. He was Master of Litchfield Lodge, No. 381, and of Wadsworth Lodge, No. 385, and a member of Medina Lodge, No. 58, all at one and the same time, performing faith- ful service in all. Morning Star Lodge, No. 26, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted January 18, 1844, by Thomas Spooner, Special Deputy Grand Master. The charter members were S. B. Logan, S. H. Bradley, Jo Whitmore, H. G. Blake, C. A. Drake and H. Torbett, all of whom are now dead, except S. H. Bradley. The first officers were: S. B. Logan, N. G.; Jo Whitmore, V. G.; and S. H. Bradley, Secretary. The present membership is forty-six, with the following oflacers : Aaron Sanders, N. G.; William Witter, V. G.; and G. D. Billings, P. and R. Secretary. Medina Encampment, No. 33, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted January 14, 1849, by William S. Johnston, S. P., Deputy of the State. The fol- lowing were the charter members ; E. L. War- ner, S. H. Bradley, Alfred Davis, Jo Whit- more, W. L. Terrill, C. B. Prentice and Charles Hubbard. The first officers were ; J. Whit- more, C. P.; A. Davis, H. P.; S. H. Bradley, S. W.; E. L. Warner, Scribe; C. Hubbard, Treas- urer, and W. L. Terrill, J. W. There are eleven members on the roll, officered as follows : Aaron Sanders, C. P.; J. S. Mason, H. P.; N. W. Piper, S. W. ; A. Griesinger, J. W. ; R. W. Clark, Scribe, and G. W. Hobart, Treasuuer. Medina Tribe, No. 48, I. 0. R. M., was organ- ized under charter granted by the Grand Coun- cil of the Improved Order of Red Men, signed by William Percy, Grand Sachem, and coun- tersigned by George B. Means, Chief of Rec- ords, and dated 15 Sun, Buck Moon, G. S. D., 378. This branch of the Tribe met at Sanders' Hall, on the 24th Sun, Beaver Moon, G. S. D. 378, and kindled its first Council fire. Deputy Sachem George B. Means being present, who or- dered an election. About fifteen pale-faces peti- tioned for dispensation. The following officers were elected and duly installed by the Deputy Sachem : Sidney J. Smith, Sachem ; John A. Rettig, Senior Sagamore ; H. G. Blake, Junior Sagamore ; J. N. Robinson, Prophet ; H. J. Walker, Chief of Records ; J. F. Hobart, Keep- er of Wampum ; W. H. Hickox, Brave ; and J. H. Greene, Satrap. The Tribe kindled the Council Fire, in ample form, each seven suns, and added a great many members, until the 15th Sun, Plant Moon, G. S. D. 390, when the great fire burnt their wigwam, with all the valuable treasures it contained, viz. : the " Execution Tree," " Prophet's Stump," "Outer" and " Li- ner Wickets," etc. The Grand Council agreed to furnish a new charter whenever a wigwam should be jjrovided. None, however, has yet been secured, and hence the Improved Order of Red Men of Medina, have gone to the " happy hunting-grounds. ' ' In all time and in all countries, there has been, co-extensive with man's existence, some mode of disposing of the dead. " Let us bury the dead out of our sight," said Abraham, and this mode is, to-day, the prevailing custom in civil- ized lands. The cemeterj^ of Medina was the necessity of the time in which it was located, and is now almost in the central part of the village. It contains many of the pioneers of the county, some of whom were laid away to rest in that silent spot, when Medina was but a sickly hamlet. It is to be regretted that the cemetery was not originally laid out, at least a mile further from the town, as a continued growth will, sooner or later, render this a neces- sity. It is quite a lovely spot, and many pret- ty stones and monuments mark the spot where slumber the loved and lost. Peace to their ashes. ^ ar ^K ^ e i^ 414 :±=^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. CHAPTER IX.* WADSWORTH TOWNSHIP— PHYSICAL FEATURES — FLORA AND FAUNA — EARLY FAMILIES IN THE TOWNSHIP— ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP— ORIGIN OF CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. WADSWORTH TOWNSHIP derives its name from Gen. Elijah Wadsworth, a native of Litchfield, Conn., who was one of the original proprietors, and came to Canfleld, Ma- honing County, in 1799, to which place he moved his family in 1802. Wadsworth is No. 1 in Range 13 of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and is bounded on the north by Sharon, on the east by Norton, in Summit County, on the south by Chippewa and Milton, in Wayne County, and on the west by Guilford. It lays in the southeast corner of Medina County, and its south line, being the line of the Reserve, is on the forty-iirst parallel of north latitude. The township is five miles square, and should, therefore, contain 16,000 acres of land, but the tax list shows 16,417 acres. The high- est elevation on the New York, Pennsyl- vania & Ohio Railway (formerly the Atlan- tic & Great Western Railroad), which passes through the southern portion of the township, is 594 feet above the level of Lake Erie, and the land on the old Pardee farm, the old Loomis farm, and also on the old Dean farm, may be about 200 feet higher than the summit of the railway ; so that the highest elevation in the township may be 800 feet above Lake Erie. The lowest ground is in the southwest portion, the bed of the River Styx where the railway crosses that stream, about one mile south of the township line, being only 376 feet above the level of Lake Erie. At the railway station, one-half mile south of Wads- worth Center, the elevation is 545 feet above Lake Erie. The township is wholly underlaid with sand- * Contributed by Hon. Aaron Pardee. stone rock, in many places showing upon the surface, but generally covered with drift from twenty-five to eighty feet in depth. Though there are such considerable inequalities in the face of the land, there is scarcely an acre to be found but what is capable of the highest culti- vation. Springs, generallj' of pure soft water, are found in nearly all parts of the town- ship. These flow north, south, east and west. The River Styx is the most con- siderable stream of water; it rises in Mont- ville, and runs south through the west part of Wadsworth to Milton, Wayne County, where it unites with the outlet of Chippewa Lake, which is called the Chippewa, and is a tributary of the Tuscarawas. The River Styx was once quite a formidable stream, its level bottoms from one mile to one mile and a half in width, originally covered with a very heavy growth of timber, were subject to an overflow in wet seasons, rendering traveling across them, at times, quite impracticable, until cross-ways and bridges could be made. But the stream has been cleared out and straightened, so that at present, the ground is dry, the roads are good, there is no trouble from overflow, and the bottom farms are as valuable as an}' found in the State. Holmes' Brook, a tributary of the Stj'x, rises near the Sharon line and runs south- erly, emptying into the Styx in the south part of the township. Another tributary is called Blocker's Run. This stream rises in the north- east quarter of the township, and, running through Wadsworth Village, empties into the Styx near the mouth of Holmes' Brook. Both these streams were early utilized for milling purposes. Another stream used for the old »? S r- B i> HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 415 "Well-house Mill," drains part of the south part of the township, and flows on to the Chip- pewa. Still another, called Silver Creek, a stream of some note, rises in the southeastern portion, and meets the Chippewa a mile or two west of Clinton, in Summit County. Some of the springs in the north part of the township flow north into Wolf Creek, but the springs of that region generally contribute to form the Hudson Run, which rises near the northeast corner, and, running southeasterly just east of Western Star, and through Johnson's Corners, reaches Wolf Creek near its junction with the Tuscarawas. Prom the general elevation, one would sup- pose the dividing ridge between the Lake and the Grulf would be found here, and that some of the waters would run into Lake Erie ; but the fountain heads of the Styx and of the Rocky River, are about a mile from the north- west corner of the township, and it is all the way descending to the waters of Rocliy River ; yet, by the intervention of the Styx, the waters are all turned southerly, so that every foot of this territory must be held to be part of the Mississippi Valley. In its native state, this was a most magnifi- cent timbered region of country. There was scarce an acre in the whole township, on which if its original timber were standing to-day, but would be more valuable for its lumber than the best acre of improved land. The forest trees were in great variety. On the bottom lands were elm, swamp oak, black walnut, white walnut, or butternut, basswood, sycamore, white and black ash, hard and soft maple, beech, cherry, hickory and an occasional buckeye, and on the ridges in addition to nearly all the above varieties, were white, black and yellow oak, chestnut, whitewood, or poplar, cucumber, pepperidge or gum-tree and sassafras. The highest lands were called chestnut ridges, and the very lowest black-ash swamps. There were many thou- sands of white oak, whitewood, white ash and black walnut trees that, if standing to-day, might be readily sold for an average of 130 to $50 each. Alas ! how many of these sturdy monarchs of the forest were girdled and killed as cumberers of the ground, or felled by hunt- ers in the night and left to rot and waste ; how many were chopped down in windrows in the clearings ; and, when the dry time came in the spring, were set on fire and consumed, trunk and branch. Besides the more important forest trees above mentioned, there was a numerous undergrowth of smaller varieties, as ironwood, boxwood, slippery elm, crab- apple and wild plum. The ironwood and boxwood were in- valuable for levers and wedges. And the box- wood flowers, large, white and lasting, gave the woods in spring a most charming appearance. The wild plums were found on the bottoms in great abundance in the fall, while chestnuts, hickory nuts and acorns, in profusion, lay un- claimed except by wild animals. Of still smaller vegetation there was a great profusion. There were wild roses, blackberries, raspber- ries, wild currants, gooseberries, upland whor- tleberries, several kinds of native grasses, leeks, various kinds of ferns, nettles, mandrakes, skunk cabbage, wild turnip, ginseng and winter- green. Such a region of country, in its native beauty, was a delight to the eye, and one will have to go far to find its equal in the United States or elsewhere. The wild animals found here, when the white man made his first advent, were bears, wolves, deer, gray foxes, raccoons, wild-cats, pole-cats, woodchucks, hedgehogs,opossums, otters, minks, musksrats, weasels, black, gray, red, and fly- ing squirrels, chipmunks and wood-mice. The red fox and wharf-rat are unwelcome emigrants, and not to the manor born. On the Styx bot- toms and on Dry Run are the remains of an old beaver dam, but no beaver was ever known to have been caught in this region. Of game, birds, there were wild geese, ducks, and tur- keys, partridges, quails and pigeons. The T^ _2) \^ 416 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. droves aud flocks of the last four mentioned kinds of birds were innumerable. Then, there were the hawks, the owls, the buzzards, the crows, the blackbirds, the whip-poor-will, the mourning dove, brown' thrasher, red birds, blue- jays, woodpeckers, robins, blue birds, ground birds, meadow larks, yellow birds, hang-birds and humming-birds ; occasionally might be found a snipe, an eagle, a crane and a loon. There were no lakes or natural ponds in the township, and, the streams being small, the fish were in proportion. In the Styx and its tribu- taries, were found bull-heads, sun-fish, white bass and suckers and other smaller fish. The reptiles were sufficiently numerous to be at times very disagreeable. The large j'ellow rat- tlesnake was quite common ; the black rattle- snake, sometimes called Massisauga, so named, as is said, from a tribe of Indians inhabiting the neighborhood of Mahoning River, where the snake was first found, was common in the low lands of the township, and frequently around springs. Both of these were verj'' venomous snakes. The yellow rattlesnake frequently' at tained a length of six to eight feet. The Massi- sauga was a short, logy snake, but its bite was as dangerous as that of the common rattlesnake ; fortunately, both of these species are now extinct in this neighborhood. There was also a large black snake ; the spotted adder or milk- snake, so called from its being supposed to be fond of cow's milk, was frequentl}' found in houses, and sometimes in the butterj' or in the bed. There was also a small red snake, the common spotted snake and various water snakes. All of the above, except the rattle- snakes, were comparativelj' harmless, living on frogs, insects, and sometimes on young birds. Of other reptiles and creeping things, there was the common toad, the tree-toad, the common frog and bull-frog, also the land turtle. There were green, black and red lizards and the swift, which was an animal of the lizard species, called swift, because of its swift flight as soon as seen bj' man ; its body, however, was so frail and brittle that, at almost the least touch, it would break and fl}' to pieces. But few signs that Indians or other human beings had visited or inhabited this territory before this township was settled, have been found. Flint arrow-points and stone axes were sometimes found by the early settlers and some- times later ; but there are no well-marked mounds, or graves, or signs of fortifications, made by any prehistoric race or by the Indians, such as exist in manj' other places. The first white men known to have visited Wadsworth were the surveyors who marked the south line of the Reserve. This line was made by Seth Pease and a surveying partj' in the emjjloy of the State of Connecticut, about the year 1797. A beech-tree formerlj- stood on the west bank of Holmes' Brook, near the north side of the Center road, on which was early found in old letters carved in the bark, this inscription : PHILIP WARD 1797 TD RC W V We are informed by the Rev. Edward Brown, in his memorial of Wadsworth, published in 1875, that he had seen this inscription on the north side of said beech-tree, and that it was legible as late as 1834, when the tree was cut down in straightening the road, but who Philip Ward and his companions were, or for what purpose they visited that locality, is unknown. They may have been part of the surveying party of Seth Pease. For much that follows, in pursuing the history of Wadsworth, the writer will be largely in- debted to the labors of the Rev. Edward Brown, above mentioned, who has embodied in his " Wadsworth Memorial," many things that the truthful historian could not omit. And, in tak- ing from Mr. Brown's book, quotations will not always be pointed out, but many things will be taken bodily, some of them not original with >^ ^4^ — >^ i^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 417 Mr. Brown ; but there is much due to him for his faithful investigations into the earlj^ history of Wadsworth, and the writer talies great pleasure in giving him the deserved credit. "We quote from " Wadsworth Memorial," page 43: •• The first white man who ever had a habita- tion in Wadsworth, was a former Indian trader, of English birth, from Montreal, by the name of John Holmes, who, marrjing among the In- dians, lived among them as a hunter and trap- per, and was known to the white settlers as ' Indian Holmes.' The remains of his old cabin used to be pointed out to me, near the brook tliat bears his name. But, as he had in a great measure lapsed from civilization, had never purchased nor cultivated land, but lived the roving, unsettled life of an Indian, he is no more entitled to the name of first settler than the aborigines themselves, and, like them, would have been forgotten but for the accident of his name having been given to the stream." Wadsworth was originally surveyed into nine tracts of land, eight of which were allotted to eight different parties, the ninth being held in common bj' several persons. Tract 1, or the Wadsworth Tract, was in the southeast corner of the township, extending from the east-and- west center road to the south line of the town- ship, and from the east line of the township westerlj' about a mile and three-quarters. Tract 2 was on the north side of the center road, bounded east by the township line, and contained about seventy- two acres. Tracts 3 and 4 were very small tracts lying directly north of Tract 2. Tract 5, or the Tappan Tract, was three miles long east and west, and two and one-half miles north and south, including the whole of the northeast corner of the township, except what was contained in Tracts 2, 3 and 4, and also including part of the northwest quar- ter of the township. Tract 6 was on the west side of Tract 1, containing about forty acres ; and Tract 7 directly north of Tract 6, and ex- tending to the east-and-west center road. Tract 8, or the Ely Tract, was two and one-half miles north and south, and three miles east and west, bounded on the east by Tracts 6 and 7, and em- bracing the whole of the southwest quarter, and a half-mile in width of the southeast quar- ter ; all of the above-mentioned tracts were originally surveyed into lots for settlement, gen- erally of 160 acres. Tract 9 remained, held in common, for a long time, and was finally par- titioned by proceedings in court. This accounts for the great diversity in the size and number- ing of the lots in Tract 9. The lands in Wads- worth, after being survej^ed, were held for sale at prices from $2 to $5 per acre, with easy de- ferred payments, while the Congress land south of the Keserve line, could be had for $1.25 per acre, cash in hand. For poor people, as the earlj' settlers generally were, to get a credit for their land was a strong inducement, and accord- ingly the Reserve was settled as soon as the ad- joining Congress land. An account of the first settlement in Wads- worth Township is given by Mr. Brown in his Memorial as follows : " The first settlers were the families of Dan- iel Dean and Oliver Durham, emigrants from Vermont. The settlement was begun on the east line of the township, on the ground that is now a part of the village of Western Star. Their arrival was March 17, 1814. The next family was that of Salmon Warner, February, 1815." Mr. Benjamin Dean, the oldest son of one of these families, attended the pioneer meeting in 1874. He was then a resident of Blairstown, Iowa, and his account, written bj' himself, was read to the meeting as follows : "On the 1st day of March, 1814, Oliver Dur- ham and the writer, Benjamin Dean, went seven miles into the wilderness, and made the first beginning in Wadsworth. "My father, Daniel Dean, and my brother Daniel, came two days later. We built a camp. (— rr- ^1 ^ 418 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. or shelter, by sticking crotches and laying a pole on them, then cut and split planks, or puncheons, and placed them with one end on the pole and the other on the ground. At night, we built a large iire in front of our camp, and wrapped ourselves in blankets, and lay there with our feet to the fire. The wolves howled about us nearly all night, but did not come within sight. Sometimes they would get still ; but, if we would make a little noise or increase our fire a little, they would give us more music. At one time, I rapped on a dry tree, and they j'elled at the top of their voices. We soon found that they had a line of travel from Wolf Creek to the Chippewa, and that they passed us every alternate night, following the road, until the settlement became so large that they went around it. But they alwa3's, in passing, saluted us with a specimen of their music. '' We cut and drew the logs for m}' father's house, 18x18, and for Mr. Durham's, 16x18 feet. We had our own help, my father, Mr. Durham, my brother, fourteen years, and myself, sixteen years old ; the rest of our help, seven men, came seven miles. They were Basley Cahow, Jacob Vanhyning (with but one arm), Indian Holmes, Theodore Parmelee, George Hethman, James and George Cahow, and with this help we raised both houses in one day. We got a roof on my father's house, and all moved into it on the 17th day of March. " At that time there were but eight dwelling- houses between us and Talmadge Mills — after- ward called Middleburj' — which was thirteen miles distant from our settlement ; thej' were those of Jackey Cahow, Theodore Parmelee, Indian Holmes (these all lived where Parmelee afterward built his brick house), Pliny Wilcox — who lived near the foot of the hill, where Mr. Perkins afterward built his stone house. Paul Williams and his son Barnej' — afterward called Col. Williams — lived on the hill beyond where Akron now stands, and betwixt there and the Mills, we passed Major Spicer and Mr. Hasefa. (The above was written in Iowa ; I have learned since I came here, to mj' astonish- ment, that the town of Akron now not only takes in the Williams farms, but also Maj. Spicer's, and the whole of Middlebury.) But to return. The saw-mill and the grist-mill, made of hewed logs, and three log houses, were all that could be seen where Middlebury now stands. There was a log house, and some land cleared, where old Squire Henry Vanhyning afterward lived, on Wolf Creek, and he moved in June, 1814. " There were, at that time, in the territory afterward formed into Medina County, including Norton, Copley, Bath and Eichfield, in Range 12, onlj' twenty families, viz. : Five in Norton, three in Harrisville, five in Liverpool, two in Bath and five in Richfield. My mother saw no woman but Mrs. Durham until August, and Mrs. Durham saw no woman but Mrs. Dean until October, during which time she gave birth to a son, the first born in the township. He was called Alonzo ; was born in July, 1814. " The first store in Middlebury was opened in Julj', 1814, in a room of Judge Norton's house, by Peleg Mason, In 1815, he and his brother built a small storehouse, and other merchants soon came in. It will be remembered that this was during the war, called the war of 1812, and provisions were closel}' bought up for the armj-- " Before harvest, wheat was worth $3 a bushel' flour $17 a barrel, and pork could not be bought at any price. To my knowledge, salt, which had to be brought up in wagons, on account of the British fleet on the lakes, was worth |20 per barrel in Cleveland, or about 10 cents a pound. You maj' well conclude that these were pretty hard times." The early settlers of Wadsworth were from the East, and had been accustomed to farm labor. They were a hardy, industrious class of people, and were very economical. Their moral char- acter was good, aud they were mostly religious. But verj' few of them had money to paj' for PIISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 419 their land, and had to buy on credit. Some of them had hard work to support their families, till thej- could raise a crop on their own lands. A very few had monej' to pay for improve- ments, after paying for their land, and this helped the poorer class, as it enabled them to get emploj'ment in helping to clear land. It cost much labor to clear up the land, as the timber was very heavy. This, with their land debts, kept the people embarrassed for a good many j^ears ; but they lived together in peace and harmony. In general intelligence and literary culture thej' would compare favor- abl}' with the farmers of this day. At that time, there was no school law in the State ; and, where they got inhabitants enough together, they built schoolhouses by neighborly liberality, and employed teachers at their own option. Each had to pay in proportion to the number of days their children were at school. '' We had good schools in those days, and the best society I ever was in. I often think of the meetings we had in the old log schoolhouse, mostly by reading sermons, and sometimes a missionarj- would come and preach to us. " The land in Wadsworth is mostly, as you know, high and rolling. The land in the north- ern part of the township is said to be as high as any in the State. It is certainly as health- ful, and naturally as good for fruit, as any in Ohio. " In 1828, we swapped farms with Steward Kichards ; we took his land, where William Freeborn now lives, and he took that upon which we first settled, being what is now called the Duly farm, of Western Star. Our orchard on the location, began to bear in 1824 ; and, from that time until 1864, when I left Wads- worth for Iowa, where I now reside, the apples were never killed but once. We had a frost in 1834, that killed all the apples in the State. " In the beginning, our land was cleared by girdling such of the large timber as would kill easilj', and a good deal of that timber was per- mitted to stand till it would fall down and rot ; doubtless, a good deal of sickness was caused in this way. " Before we moved to Wadsworth, the old east-and-west center road had been partially opened. Men owning land in western town- ships endeavored to have the road, to encour- age settlements. The road was first located by an order from Trumbull County. This was when all this count}', and still west of us, was part of Trumbull Count}'. Cajjt. Bela Hubbard, of Eandolph, was the surveyor, and Squire David Hudson, of Hudson, Gen. Campbell, of Ravenna, and Squire Daj', of Deerfield, were the exploring committee. Squire Day after- ward had the job of opening the road. I think this was in the j'ear 1808. " In 1810, after Portage Count}- was organ- ized (including what is now Medina County), and Owen Brown, of Hudson, was one of the County Commissioners, another appropriation was made, and Capt. Hubbard was employed to make more bridges, and other improvements. " The surveying party above referred to named the streams in this vicinity. They named Wolf Creek, in consequence of finding the carcass of a deer on its banks, that had been killed by wolves ; and, when they passed Hudson's Run, Squire Hudson named it by cutting his name on a beech-tree. All the rest of the party chose streams, and recorded them in the same way ; but when they came to River Styx and Chippewa, they gave them other names, no one preferring to leave his name for either of them. This statement I had from Capt. Hubbard, in 1814, and afterward from Squire Hudson. Benjamin Dean." We now quote from Mr. Brown ; " The first settlers of Wadsworth were princi- pally from three States — A'ermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Prom A^ermont were the Deans, 0. Durham, and his brother Calvin (who wrote his name Dorwin), his father-in-law, Salmon Warner, and sons, Reuben F., Salmon, ^ ;(v" ^1 ^k^ 430 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Jr., Daniel, Horatio, Amos, M. D.; (Elisha Dur- ham, brother to 0. and C., died on the way from Vermont, and his widow,' daughter of Ly- sander Hard, married Mr. Henry Wright) Lj'sander Hard and son Harlow, and step-sons, Davis and Welles Holcomb, and his brother, Abraham Hard, with his sons, Cyrus, Abraham, Jr., L. Nelson; John M., Peter and Leavitt Weeks ; Timothy S. and Harry Bennett (Abel, Stanton and Elam Bennett came afterward) ; W. H. Wright and Milton Wright, and after- ward their father, Ebenezer Wright, and their brother Orris ; Samuel M. Hayden and Hiram C. Kingsbury. " Of those from Connecticut, first, Orin Loomis, then his father, Joseph Loomis, and his brother, Sherman Loomis : Benjamin Agard, and his sons, Alvin and Roman L.; Frederick Brown and sons, JIarcus, John and Edward ; William S., Harry and Cullen Richards, after- ward their father, Jedediah Richards, and his other sons, Jedediah, Mills, Robert U., Ezekiel, Julius, and George, M. D. (part of these live just over the line of Norton); Augustus Mills and sons, Harry A., Luman P., Philo P., William and C. Curtis ; Allen Pardee and afterward his brothers, John, George K., Augustus, Aaron, and still later, Sheldon and Ebenezer, and brother-in-law, Phineas Butler ; Norman and Cyrus Curtis, and afterward their father, Cj'rus Curtis, Sr. The Millses, Curtises and Pardees, though from Norfolk, Conn., resided for a time in Marcellus, N. Y. "Prom Torrington, Connecticut, came George Lyman, Gurdon Hilliard, Robert Hilliard, Lem- uel North, Abel Beach and his sons, George and Orlando ; Elisha Hinsdale and his sons, Elisha, Sherman, and Albert. From Winsted came Philemon Kirkum and his son, George Kirkum, just over the line, in Norton. From Hebron, Connecticut, William Eyles. " From Pennsylvania, Samuel Blocker and sons, David and Eli ; Jacob Miller and sons, George and David ; the Rasors, George, Chris- topher, and William ; old Mr. Everhard and sons, Jacob, John, Christian and Jonathan ; Henry, Christian and Israel Ritter ; Lawrence, Adam and Paul Baughman, and sons, and Adam and Jacob Smith ; Peter Waltz and sons, John and David ; John Wise and Jacob Wise ; Nicholas Long and John Long. " From IMaryland, James Gifford, Henry Fal- coner and Samuel Falconer. " The west part of Wadsworth, along the cen- ter road was, before it was cleared up, very swampj', and, because of its dismal appearance, was named bj' the surveyors, '■ The Infernal Regions ; " and the sluggish stream that oozed through the swamps, was named "River Styx,'' from the old mythological river of that name. Those swamps and River Stj^x were a great dread to travelers for many years. The old road was filled with cause waj's, made of poles ; two of them, near River Styx, each about forty rods long, and one over the Styx, on the Medina road, over eighty rods long. The late Judge Brown changed those causeways into turnpikes, in 1826 and 1828. " The first house built and clearing made, on the ground where Wadsworth Village now stands, was that of Frederick Brown, in 1816. The next house west of this, at that time, was that of George Burr, of Harrisville, as the road then ran, fifteen miles. Passing Harrisville, going due west, the next settlement was at Upper Sandusky ; the next at Fort Waj-ne, Ind., and no other to the Pacific Ocean," We give further extracts from Brown's Me- morial found on page 64, which he entitles " Humorous, Poetical and Prose Narrative of Aaron Pardee, Esq.," read at the Pioneer's meeting : " My dear boys and girls, come and sit down beside me While I tell of the early days, things that I know. At the age of sixteen, a tall Yankee, they found me In Wadsworth, one morning, a long time ago. There were four of us, John, sister Julia, and mother, And John's wife and children, and Allen, my brotlier. i) fy I-IISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 421 John, he drove one wagon, and Allen the other, And I drove two cows, and I think I drove slow. " We were two weeks in coming from old Onoadaga, We stopped every Sunday, at noon for a bite. Turned off before reaching the bold Cuyahoga, And in Tinkler's Creek Hollow we stayed over night. On through the Old Portage, by Josh King's we came twining Our way round the hills, by old Henry Vauhyning. At length, just at night, while the sun w.is still shin- ing, The house of Phin Butler, it just hove in sight. "This was in September, 1824. Butler mar- ried my sister Sally. They lived on the corner, ■where the road turns to Akron. The house stood on the south side of the stream, on Slanker's land now. Butler and Judge Par- dee moved from New York State into Wads- worth, six years before, and Al went back to help us move. "For the next three years following, I think 1 was busy ; I worked on a farm, and I planted and sowed. To think how I whirled round e'en now makes me dizzy. And though tall then as ever, I " specs that I growed." At all parties and meetings and gatherings you'd find me At evening, on horseback, with some girl behind me. I smile, and I weep, when old memories remind me Of the right arms around me those nights, as we rode. "I knew every boy and girl in Wads worth then, and everybody else. Here at the Center, were Judge Brown's folks, Levi Blakslee and Hiram C. Kingsbury. We moved on to the Tim Hudson farm, now called Rasor farm. Samuel Blocker's folks were on the Yaukey farm ; then old Jake Miller and John Sprague. Next came, as you go east. Squire Warner, Gus Mills, Stew Eichards, and old Uncle Jed, Cul, Zeke, Mills, George and Jule. (I believe thej' could all fiddle, that is, the Richards could.) Then there was Capt. Cyrus Curtis, lived on the little stony knoll this side of West- em Star, and Col. Norman on the hill north ; Henry Wright along the town line ; then old Lysander Hard owned the Dague farm ; John Nesmith on the other side of the road. Capt. Lyman owned the Doolittle farm ; but I think he was in Canton, teaching school. Uncle Ben Agard on the Sowers farm ; Judge Eyles, and Uncle Joe Loomis, and Orin and Abel Beach. Then there were Lewis Battison, Alvin Agard, and Lemuel North. Moody Weeks lived down in the hollow, since a part of the old Glasgo farm. Moody Weeks died in Feb- ruary, 1825 ; his funeral was the first I ever attended in Wadsworth. Then there were Peter and Leavitt Weeks, Tim Bennett, Jimmj' and Nancy Spillman, Elder Newcomb, Richard Clark, Gurdon Hilliard and Robert, Ben Dean, and his father, Daniel Dean. Judge Pardee then lived on the farm now owned by Jacob S. Overholt, and Harry Mills between them and Butler's. Then it was woods, over to Ete Moodj^'s and Ira's. Then old Abram Hard, old Dr. Smith, on the Hanchett farm, Luther Hemmingwaj', Tom French, " Spider Hanchett," Abel Dickinson and Josh Shaw, where Benja- min Tyler now lives ; then, Chauncey Hart. Then you come over toward the Center, and you find George Beach and Sherman Loomis. " All the southwest quarter of the township was woods, except George Beach's farm, and David Bier's, who had a house opposite the house of 0. Beach. Then, to come back into the southeast quarter, we find the Everhards, the Rasors, Christian, Christopher (called Stofel), William and George ; the Smiths, Jake Smith and Big Jake ; Samuel Hayden, the Falconers, Henry and Sam ; William and Ben- jamin Simcox ; James Piatt, and Reuben Warner ; Piatt lived just south of the depot, and Warner where the pine trees stand. " So now let's go back to the scenes of our childhood, Our youth, or our manhood, and log-cabin home, With the small spot of clearing reclaimed from the wild- wood Where the wild deer and wolf unmolested could roam. Dream on, dear old man, or dear lady, thy dreaming ^rr lliL^ 423 HISTOEY OF MEDIJsrA COUNTY. Gives joy to thy heart, on thy countenance beaming; Or, perhaps, may awaken those tears that are stream- ing Down the deep furrowed cheek, for the days that are gone. " The township of Wadsworth once shone in wild glory. As she came from the workshop of nature and God. The trees of her forests stood lofty and hoary, Giving shade to the soil where no white man had trod. Bat we took her and gave her a thorough reforming ; Her children are now her unrivaled adorning. We present them, all happy and smiling, this morning ; Our jewels are here, in the image of God." The first child born in Wadsworth, was Alon- zo Durham. The first persons married were G-eorge Rasor and Margaret Smith, Februarj^ 25, 1817. The rite was performed by Salmon Warner, who was one of the first Justices of the Peace. The first religious . meeting was July, 1814, at the house of Oliver Durham ; the services were conducted by Squire Warner and Daniel Dean. The first sermon was preached bj' Rev. 0. Gr. Gilmore in 1815. The first church organized was the Methodist in 1816. The first township election held after Wadsworth was detached from Wolf Creek Township and organized, was April 6, 1818, officers elected : Joseph Loomis and Salmon Warner, Justices of the Peace ; Frederick Brown, Jacob Miller and Daniel Dean, Trust- ees ; Samuel Blocker and Joseph Loomis, Overseers of Poor ; Samuel M. Haj'den, Lister ; Lysander Hard, Treasurer ; George Lyman and William C. Richards, Constables ; Sherman Loomis, Clerk ; John Wilson and Jacob Miller, Fence Viewers. George Lyman was Constable two years, did all the business, and his fees amounted to $1, which was for selling a straj' horse. The first law-suit in the township was, John Reed vs. Heniy Falconer. Reed had sold a piece of tallow to Falconer, containing about three pounds of green beech wood. Squire Warner decided that Reed should pay the cost and have nothing for his tallow. Benjamin Agard cleared the first field of timber in 1818, and built the first frame house in 1825. The house is still standing, on the Sowers farm. Timothy Hudson built the first frame barn in 1819. The first tannery was carried on by Levi Blakslee. The first shoe- maker was James Piatt, the next Reuben P. Warner. " We also had shoemakers and tailors, who went from house to house and did the work for the whole family. This was called ' whipping the cat.' Our grindstones were made by Sam- uel M. Hayden. In 1819, Hiram C. Kingsbury set up a blacksmith-shop on the bank of the brook, east of the present Village Corners. He was also an ax-maker. The first retail store was owned by Allen and John Pardee ; the second by George Lyman ; the third by H. B. Spelman." Mr. Brown then says : " The first settlers came just at the close of the war with Great Britain, called the war of 1812. From the Genesee River westward, the whole country was new ; mostly heavily tim- bered forest. The emigrant on his way, found not even a common turnpike road. The family of mj' father, Frederick Brown, accompanied by Sherman Loomis, were six weeks on their waj' from Connecticut with a three-horse team and wagon. That of Elisha Hinsdale eight weeks, " The immigrant who could not hew out a new axle or a new tongue for his wagon, from a forest tree, was often in a sorry predicament. Goods for the country stores were brought from Philadelphia, over the AUeghanies, in what was known as a Conestoga wagon — a large vehicle, about double the size of a common wagon, with box about three feet deep ; the wheels double-tired, to keep from sinking in the mud. The wagons were almost invariably painted blue, and covered with canvas - stretched upon poles ; a large tar-bucket, for lubrication, hang- ing below the hind axle. " Our tinware and ' notions,' were usually •> \ liL HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 435 brought to our doors by peddlers, mostly from Connecticut, who bore an opposite character to the Pennsylvania teamsters. Far too many of them for the good name of their State, and to the grief of the moral New England settlers of the Reserve, sleek, polished knaves — so that the honest yeomen from the counties south of us, judging the race by its vagabonds (as was very natural), when they came among us, were on the lookout lest they should be 'yankeed ' — a synonj'm for swindled — and the horn gun- flints and wooden nutmegs that gave the sobri- quet of the ' Nutmeg State ' to Connecticut, passed even into song. " Salt was first brought from Pittsburgh ; afterward — about my first recollection — from a little village on the lake sliore, called Cleave- land; which the Cleoveland Herald, in 1824 (fifty years ago), told us — contained 100 houses. Since then, it has lost a letter from its name, and added considerably to the number of its houses. "Mr. Dean tells us of paying 10 cents per pound for salt, in 1814, and Mr. George Lyman 611 per barrel in 1817. My father moving from Connecticut in 1816 — the memorable 'cold summer ' — -it was exceedingly difBcult to find food enough to subsist the family upon the road ; often able to buy or beg only enough for the little ones, and retire fasting, to find food on the road some time in the forenoon. Wheat, when it was to be had at all that year, was $3 a bushel, and corn $2. The bear, the deer and the wild turkey, under the well-aimed rifles of Orin Loomis, David Blocker and Will- iam Simcox, furnished the supplies that kept the neighborhood from starvation. To that corps of hunters were afterward added Phineas Butler and Timothy Dascom. All these were ' mighty hunters ' in those days. "Our limited trading was done at Middle- bury, until Mr. Porter opened a store at the cross roads, then called Harveystown, eight miles southeast of Wadsworth. They adver- tised that they would give a high price in goods for dried ginseng root, and the woods were searched over the next fall to find the precious root, for there was money in it. My brother and I dug and dried enough to buy for each of us our first white cotton shirts, at the low price of only 50 cents per yard ; and the next Sunday, you may believe that ' Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.' Do you think that we wore any coats on that day and hid the white arms ? No, indeed ! Though late in October, it was too warm, SO we carried them on our arms. " But the daj' of high prices soon passed awaj', as the farms were cleared up, and then came on the great financial pressure, with its low prices, before the opening of the Erie and the Ohio Canals, when it was hardly pos- sible to raise enough in money from their farm products to pay taxes. I can remember when rye for distilling brought a better price than wheat for bread. The first gTinding was done at Norton's mill — afterward known as TaU- madge Village, afterward as Middlebury, now a part of Akron — and at Wetmore's mill, in Stowe, a mile above Cuyahoga Falls, and at Northampton Mills. I can well remember when they used to put up at my father's house, going and returning from Middlebury with their grists, from as far west as Sullivan, Hun- tington and Wellington. Afterward, Rex's mill, east of New Portage, was built ; then the mill so long owned by George Wellhouse, in Chippewa." Many of the houses in those days were built independently of saw-mills or planing-mills or nail or glass factories. An ax, a hammer, an iron wedge, an auger, a frow, a broad-ax, a log chain, a yoke of cattle and a few neighbors were all that was necessary to make a dwelling-house or barn. Many a building had the logs cut in the forenoon, drawn and laid up in the afternoon and covered with long shingles. The shingles would be rived out and put on, rRT ^ 51 1^ 426 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. and held down by weight-poles, all finished the same day. Roofs made in this manner would not only shed rain and keep out the snow, but would last for a long time. Oak, chestnut, or whitewood timber, hewn on two sides, split through the middle and laid down hewed side uppermost, constituted the floor. A stick chim- ney, paper windows and a puncheon door, with the frame work and wooden hinges fastened together with pegs in gimlet-holes, the chinks between the logs plastered up with mud, and the house would be complete. In a timbered country, such as this was, such a house would be warm and comfortable. As illustrating the scarcity of materials, it is related that on the death of Julia, wife of Sherman Loomis, in 1820, Jacob Miller, in making the cofHn, could find but eighteen nails in the township, and Mr. P. Butler, by the light of a torch, on the evening before the funeral, drew out four- teen more from the boards of his new hoase, which nails he had brought with him from Onondaga County, N. Y. The uplands of the township were first set- tled, and clearings were commenced by cutting and piling all timber except oak, chestnut, whitewood and such others as would die by being girdled. In the driest time, the fallow, as it was called, would be set on fire, and, if the wind and weather were favorable, the brush heaps, leaves ^and rotten wood would all be consumed, and the ground all burnt over black. Timber left on the ground was then logged and burned, the standing trees girdled, the rails split and fences made. A field, such as de- scribed, was then suitable for corn in the spring, which might be hacked in with the corner of a hoe, or in the fall a bushel of wheat was sown broadcast to the acre. A good yoke of oxen hitched to a drag with nine teeth, would thoroughly mellow and " get in " an acre of wheat in one day. The surface of the land was rich in vegetable mold, and the first crops were generally very fine. After several years' cultivation in corn, oats and grass, the girdlings would be chopped down and niggered, which meant burned in two, or else cut, and, when logged and burned up, the land would be finally cleared. Good crops were obtained by clear- ing land in this way, and much time and ex- pense saved. Girdlings, however, were not un- mixed blessings. They were dangerous in a" high wind. Men, cattle and fences must stand from under. Old Mr. Dean was once asked why the fences were so often broken down and so few cattle were killed by the falling limbs and timber. His answer was ; " Cattle can dodge, but the fence can't dodge." In a very dry time the girdlings would get on fire ; trees would burn from bottom to top ; the sparks would fly from one to another until the whole would be ablaze. New settlers generally find out what it is to fight fire. But some of the land was cleared clean from the beginning. Many acres of new land were originallj' chopped and cleared for $10 per acre. The soil on the ridges was a drj', sandy loam, and on the bottoms more inclining to sand. The soil was deep, and mixed with rich vegetable mold, and adapted to the cultivation of all kinds of grain, grapes and vegetable productions, and fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and small fruits of all varieties. Wheat has always been a staple crop in Wadsworth, but our best farmers have always practiced the rotation system. They would take a farm, say one hundred and sixty acres, and clear off all but forty acres. Put in each j^ear twenty acres in wheat ; seed in the fall to timothy, and in the spring to clover. Twenty acres in oats ; after harvest put on manure and sow in wheat. Twenty acres in corn ; the next spring in oats. Twentj' acres in meadow. Twenty acres for rye, flax, potatoes, orchard, garden, grapes, berries, door- yard, barn-yard and lanes ; and twent}- acres for pasture, which ought to adjoin the woodland where the stock were allowed to range. What — f Vy HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 437 is seeded down every year becomes meadow, or pasture, and then some of the grass land is plowed up for corn. Thus by alternating, and saving his manure, the farmer is growing rich, and his farm richer and more productive everj' season. Many of the early settlers were too poor to pay for their farms in the beginning, but, bj' judicious farming and steady industry and economy, have become wealth3^ No man could be more independent than such a farmer. He raised nearly everything necessary to support his family. All his grain, meat, wool and flax for cloth ; fruits, potatoes, garden vegetables, butter, eggs, sugar, if he chose to tap his maple trees ; and, with some of all these to sell, and much wheat and other grain, with cattle, horses, sheep and wool, the farmer was truly independ- ent, was rich and growing richer. The excellencies and advantages of Wads- worth Township have always been appreciated by its inhabitants. More than forty years ago, at a celebration of the Fourth of July, this was among the regular toasts. It was believed to be true then, and is undoubtedlj^ true now — " Wadsworth Township " — " Where is the town but five miles square. That can with this of ours compare ; Her fields and fruits are rich and rare, Her waters sweet, and pure her air, Her sons are wise, her daughters fair ; Where is the town that can compare We ask, and echo answers — where ?" But, to return from this episode to the more early history of the township, we find that the first saw-mill was built in 1824. In the spring of that year, Joseph and Sherman Loomis and Abel and George Beach commenced a saw-mill on Blocker's Run, upon the same site where Yoder, ^creen & Co.'s saw-will now stands. They made the dam by putting in log cribs, extending from bank to bank, and so as to raise the water about fifteen or sixteen feet. These cribs were then filled with dirt, and the flume constructed for a flutter-wheel at the bot- tom. A fine frame saw-mill was then erected directly over the flume, and all completed about the 1st of December. A log was rolled in ; saw all set ready for business, only waiting for the water to fill the dam. The season had been drjr, but about this time the rains began to descend and the floods came in the night, the banks of the stream were filled, the water was too heavy for the cribbing in the dam ; suddenly the dam gave way, taking mill, saw and saw-log, tools and every vestige of the cribbing, and everj'thing, down the stream, scat- tering it in a thousand pieces. The saw was found about a quarter-mile below, badlj- bent, but still fastened to the frame. This was a great back-set to the proprietors, and a great discouragement to the neighbors, who had al- ready drawn in a large number of saw-logs, but the proprietors made a rally, and the next season, profiting by their experience, put in a framework and spars for a dam, and, using manj- of the old timbers for the saw-mill, soon got it in operation. The next saw-mill was made bj^ G-eorge Lyman and Cyrus Curtis, on Holmes' Brook. In 1830, Allen and John Par- dee erected a grist-mill on Blocker's Run, be- low the saw-mill of Loomis & Beach. The same frame is now standing, and occupied for a grist-mill by John Yoder, in charge of D. V. Lehman. The Pardees got their mill-stones of Samuel M. Haj'den, who procured them of Dr. Crosby, from an old plaster-mill below Akron, near the old forge. Hayden had in- tended to make the millstones himself (as he was a worker in stone), from some granite bowlders in the neighborhood, but thej* were found to be imperfect. In 1832, Nicholas Long erected another grist-mill below, on the same stream. Some time, perhaps about the year 1828, Cyrus Hard erected a carding-mill, the first in the township, on Blocker's Run, between Par- dee's mill and Long's mill, the site of Hard's carding-mill being now used for a grist-mill, ^fv Lk^ 428 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. erected by Hard and occupied by Myers & Leatherman. The first store in tlie township, as before stated, was started in 1826, and carried on by John and Allen Pardee, on the hill east of Wadsworth Village, now the Rasor farm. In 1830, they moved to the nominal center of the township, now the village, and erected the stone building which stands on the southwest corner of the public square, and at present oc- cupied as a grocery store. In this old stone store A. & J. Pardee continued to trade in goods of all descriptions for a long time, and customers from great distances, even as far west as Harrisville, frequented this store. In 1827, the Freemasons established a lodge in Wadsworth. holding their meetings in the chamber of A. & J. Pardee's store ; they con- tinued to hold meetings in the township for several years, but, finally, removed to Seville, where the lodge is now said to be acting under the same old charter. In 1867, a new lodge of Freemasons was established, and they have their bi-monthly meetings in their lodge-room, in the third story of Odd Fellow Block, south side ; their Worshipful Master, at present, is W. E. Beardsley, Esq. ; their membership is about sixty. In 1848, a lodge of I. 0. 0. F. was estab- lished, which has continued in working order to the present time; their Noble Grand, at present, is H. H. Bricker, and their member- ship about one hundred. They own the north part of I. 0. 0. F. Block, hold their meetings in the third storj^, and derive quite a revenue from rents of the remainder of the building. There is also a lodge called Knights of La- bor, who hold their meetings in Hickox build- ing ; the number of their membership and names of their principal officers are not known. The first school taught in Wadsworth Town- ship was by Harriet Warner, a daughter of Salmon Warner, Esq., in a room of her father's double log house. The first log schoolhouse was erected on the farm of Jacob Miller, at the cross-roads, one mile and a half east of the vil- lage. The first school taught in this house was by Marcus Brown, son of Frederick Brown. The second by his sister, Catharine Brown, afterward Mrs. T. Hudson. About a year later, another house was put up, near the residence of the late Judge William Eyles. The first school taught in this, was by Miss Lodema Sacket (now Mrs. Loomis), in 1819. Those houses were, for many j-ears, known as the north and south schoolhouses. The-first school at the Center (now Wadsworth Village) was in a log house owned by Frederick Brown, and was taught by Dr. William Welton. These were also the oulj' houses of worship for sev- eral j'ears. Of the early teachers of Wadsworth, Sher- man Loomis, George Lj'man, Lemuel North and John Nesmith deserve particular mention. And not a few who have made their mark as scholars, and in the learned professions, re- ceived their first inspiration in those log-house seminaries. In 1837, Wadsworth Academy was incor- porated, and the octagon building erected for that purpose. We sometimes meet with a man of brilliant mind, who seems to have been born with a mis- sion — successful in one direction, and in that one alone, yet that success so marked as to out-distance all competitors. Such a man was John McGregor. He seemed to have been made for a teacher. In those days, the fame of Wadsworth Academj', which was simply John McGregor with a house to teach in, extended far and near, and was known even beyond the limits of the State. But few teachers have had so many pupils who have been successful in after life, mainly through the impulse given to them by one mind. His method was simple, perfectlj' natural, yet inimitable. Graduates of a modern normal school would have found much to criticise in the order he kept. But fr p^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 439 what cared the enthusiastic Scotchman, so long as his scholars were daily drinldng in his in- structions, and catching his enthusiasm, while their lessons were not conned over, but learned till they knew that they hneio them ? He scorned all codes of rules for the gov- ernment of his scholars. " You are gentlemen and ladies," he would say; "you have come here for one purpose, and that alone. It is your school, not mine, and you will see to it that nothing shall call me from the one work of giving instruction. I rely solely upon your own self-respect and sense of propriety and honor." It was very rarely that he reproved, but, if it had to be administered, it left a scar. But such was his simplicitj^ of heart, and sin- ceritj', that if, on reflection, he thought he had done any injustice to a pupil, he would volun- tarily ask pardon before the whole school. He loved and took a pride in his pupils, and his fiupils loved and were proud of their teacher. In 1828, the 3'oung men met in the log schoolhouse, and organized a lyceum, under the name of the Wadsworth Literary Club. The same company also formed a rhetorical school, and chose Capt. George Lyman as teacher. They held weekly evening schools for speaking, acting of dialogues and colloquies, at the house of Benjamin Agard, and concluded with an ex- hibition in the unfinished upper storj' of the new house of William Eyles. The exhibition, after the ancient style of dramatic perform- ances, was opened by the recitation of a pro- logue, composed for the occasion by one of the young men, which is given verbatim from memory, and will answer as a specimen of "Wadsworth pioneer poetry : PROLOGUE. Unused to come before an audience To speak or act, or any such pretense, Our youthful faces, with confusion glow, When we consider what a depth below Perfection's standard our endeavors all, At such a time as this, must surely fall. But still, my friends, if you will bear in mind The many disadvantages we lind, Our chance of practice limited and small, Our talents trifling, almost none at all, Our education poor, our means confined — I say if you will even keep these things in mind — Greatly surprised, perhaps, you will not be, Our imperfections and our faults to see. Some surly critic, mixed among the throng, May snap and snarl, and say that all is wrong — That not a sound salutes his ear aright. And not a graceful action meets his sight. So he may criticise, detract and rail, And say, in every point, we wholly fail. But stop, my friend, prithee don't be so fasti You may be partly wrong yourself, at last ! Lend me your patience, while to you I tell An anecdote, that fits your case full well. A beggar boy once met upon the road, A kindly man, who generously bestowed A meal of victuals on the hungry coot, And a refreshing pot of beer to boot. The beggar ate; then turning, when he'd done, Unto his benefactor, thus begun : "Your meal of victuals was not worth a curse. Your bread and cheese were poor — your beer was worse. I do not thank you for such stingy fare, When you have cakes and pies, and wine to spare." ' ■ Ungrateful wretch ! " the generous man replied ; " I gave it you — what could you ask beside? " It was the very best I could provide; And with the best you are not satisfied. Go — thankless cur ! Go, villian, stay not here ! And, nevermore, in human sight appear ! ' Beggars should not be choosers ; ' so now clear ! " And now, my good friend, just hear one word more And then my prologue will all be said o'er. There is a maxim which you all have seen. Which near expresses every word I mean ; Never look a gift-horse in the mouth. Amen ! Criticism being thus disarmed, the exhibition was, by universal consent, pronounced a " suc- cess." This exhibition was enlivened by an orchestra, consisting of a flute, clarinet, bass- viol, violin and bassoon ; played by Uriah M. Chappel, W. S. Kichards, James Newcomb, Julius Eichards and Ezekiel Richards. jst ^±^ 430 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. About 1829-31, the township was finally dis- tricted for school purposes, and more com- modious frame structures built. These have since given waj^ to still larger ones, principallj^ built of brick, with the modern improvements. This brings us to the history of the public school building of Wadsworth Village. This was begun in 1869. The draft for the building was made li}- the late Col. S. C. Porter, architect, of Cleveland. It is a large brick building erected at a cost of $25,000. The money was raised by bonds at 8 per cent. The interest and a part of the principal paid each year.* The building is of three stories, with Mansard roof The whole upper story is fur- nished for a hall. The Wadsworth Village High School, occupy- ing the above-described building, has been con- tinued to the present time ; it is under the superintendence of Hiram Sapp, with five as- sistants. The average daily attendance during the past school year was 241. Total enumera- tion, 400. The first phj'sician in the township was Dr. John Smith, who lived a short time in the east- ern part of the township, and then removed just over the line in G-uilford, on the Medina road. Dr. Samuel Austin was the next, at Western Star. The first at the Center, now the village, was Dr. Nathaniel Eastman. The next, and for many years the only one at Wadsworth Village, Dr. George K. Pardee. The first death in Wadsworth was that of Daniel Ware, in 1817. He was buried in the south burial-ground. The funeral discourse was preached by John Wise, of Chippewa. His coffin was made by Eeuben Warner and others, from puncheons split from a tree, and hewed down to thin planks. " The next death was that of an infant daughter of Frederick and Chloe Brown, July 15, 1817. This was the first burial in the Cen- ter ground. The second buried in that ground * Now nearly all pair]. was Abraham Falconer, son of Henry Falconer ; died, 1817. The first adult burial was that of John Curtis ; died of consumption in 1820. The second adult burial, Julia, wife of Sherman Loomis, and daughter of Augustus Mills, in 1820. The next, Mrs. Wright, wife of William Henry Wright, and daughter of Lysander Hard, in 1821. The first buried in the town-line ground was the wife of Ebenezer Wright, and mother of W. H. Wright, in April, 1825. The next, John Sprague, in 1826. The next, Lyman Brown ; killed by falling under a cart loaded with stone, at Akron, in 1826. The first post office in the township was kept by Abel Dickinson, on the Medina road, estab- lished in 1822, which was removed to the Cen- ter in 1826, and kept by Frederick Brown. The first at Western Star, established at the same time, was kept by Mills Richards. The first at River Styx, by David Wilson. Previous to this, the old citizens received their letters from Talmadge, Canton, Old Portage, New Portage, or whatever office was to them convenient. The first mail route was from Canton to Nor- walk, by waj^ of Medina, established about 1821. The mail was carried by Josiah Price, of Can- ton, who brought our news from the Canton and Medina offices to our doors, calling us out with a tin horn. About the year 1824, John Wilson, Esq., of River Styx, began to carr}' the mail over the Medina and Canton route on horseback once a week, and continued for several j-ears. During Jackson's first term, Abel Dickinson was Post- master superseding Judge Brown, and John Pardee was his deputy or assistant, and kept the office in Pardee's store. Afterward, Pardee was Postmaster, and held the office in the stone store for a number of years, when Dr. George K. Pardee became Postmaster, holding the office in a building standing where the residence of John Lytle now is. At his death in 1848, it was changed several times, and held between Charles J. Pardee and Sherman Blocker, Esq., ^ ;^ .k HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 431 final!}' settled with Pardee for quite a time. Orlando Beach held the office also for a short time. It was afterward held by John G. Houston, who was succeeded by H. C. Pardee, who held the office in the town hall, where it is at present located, under the charge of his suc- cessor, Eli Overholt, Esq. The first settlers of Wadsworth were mostly accustomed to sustain the institutions of relig- ion ; j-et, coming from different sections of the country and springing from diflferent nationali- ties, each was naturally tenacious of his own belief and his accustomed mode of worship. They suffered, as new settlements generallj' do, more from too many church organizations than too few ; each society being too feeble, for manj' j'ears, for efficient work, yet from the earliest they were accustomed to the public worship of God. Mi: Brown, in his Memorial, says : '' The first religious meeting was held at the house of Oli- ver Durham, in July 1814. The attendance was by the families of Messrs. Dean and Dur- ham, and Mr. Salmon Warner, a brother-in-law of Mr. Dean, and father-in-law of Mr. Durham, who had visited the place to select a farm for himself Moving there the next February, reg- ular prayer-meetings were established at his house, so that public worship may be consid- ered to have been established in February, 1815, the families of the first three settlers composing the assembly ; that of Mr. Dean be- ing of the Baptist, and those of Mr. Warner and Mr. Durham of the Methodist denomination. These meetings were continued at the house of Mr. Warner, until the erection of the first schoolhouse, in 1816. In May of that j'ear, emigrants from Connecticut, the families of Frederick Brown, Benjamin Agard and Joseph Loomis, having arrived, they, with some other new arrivals, helped to sustain these meetings. "I have heard my father, in my youthful days, relate the pleasing incident of his first introduction to Mr. Warner, and the arrange- ment they made together to set up the Sabbath worship in a more public and permanent man- ner. He had just arrived the previous week, and with his familj^ was staying at the house of Benjamin Agard, who had preceded him a few months. Hearing that religious meetings were then held at the house of a man by the name of Warner, the three families went on Sabbath morning, through the woods, to his house. The meeting was conducted by Mr. Warner ; those who were singers assisted in that part of the worship, and mj' father taking part in speaking and prayer. ' After the meeting, Mr. Warner called my lather into the other part of his double log house, for private conference. 'First,' said he, ' I wish to know who and what you are ? ' My father replied, ' We are Congregationalists, from Connecticut.' Mr. Warner replied, 'My parents were Congregationalists ; I am a Methodist, and have been almost alone in keeping up meetings the past year ; and now I propose that we unite, and we can sustain meetings every Sab- bath. I see you are singers ; that will be a great help. And now your people have a prac- tice that I like, that of reading a sermon when you have no preacher. Have you an}- volumes of sermons you can bring to read from ? ' My father replied, ' I have, but man}' of the ser- mons are highly Calvinistic, and you may not approve their doctrine ; so I will hand you the book beforehand, and you may select such as you can call orthodox, and they shall be read.' " The meetings were conducted jointly by those two men, in the manner agreed upon, at the house of Mr. Warner, until the erection of what was called the South Schoolhouse, in the aiftumn following (1816), when they were held in the schoolhouse. Here began a fraternal union between those two old pioneers, who may, without any injustice to others, be termed the first founders of the Methodist and Congrega- tional Churches — a union that was never broken. To the end of their pilgrimage, they -^J^- -i^ 433 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. loved each other as brothers, and consulted together for the social, moral and religious wel- fare of the settlement. "In 1816, a Methodist class was formed, con- sisting of Salmon Warner, Mrs. Lucina War- j ner, Miss Harriet Warner, Oliver Durham and j Mrs. Lamira Durham, William H. Wright and j wife and Mrs. Polly Kirkum. As no record remains, the name of the minister who organ- ized the class is not preserved, nor can I learn the names of the first Methodist preachers, except Ezra Booth and William Eddy. " The Congregational Church was organized August 8, 1819, Rev. John Treat the officiat- ing minister. The original members were Frederick Brown, Mrs. Chloe S. Brown, Au- gustus Mills, Mrs. Martha Mills, George Lj'- man, Mrs. Ophelia Lyman, Benjamin Agard, Sherman Loomis and Jacob Lindley. "On the 25th of August, 1817, a Union church and societj' was formed bj^ members of the German Reformed and Lutheran denomi- nations. The names of the original members can not be obtained. The elders were Peter Waltz, Sr. and Christian Everhard. Trustees, Jacob Everhard, Adam Baughman. Benja- min Faust, first Pastor. "A Baptist Church was organized under the pastoral charge of Obadiah Newcomb, in 1821. This was afterward the nucleus of the Disciples' Church. Of its original members, were Oba- diah Newcomb and wife, William Eyles and wife, Samuel Green and wife and Jlrs. Battison and Mr. and Mrs. Donor, of Chippewa. An- other Baptist Church was afterward organized in the northwest part of the town, by Elder Dimmock, in 1836. The original members of the Disciples' Church were Obadiah Newcomb, Satira Newcomb, Matilda Newcomb, Victory Clark, Samuel Green, A. B. Green and Polly Eyles. "About the time of the separation of the Methodists from the Congregationalists, Mr. Brown was joined by George Lyman, a young man from Torrington, Conn., who took an act- ive part in sustaining the meetings. They were held every Sabbath, twice a day, in the old style of New England. After singing and prayer, and singing again, the leader either read a sermon or called upon some other to read. The most frequent reader was Sherman Loomis, whose musical voice and rhetorical delivery is still one of the pleasant memories of those da^rs. Of those who were occasion- allj readers, I can recall George Kirkum, Harrjf Lucas, Lemuel North, John Sprague, Allen Pardee, Dr. George K. Pardee, Aaron Pardee and George Lyman. " On the erection of the next schoolhouse, then called the North Schoolhouse, the meetings were held alternately in each place. From 1821 to 1824, Mr. Lyman was absent from the township, and Mr. Brown was assisted in con- ducting the meetings, by Ebenezer Andrus and William Graham, of Chippewa, a portion of the time being occupied by Rev. Obadiah New- comb, the Baptists and Congregationalists unit- ing in his support. He preached a part of the time in Norton and Coventry. He was a man of ability, much respected ; and his services much demanded on funeral occasions. " The western part of the township, and east- ern part of Guilford, were settled by members of the Mennonite denomination. I have no record of their churches (embracing each of the divisions known by that name)." The two churches are called Old and New Mennonites. The Old Mennonites still worship in their log meeting-house, in the west part of Wadsworth, on the Seville road, on the hill. The new church established a college in Wads- worth Village, said to have been the first by that denomination in the United States. Their school has been removed, and the college build- ing is now occupied as a private school insti- tute, in charge of T. J. Dague, Esq. But the church remains, and they hold weekly meetings in their meeting-house on the Medina road. S~ ;t^ M 'k HISTORV OF MEDINA COUNTY. 433 The Universalists maintained preaching for several years, from 1824. Their first minister was a Mr. Williams, who afterward became a minister of the Disciples' Church. The next was a Mr. Tracj-. The next, a Mr. Rodgers. But no church was ever formed. The first house of worship built in the town- ship was the Lutheran and German Reformed log meeting-house, on the town line between Wadsworth and Chippewa. The next, the old Congregational House at the Center, built in 1830, on the site of the present one, which was erected in 1842. The Disciples erected the house thej' now occupy, in 1842. George Hins- dale was the architect of both these houses, and died the same year. The Methodist House was built in 1835. The Congi-egationalists have continued from the time of their first or- ganization with various degrees of prosperity till the present time. Their Pastor is the Rev. G. C. Reed, and their members number about sixty. The first settled Congregational Minis- ter, Rev. Amasa Jerome, was installed Novem- ber 1, 1826. He was followed by Revs. Fay, Boutell, Johnson, Brooks, Tallcutt, Wright, Wilder, and, after an interval of some years. Rev. T. W. Browning, of the Methodist Church, was employed for a time, and he was followed by Rev. D. E. Hatheway, then by Rev. Edward Brown, in 1874, afterward b}- the present Pas- tor. A church was organized about 1875 in Wadsworth, who call themselves the Church of God, and number about forty members. They occupy the building formerly used for the Wadsworth Academy, which is an octagon building, standing at present on the corner of Lyman and Prospect streets. The Methodist Church has continued from its first institution, in 1816, in the township, meeting in various places until the erection of the present meeting-house, in 1835 ; always under the charge of an itinerant ministry, and, like the other churches, having their seasons of revival and depression from various causes, until, in 1867, their house of worship was en- larged and remodeled. Their church is now in a prosperous condition, their house commodious, and a convenient parsonage, at present under the pastoral charge of Rev. P. S. Wolf Their communicants number about 150. The Disci- ples have continued their worship in their church, finished in 1842, under various Pastors, among them Revs, A. B. Green and H. Jones, and the last of whom were Rev. J. P. Rowe, Rev. J. Knowles from April, 1869, to April, 1872 ; then Rev. C. F. W. Cronemyer, and after him Rev. J. A. Williams. The present condition of the church is prosperous, with good congre- gation and interesting Sunday school. Under the pastoral charge of Elder C. W. Henry. The members number about 100. The organization of the Reformed Church was effected on the 24th day of October, 1858. Its first Pastor was Rev. Jesse Schlosser, who began his labors here about four months pre- vious to the organization. During his pas- torate, the services were held in the Congre- gational and Disciples' Churches, furnished by their congregations. Six members constituted the church at the beginning. Their names, in the order in which they appear upon the record, are Henry Yockej', Catharine Yockey, John C. Kremer, Lydia Kre- mer, E. K. Kremer and Isaac Griesemer. The first oflacers were Henry Yockey, Elder, and J. C. Kremer, Deacon. The second pastorate was that of Rev. Jesse Hines, who began his labors June 1 , 1860. It was under his pastorate that the old octagon academy building, and lot (elsewhere mentioned in this work), were purchased of Aaron Pardee, for $150, and converted into a house of worship. It was dedicated October 6, 1861, Revs. S. B. Leiter and William McCaughey preaching the dedicatory sermons. Rev. S. C. Goss, the present Pastor, entered on his labors August 1. 1866. At the begin- 7p^ liL 434 HISTOllY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ning, the membership numbered forty-three. The present numerical strength of the congre- ga.tion is one hundred and sixty. There are in Wadsworth Village and town- ship seven meeting-houses, and, within five miles of Wadsworth Center, may be found eighteen more, making twentj^-flve, and there are resident ministers in Wadsworth Village to the number of at least twelve, showing that there is no excuse for Wadsworth to be called an irreligious community. It is refreshing to turn to a narrative fur- nished for Mr. Brown's Memorial by Sherman Blocker, Esq., an old resident of Wadsworth, and hear him speak of the pioneers as follows : " While there were some theological differences of opinion, 3-et, taken as a community together, there never was a more honorable, upright and conscientious set of people found on this broad continent than were the early pioneers of Wads- worth." He says : " The}' were as a unit in pro- moting each other's welfare and happiness, each seeking to move and work in that sphere best calculated to render the most good, in which he was born and reared. " At first there may have been some distrust, but in a very short time all distrust vanished into thin air as soon as they came to know each other ; and soon, the mass of early pioneers came to be like brothers and sisters, promoting each other's welfare in all possible waj's. Would to G-od that such a spirit now prevailed among all the people as ruled the mass of pioneers in Wadsworth fifty to sixtj' j^ears ago ! " Every one who has gone through the vicissi- tudes of pioneer life is aware of the fact that its tendency is to beget a spirit of adventure, to the extent that comparatively- but few of the first settlers of a frontier town, or their children, whose earliest impressions were amid the ad- venturous beginnings, are known to remain and spend their lives there. Especially is this true of those of Anglo-Saxon, or Celtic origin. So that the same individuals are often found among the adventurous frontiersmen in two or more States ; often moving on till old age overtakes them upon the frontier. The rapid opening of the States of the inte- rior, westward of Ohio, became an incentive to new emigration, to such as had been among the first settlers, or their children who had grown up while as 3'et all things were new. This period was consequently marked by great changes of population ; so great that many names of the old families that counted not a few upon the poll books and muster rolls, nearly or quite disappeared. Particularly was this true of the New England portion. Selling out and moving on the front wave of civilization, and their old homes passing into the hands of the wealthier but more conservative Teutonic race, or what are sometimes termed " Pennsylvania Germans," till the proportion of the two races was reversed. This also seriously affected the original churches, particularly the Congrega- tional and Methodist, which, through these causes, became, during this period, almost ex- tinct ; while a large church of the German Re- formed denomination, and another of the Men- nonite, the members of both being chiefly of German descent, attracted the major part of the church-going population, till the revival of business by the location of the railroad and the discovery of the coal mines, brought again members of those two denominations, and a resurrection of their churches. During that period also, the old Wadsworth Academy was suspended, and the octagon building occupied for that purpose was converted into a church. 4i; JV ■^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 435 CHAPTER X.* WADSWORTH TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE— A NOTABLE EPIDEJIir_rOAL INT1^RESTS— IXCOKPORA- TION AND GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE— EARLY INCIDENTS— FAMILY GENEALOGIES. n^^HE 3'ears 1844 and 1848 were memorable -L for a malignant epidemic that visited the township, carrj'ing oflf by death a large number of its inhabitants. It prevailed very exten- sively in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, and was known as malignant erysipelas, or erysipelatous fever. The following description, written by Dr. C. N. Lyman, one of the physi- cians who treated for the disease, ma}' be valu- able for a historic reference, both as to the dis- ease and its treatment: " During the year 1844, there occurred within the limits of the township an epidemic of er3'sip- elas, very severe in its character and fatal in its results, selecting for its victims some of the best of our citizens of adult age. It was con- fined mostly within the limits of the township, though extending somewhat into the townships of Norton and Chippewa. It began in the month of January, and continued until the fol- lowing August, when its virulence subsided, with occasional manifestations until the winter of 1848, when it re-appeared in the east part of the towns of Guilford and Blontville, with its accustomed fatality, and again made its appear- ance in this township, marking as its own a number of our prominent citizens. '' Its mode of attack was almost always in the form of inflammation of the throat and fauces, with a disposition to migrate to other parts of the body, usually selecting the serous mem- branes. Sometimes, however, the muscular and adipose tissues would be the seat of the metas- tatic attack. The change from the throat t-o the point of attack would be sudden, and for a few hours the patient would flatter himself that ^Contributed by Hon. Aaron Pardee. he was convalescent, when a rigor and restless- ness would supervene, telling, too often fatally, that the hope was only a delusive one. When the serous membranes were the seat of the dis- ease, the formation of pus was a rapid process, the patient frequently dying within three days. A post-mortem examination would disclose the serous cavities filled with pus. When the mus- cular and adipose tissues were the seat of the disease, pus was formed in enormous quantities if the patient survived long enough. Frequently, however, death supervened too rapidlj' for this process to mature. " That portion of the epidemic which occurred in 1844 was most successfully treated by large and rapid depletion, some patients requiring to be bled to faintness, two or three times within thirty-six hours. This was markedly the case when the serous membranes were involved. When the other tissues were the seat of the disease, bleeding was not of such manifest util- ity. Some cases were so rapid as to call for the directly opposite treatment, and they were as rapidly fatal. " When the disease re-appeared in a severe form in 1848-49, bleeding and depletion was not tolerated at all. In the few cases in which they were tried, in the commencement of the outbreak, the results were so unsatisfactory that those measures were abandoned immedi- ately. This latter manifestation of the disease showed less predilection for the serous mem- branes than the former. In the first epidemic, with a population of about 1,200, there were 124 well-marked cases, 25 of which proved fatal. The later epidemic was spread over more territory, but the proportion of deaths to ^: i, \ '-^ 436 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. those attacked was greater. Since that time it has not appeared in an epidemic form." At an early day bituminous coal was known to exist in some parts of the township, before all its uses or its true commercial value were known or thought of More than fifty years since, small quantities of coal were found in various localities, in digging wells. About 1829, coal in beds, cropping out near the surface, was found both in the northeastern and southeastern portions of the township ; and small quantities for several years were mined for domestic use, and the limited manu- facturing of the region. But the location of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, bring- ing these mines into connection with the great coal markets afforded by the cities and ex- tensive manufactories of the State, not only made them sources of wealth, but, by develop- ing an extensive business, added greatly to the growth and prosperity of the village, and of the township at large ; a village by itself hav- ing grown up, composed of a population wholly connected with the mining and shipping of coal at Silver Creek, the point of shipment a mile and a half southeast of the depot. The first mining of coal for commercial purposes commenced at that point, in February, 1869. Mines have been opened in four localities in the township : at Humphre}' & Coleman's mine, on Seth Baughman's farm, the Wadsworth Coal Company's mine, on the Dormer farm, the Town Line mine, in the northeast, corner which extends into Sharon and Norton, and the Stony Ridge mine, opened on the land of Don A. Pardee. The first shipment of coal on the railroad at Wadsworth was in 1863, brought from the Silver Creek mines in wagons till the comple- tion of the Silver Creek Branch Railroad. Coal is known to exist in minable quan- tities, on or under the following farms in Wads- worth Township : in the southeast quarter, the Whitman farm, the Dormer, the old Ritter, the Dr. Simmons, the Dave Long, Seth Baughman's three farms, the Dutt farm and the Andrews farm ; in the northeast quarter, the old Spill- man farm and the Ej'les and Simcox farms ; in the northwest quarter, the Oberholtzer farm, the Hinsdale farm and the two farms of Don A. Pardee, also the G-ehman and the McCoy farms- The area of land underlaid with coal in the township, must be in the neighborhood of 1,500 acres, a small portion of which only has been mined. This coal lies invariably under the first stratum o ;" sand rock which forms the most fa- vorable roofing for mining purposes, and the coal is generally found from fifty to one hun- dred and fifty feet under the surface, and vary- ing from two feet to five feet in thickness. The village of Wadsworth was originally built up at what was called the center of the township, at the crossing of the north-and- south and east-and-west roads. The north-and- south road was early laid out as a State road from Coshocton to Cleveland, but had been formerly laid as a county road through Wads- worth Township — it lies two miles from the east line, and three lines from the west line, of the township. The east-and-west road was also a State road, and was laid before the township was settled, about the 3'ear ] 808. Wadsworth Village had grown up about these corners un- til after the railroad was established, when, on account of the increase of population, it was thought desirable to have it incorporated. The movement commenced in 1865, Dr. C. N. Lyman acting as agent for the people. Ow- ing to a mistake in dates, it became necessary to make a second publication, so that it was not consummated till 1866. First election, April 4. The first officers under the corporation ; Aaron Pardee, Mayor ; J. C. Houston, Re- corder ; C. N. Lyman, William F. Boyer, John Lytle, W. T. Ridenour, and Luman P. Mills, Trustees. The boundaries of the corporation are some- what irregular. Its longest dimensions, from ^± HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 437 north to south, about one and one-half miles ; and from east to west, about a mile ; the whole area, 896 acres of land ; a little over one and one-third square miles, or about one-twentieth of the township. The incorporation of the village necessitated the erection of a building for council room, police court, jail, etc. This was provided by designing a plan for a township hall for hold- ing elections and public meetings, with rooms for post office, council hall, and ■' lock-up." The question of building a town hall was submitted to a vote of the people of the township, and the majority vote was for building. It was built by township tax in 1867, at a cost of $5,000. It is a substantial brick structure, two stories high. The lower story has a com- modious front room for the post office, and back of it the room for council room and police and village justice's courts, and a room for se- curing prisoners, or lodging vagrants ; or, in common parlance, " tramps." The Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, a continuation of the Erie, was like that road of broad gauge running from Salamanca, N. Y., and terminating at Dayton, Ohio. Length, 389 miles. Arrangements were made with the C, H. & D. road, by third rail, to run to Cincin- nati. Distance from Wadsworth to Salamanca, 216 miles ; to Dayton, 173 ; to Cincinnati, 232 ; distance to New York from Wadsworth, 629. The Atlantic & Great Western Railroad has changed owners within the past year, and now is called the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railway. In June, 1880, it was altered from a six-foot gauge to the common width of other roads. The change was made the whole length of the line in one day. With the first location of this road, commenced the rapid growth of Wadsworth Village as a place of business. The existence of the rich coal mines and the sur- rounding country with its general healthfulness, has done much toward building up the place and adding largely to its wealth and prosperity. There are in Wadsworth Village four dry goods stores, two hardware stores, two drug stores, two shoe stores, three grocery and pro- vision stores, two cigar factories, three wagon and carriage shops, two planing-mills, one agri- cultural machiue-shop, one oat-meal mill, two bed-bottom factories, two hotels, four doctors, three lawyers, one dentist, three blacksmith- shops, five shoe-shops, two tailor-shops, two harness-shops, two meat markets, two barber- shops, two liverjr stables, two furniture and undertakers' stores, four millinery stores, three jewelers, two tin-shops, one bank, one printing office, one flour and feed store, tWo restaurants, three clothing stores, one grain merchant's warehouse, two photographers, and one agricult- ural implement depot. Western Star is on the township line, about equally divided between Wadsworth and Nor- ton, and lies just two miles east of Wadsworth Village Corners. It contains, on the Wads- worth site, about 150 inhabitants. It was in- corporated by act of the Legislature, about 1837. and embraced a territory one mile each way from the public well, which stood on the line of the county. The place called Weaverville is in the neigh- borhood of the Wadsworth Coal Company Mine, southeast corner of the township. Biglow Chapel is on the townshij) line about one and one-half miles north of Western Star. Clark's Corners is two miles north of Wadsworth Vil- lage. The River Stj-x Bottoms occupy about 3,000 acres in the west part of the township, ex- tending from the north line to the south line of the township. Silver Creek Junction, or Hum- phrej''s coal bank, is about one and one-quar- ter miles east of Wadsworth Station. Among the most celebrated pioneer hunters were Orrin Loomis, David Blocker, William Siaicox, John Waltz and Phineas Butler. It is said that Blocker, from 1816 to 1833, killed and dressed over 800 deer ; he shot and killed six in one day. 12^ 438 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. At one time, meat became exceedingly scarce, in consequence of the game all leaving the neighborhood ; and the want of this indis- pensable article to the pioneer, produced a lamentable aching about the stomach of each. Suddenly, one Sunday afternoon, while David Blocker was lying on a bed of deer and bear- skins, in the cabin, the dogs sang out : " Tur- keys ! " and, bounding off his bed and seizing the rifle and shot-pouch, he rushed to the door just in time to see the turkeys flying and alighting among the trees in every direction from the cabin ; for the dogs had rushed among them at first sight, and kept up a tremendous din of howls and yells at the turkeys, while the rifle went crack, crack, as fast as he could load and shoot, until sixteen fat turkeys had fallen before his unerring aim. By this time the flock had disappeared, and, in their place, came Judge Brown (father of Kev. Edward), Squire Salmon Warner, Reuben F. Warner and Jacob Miller (father of George Miller, Esq., of Akron), all of whom had been at a prayer-meeting, at Squire Warner's, half a mile east of where the turkej'-shooting took place ; and which meet- ing was about closing, when they heard the successively quick, sharp reports of the rifle, and they knew it meant game. As they were all in want of meat, they gladly and thank- fully accepted twelve out of the sixteen turkeys killed on that occasion. In the early part of the settlement of the township, rattlesnakes were plenty ; and, in one day, at a den of the snakes, Samuel Blocker and Jacob Miller killed 128 j-ellow-spotted rattlesnakes. At another time, when Samuel Blocker was reaping wheat, he cut off a mon- ster rattlesnake's head with his sickle, which probably struck at his hand just as he had gathered in the wheat straw to cut it off, for he did not see or know anything of the snake un- til he had dropped his bunch in its place, and, finding the snake headless, looked in his hand- ful of wheat, when lo ! there was his snake- ship's head, as handsomely cut off as if done by a surgeon. One day David Blocker was pursuing a wounded bear, he met a buck jumping and snorting as if in some great trouble. Blocker walked up within a short distance ; as the deer paid no attention to him, he leveled his rifle to shoot the deer, when he perceived one of the largest rattlesnakes he had ever seen ; the snake darted his- fiery eyes at Blocker and at the deer, as if at a loss which to attack. Blocker aimed at the snake, and the deer bounded off; when the smoke had cleared away, he found the serpent nicely coiled up, with his head shot to pieces ; he reached down to take hold of the rattles of the snake, when the back of his hand, as quick as a, flash, was touched with the remains of the snake's head ; he instantly let go, but he knew he was not bitten, although fright- ened. He took twenty-one rattles from that snake, indicating, as is supposed, the age of twenty-one years. About the j-ear 1818, Samuel Blocker had a valuable mare and colt which were attacked by bears and driven off the point of a rock, on the north fork of the saw-mill dam, a few rods west of the house and lot now owned by William Brouse. It was nearly sixteen feet down per- pendicularlj', at that time, where the mare and colt lay crushed by the fall, and the indications were that one or more bears had gradually driven them closer and closer, until thej' both pitched off the precipice and perished. Captain Lyman relates that at one time he killed, in one day, eight rattlesnakes, sexen found in a hollow log, the eighth, a very large one, found alone by himself. Joshua F. Shaw, in harvesting, was bitten by a rattlesnake, which alarmed himself and friends very much, but it is said that he'was cured by a large dose of whisky. Mr. Shaw once found a large deer in his wheat field. The field had a very high fence, and Shaw cornered the deer where he was una- IN" jH! iK. I-IISTOIIY or MEDINA COUXTY. 439 ble to get over. As he attempted to leap the fence, Shaw caught him by the horns, and cut his throat with a pen-knife. Orrin Loomis and Phineas Butler used to hunt in couples. Their principal and most profitable game was coon, which they hunted for the skin. Their outfit was a couple of axes, a torch made of hickory bark, and three or four dogs. They would go out at evening, and be gone, sometimes nearly all night. When the dogs treed a coon, the tr^e had to come down, and before it would fairly reach the ground the dogs had the coon. Hundreds of the best tim- ber trees in all parts of the township were felled by these hunters in pursuit of coon, and thou- sands of coon-skins were the result. A coon- skin was about the same as a lawful tender for 31 cents. In 1819, the settlers of Wadsworth had turned out to chop the road through the unsettled township north, then known as "Hart and Mather's town," to meet a similar company from Granger, half-way; thus making an out- let to Cleveland. While thus engaged, one of the Bruin family put in an appearance. Several dogs, which had accompanied their masters, immediately made common cause against their common enemy. The bear showed desperate fight, rising upon his haunches and beating back the dogs. Orin Loomis ran up, and, to protect the dogs, stuck his ax into the bear's mouth, while Judge Brown, coming immediately behind him, struck his ax into the bear's head, and the other choppers soon dispatched him with their axes; and each at evening returned home with a large piece of bear meat; no small item, in the general scarcity of provisions at that period. In the fall of 1823, as Butler and Loomis were returning after midnight from one of their hunts, and had arrived within a mile or two of home, it was noticed that the dogs were miss- ing. Presently, a noise was heard, far back in the rear. "Hark! What was that ?" said Loomis. They listened awhile, and agreed it was the dogs, sure. " Orr, let's go back," said Butler. " No," answered Loomis, " it is too late." " But," said Butler, " I'll bet the dogs are after a bear ; don't you hear old Beaver ? It sounds to me like the bark of old Beaver when he is after a bear." Butler was bound to go back, and so they started. The scene of the disturbance was finally reached, after traveling two or three miles. The dogs had found a bear, sure enough; but it was in the middle of Long Swamp, and the alders were so thick that there was scarcely room for man, dog or bear to get through. This did not deter Phin Butler, however. They got near enough to find out that the bear was sta- tioned on a spot a little drier than the main swamp, surrounded by alder bushes, and that she was determined not to leave it. The dogs would baj' up close* when the bear would run out after them. They would retreat, and then she would go back to her nest again. "We can't kill her to-night," said Loomis, "we will have to go home, and come down again in the morning." " No,'' replied Butler, "I am afraid she will get away. We can kill her to-night, I guess. You can go and hiss on the dogs on one side, and I will come up on the other ; and when she runs out after them, I'll cut her back-bone off with the ax." They concluded to trj^ this plan, and came verj- near succeeding. As the old bear rushed past, But- ler put the whole bit of the ax into her back, but failed to cut the back-bone by an inch or so. Enraged and desperate, she sprang upon the dogs, who, emboldened by the presence of the hunters, came too close. With one of her enormous paws she came down on old Beaver, making a large wound in his side, which nearly killed him. He was hardly able to crawl out of the swamp. The fight was then abandoned until the next morning, as, without Beaver to lead the other dogs, it was useless to proceed. It was diffi- ^t^ A A^ 440 HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. cult to get the old dog home, but he finally got well. Early in the morning the hunters were on the ground. This time they had their guns with them, but found the old bear was gone. On examining her nest of the night before, her unusual ferocity was explained. She had a litter of cubs, which, however, she had suc- ceeded in removing, and must have carried them off in her mouth. In a short time, the dogs had tracked her out. She was found half a mile lower down the swamp, where she had made a new nest. Butler's rifle soon dispatched her, but her cubs, four in number, and not more than three or four weeks old, were taken alive, and kept for pets. * * * * * The following account of Leonard Brown's wolf-fight is given in his own words : ■'It was in the month of June, 1827, a full moon and a clear night. I was seventeen years old. About 11 o'clock at night I was awakened by the barking of the dog, which was a com- mon occurrence, and we always went to his re- lief, and generally found that he had treed either a raccoon, a wildcat, a porcupine, an opossum, or a fox. (The gray foxes would climb trees as readily as coons.) This time his barking was unusually earnest. I got out of bed and put on my pants, but nothing more. Bareheaded and barefooted, I took my ax and started for the dog. When within a few rods of the spot, I found it was in the northeast corner of the field, where stood a sapling about twelve feet high. Supposing the game to be on that sapling, I could get on the fence and dislodge it from the tree, Itnowing that the dog would take it as soon as it reached the ground. I therefore laid down tlie ax and proceeded within a rod of the place, when a large animal made an attempt to jump the fence, but the dog caught it by the thigh and brought it back. It then tried to make its escape across the field, but the dog caught it bj' the neck, when it turned and gave battle. I then discovered that it was a wolf, much larger than the dog, and, as they reared upon their hind legs like two dogs in a fight, I caught the wolf by his hind legs, and, with the help of the dog, laid him on his back ; but his jaws flew to the right and left so quick, it was very difficult for the dog to get a safe hold. I thought I had best get my ax as soon as possible, as I had no knife. So I started for the ax, but, before I had gone ten feet, the dog cried out in great agony. I knew he was hurt, so I picked up a stick and went back. The wolf was on top. I caught him again by the legs and laid him on his back, and, bj' holding his leg with one hand, I jammed the stick into his mouth with the other, and bj' that means enabled the dog to fasten to him by the throat. After I had carefully examined the dog's hold and found ail right, feeling assured that if he got away he would take the dog along, I hastened for mj* ax. When I re- turned, I found the wolf on his feet, and the dog on his back, the dog still keeping his hold. On my approach, the wolf made a desperate effort to escape, which brought the dog to his feet. He then laid the wolf on his back with- out my help. I then tried to knock the wolf in the head, but dared not strike for fear of hitting the dog ; and, fearing the dog would give out, as he seemed nearly exhausted, as the wolf lay on his back I aimed a blow between his hind legs, and supposed I had succeeded in cleaving the hips, but it proved I had onlj' wounded him in one thigh. "The wolf then lay still, and I thought him dead. I bade the dog to let go his hold. He refused. I then put one foot on the wolf, and took the dog by the nape of the neck with one hand, and struck him with the other. The dog flew back as if there was a snake there, and the wolf jumped up suddenlj' and attacked me. His jaws came together very near my neck, but the dog instantly caught him by the throat. I then struck him on the head with my ax, break- ing the skull ; and the dog released his hold of his own accord. fti^ HISTOEY or MEDINA COUNTY. 443 "It was a black wolf of the largest size, measuring from the extremity of the fore to the hind foot, seven feet and nine inches. The dog was bitten through the thick part of the fore leg. I was minus a shirt — some scratched about the breast, with a slight wound on my left arm made by the wolf's teeth.'' The Agard family. — Benjamin Agard, a na- tive, it is supposed, of Long Island, was born in 1769. Married Ehoda, daughter of Issachar Loomis, and sister of Joseph Loomis. He moved from Colebrook, Conn., in the winter of 1816, in company with his brother-in-law, Jo- seph Loomis. He settled on the Sowers farm, and built the first frame house. Alvin Agard, eldest son of B. Agard, was born in Colebrook, Conn., in 1797, and died July 29, 1837. For many years he kept a complete meteorological record, on a plan of his own, noting the temperature at 6, 12 and 6 o'clock, the direction of the wind, and the rain and snow falls. A record that, if preserved by his desc^dants, might be valuable for ref- erence or comparison. He married Lucy, daughter of Salmon Warner. Dr. Aurelius Agard, of Sandusky City, was his son. Roman L. Agard was born in Colebrook, Conn., in 1805. Married a Miss Wright; died June 3, 1846. No descendants of the Agard family now remain in Wadsworth. Levi Blakeslee was born in Hartland, Conn.; son of Rev. Matthew Blakeslee ; was adopted in infancy and brought up by Owen Brown, Esq., of Hudson. Married Abigail Patchen ; second wife, Sirs. Ostrander. He set up the first tannery in Wadsworth ; his first vats were troughs hewed out of whitewood logs, and his first bark-mill a huge wheel worked out of a granite boulder, attached to a revolving axle and turned by oxen. He died November 26, 1864. Children — Amelia Eliza, born March 9, 1820, married Donnely Hobart, and resides in Cleveland ; Anson E. and Owen B. both reside in Iowa. The Baughman Family. — Of this name there were many among the first settlers of Wads- worth and Chippewa. Thej' were all from Le- high County, Penn., and of German origin. Lorentz Baughman, brother of Adam, lived on the farm now owned by Dr. Simmons. Died in 1840, aged 67. Sons — Henry, Lorentz, Ja- cob and Ezra. Daughters — Elizabeth, wife of Peter Waltz, Jr.; Rachel, wife of Abraham Koplin ; Lj'dia, wife of John Loutzenheizer ; Polly, wife of Christian Koplin. John Baughman, nephew of Adam and Law- rence, came here in 1829. , Married Lydia, daughter of Paul Baughman. Sons — Stephen, William, Seth, Israel, Joel and John. Daugh- ters — Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Miller ; Han- nah, wife of Talbert Simcox ; Elizabeth, wife of John S. Yockey. Seth Baughman is one of the richest men in the township. David Baughman, brother of John, came in 1830 ; married Elizabeth Blocker. The Beach Families. — Abel Beach, son of John Beach, and fifth generation from Benjamin Beach, emigrant from England to Stamford, Conn., was born in Torrington, Conn., January 3, 1775 ; married Roxy Taylor ; came to Wads- worth in 1823 ; owned the farm now the north farm of William Brouse ; built the first saw- mill in company with his son George, and Jo- seph and Sherman Loomis. He was a man of great mirthfulness and wit ; died November 7, 1854. Mrs. Beach died August 30, 1846, aged 67. Children — Sylva, lost in the woods in 1824 ; George, born 1799 ; married Mary Delaber ; came to Wadsworth in 1822 ; opened the farm now owned by William Cunningham ; lives in Clinton, Iowa. Orlando Beach, brother of George, born De- cember 14, 1802 ; married Julia Pardee, who was killed by being thrown from a carriage in 1838 ; second wife, Susan, daughter of Judge Philo Welton, who died in 1878. He was aft- dA 444 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. erward married to Eliza J. Fisher. Mr. Beach died December 20, 1880. He had been an active business man in Wadsworth for nearly sixty years. The Bennett Family. — Four brothers of that name came from Vermont. Timothy S. Ben- nett came with Leavitt Weeks in 1818 ; lived in the east part of Wadsworth ; married Kachel, daughter of Holland Brown. Abel Bennett lived many years in Norton ; now lives in Eoyalton. Stanton Bennett died in Wadsworth, in 1874, aged sixty-eight. Elam Bennett fell dead while at work in the hay -field, in 1832. The Blocker Famil}'. — Samuel Blocker, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Wadsworth in 1815, and settled on the farm east of the vil- lage, now owned by Seth Baughman. He was the first tailor of Wadsworth ; died April 2, 1844, aged seventy-six. David Blocker, eldest son of Samuel, came with his father. Of his famous hunting ex- ploits, the readers of this work have been in- formed. He was unmarried ; died June 12, 1836, aged thirty-eight. Eli Blocker, second son of Samuel, died at Norton Center, Pebruarj^ 18, 1845, aged thirty- eight. Sherman Blocker, third son, was born in Wadsworth December 15, 1819 ; attorney at law ; was for several years Justice of the Peace and Postmaster at Wadsworth. He mar- ried Sarah E. Adams ; resides in Akron. Lydia, eldest daughter, married Abraham Franks ; resides in Doylestown. Amanda, born 1812 ; married Nicholas Long, Jr.; died in Michigan. Elizabeth, born in June, 1814 ; mar- ried David Baughman ; lives in Wadsworth. The Browns. — Hon. Frederick Brown was a descendant of the fifth generation from Peter Brown, one of the pilgrim band, who came in the May Flower to Plymouth, in 1620. His father, Capt. John Brown, commanded a com- pany of volunteer minute men, in the Revolu- tion, raised in Canton, Conn., who joined the army at New York, where he died September 3, 1776. He was born in Canton, Conn., Au- gust 14, 1769. He represented the town of Colebrook, in the State Legislature, during the war of 1812. He emigrated to Wadsworth in 1816 ; assisted in the first organization of the town ; was one of the first Trustees, and second Postmaster. On the organization of the county he was chosen Senior Associate Judge, which office he held from 1818 to 1832, fourteen years. In 1842, he removed to Circleville to reside with his son. Dr. Marcus Brown, where he died March 14, 1848. He was twice mar- ried ; his first wife was Catharine Case ; sec ■ ond, Chloe Pettibone. Frederick Anson, eldest son, attorney at law, never lived in Wadsworth. Dr. Marcus Brown, born in Canton, Conn., July 5, 1797, resides in Circleville. Catharine, born in Colebrook, Conn., in 1799. Married Timothy Hudson. Chloe Volucia, born in Colebrook May 6, 1810. She died at Wolcottville, Ind., Septem- ber 14, 1840. Dr. John Brown, born at Colebrook Novem- ber 12, 1812. Studied medicine with Dr. G. K. Pardee. Married Emily C, daughter of Capt. George Lyman ; he died at Haw Pateh,^ Ind., January 24, 1842. Rev. Edward Brown, born in Colebrook No- vember 1, 1814. Married Eliza Jane Johnson, of Palmyra, N. Y. ; second wife, Laura Jane Goodale, of Amherst, Mass.; children — Florence Amelia, born June 3, 1845, died August 5, 1866 ; Marian Eliza, born February 14, 1847, died November 28, 1864 ; Ellen died in infancy ; Marcus Aurelius, born October 9, 1853, at Wautoma, Wis.; printer. Laura, third daughter of Frederick Brown, born in Wadsworth March 11, 1820; gradu- ated at Granville Female Seminary in 1840 ; married Dr. John A. Butler, La Grange, Ind.; ^t" 1>L, HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 445 second husband, Francis J. Smith ; resides in Pontiac, Mich. Sarah M., fourth daughter of P. Brown, born in Wadsworth July 2, 1823 ; married Chester C. Hammon, La Grange, Ind.; she now resides at Yankton, Dakota. Judge F. Brown was an uncle of the cele- brated John Brown, otherwise called Ossawat- omie Brown. Holland Brown, a native of Massachusetts, came to Wadsworth about 1824. Lived on the northeast corner farm, now the town-line coal- mine. He was a worthy citizen, a member of the Disciples' Church. Died April 22, 1844, aged seventy-six. Children — Lyman, killed at Akron by accident, December, 1825, aged twen- ty-seven ; Kachel, married T. S. Bennett ; Al- mon, born 1801 ; resided several years in Wads- worth, Sharon and Norton ; he is a carpenter by occupation ; has been for several years a resident of Akron (Middlebury Ward) ; has held several county offices. Is now Justice of the Peace. Erastus Brown was also for manj' j'ears a resident of Wadsworth, where he followed the business of house-joiner and wagon-maker. Resides in Weymouth. Ahi Brown was a respected citizen of Wads- worth, a carjoenter. Member of the Disciples Church. Married Emily, daughter of Jotham Blakeslee ; died March 9, 1837. Rev. Leonard Brown, born 1811. Married Ann L., daughter of Phineas Butler. Is a minister of the Disciples' Church. Resides in Wellington, Ohio. Rev. Holland Brown, born in 1813. Is a minister of the Disciples' Church ; resides in Brooklyn, Ohio. Phineas Butler was born in Sa3'brook, Conn., in 1791 ; married Sarah Pardee : emigrated to Wadsworth from Marcellus, N. ¥., in 1818. He was a leading member of the Disciples' Church ; died in 1846 ; Mrs. Butler died in 1844. Children — Ann L.. married Rev. Leon- ard Brown , resides in Wellington ; Rev. Par- dee Butler, born in Marcellus, N. Y., in 1816 ; educated at Wadsworth Academy. Is a minis- ter of the Disciples' Church. He was one of the early emigrants to Kansas, and a zealous supporter of the Free State cause, in conse- quence of which he was at one time taken by a mob of border ruffians at Atchison and placed on a raft and sent down the Missouri River without paddle or oar. After floating several miles he was picked up by a passing steamer. He still lives in Kansas. George W. Butler, born March 22, 1820 ; married Hannah Hull ; lived several years in Medina, and died in 1845 ; Sylvanus, born in 1822, died in 1844 ; Sarah Maria, born February' 18, 1825, married Na- thaniel B. Eastman ; resides in Seville. Daniel Bolich came to Wadsworth in 1830, from Pennsylvania ; died October 11, 1862, aged seventy -two. Joseph Bolich, born March 18, 1817 ; mar- ried Nancy Simcox ; still lives in Wadsworth. Sons — Daniel, Harrison, Harvey and Talbert. John A. Clark was born in Guilford Town- ship, January 7, 1837 ; was educated at Seville Academy, and engaged in teaching and farming pursuits till 1866, when he removed to Wads- worth and engaged in the printing business, and in 1869 and 1870 was Superintendent of the Union Schools. Has held the office of Maj'or of the village and other positions of public trust ; he married Emily U., daughter of Thomas Colburn, of Guilford. Richard Clark, a native of Connecticut, came to Wadsworth from Pittsburgh in 1821 ; mar- ried Hannah, daughter of Rev. Obadiah New- comb ; died March 17, 1864, aged 69. Curtis Families. — Capt. Cyrus Curtis *was born at Norfolk, Conn., in 1767 ; he married Editha Mills ; resided at New Haven, Vt., and Marcellus, N. Y. ; came to Wadsworth in 1829 ; was a man of strong mind and pure character, highly esteemed by his acquaintances ; died December 6, 1839. "71^ ^T^ ^1 liL 446 HISTOBY OF MEDINA. COUNTY. Col. Norman Curtis, eldest son of Cyrus Cur- tis, born in Norfolk, Conn., July 24, 1792 ; married Elizabeth Lampson ; came to Wads- worth from Marcellus, N. Y., February, 1821. Cyrus Curtis, Jr., born in Norfolk, Conn., December 24, 1794 ; came from Marcellus, N. Y., to Wadsworth, February, 1828 ; has been a man of influence in the town for fortj'-seven years ; was Justice of the Peace, Township Trustee and School Director for a number of terms ; died March 8, 1875. Children — Judge Albert L., born in Marcellus, N. Y., March 20, 1818 ; married Roxj- Hill ; resides in Ashland ; H. Holland, born in 1820 ; resides in Iowa ; William Pitt, born in Marcellus, N. Y., October 26, 1822 ; married Adelia Lyman ; is a drug- gist ; resides in Wadsworth ; Charles B., born in Wadsworth, Januarj^ 16, 1824 ; married Maria Turner ; died in 1867 ; Grace Orra, born in 1832 ; married Rev. R. Hager ; died in 1856 ; Grace Melissa, born in 1832 ; married Benja- min Binder, who was killed in the war ; resides in Wisconsin ; Lampson C, born in 1837 ; mar- ried Caroline 'i:iye. Dean Families. — Daniel Dean, mentioned in this historj' as one of the first settlers, son of Benjamin Dean, was born in Cornwall, Conn., March 31, 1765 ; moved to Franklin, Vt. ; mar- ried Mary Field ; came to Wadsworth, March 17, 1814 ; erected the first dwelling ; was a member of the Baptist Church ; died March 6, 1836. Benjamin Dean, eldest son of Daniel Dean, was born in Bristol, Vt., August 1, 1797 ; came to Wadsworth, March 1, 1814, with 0. Durham; he married Julia Phelps ; second wife, Harriet Fairchild, of Sharon ; he removed to Iowa in 1864", attended the pioneer meeting in Wads- worth in 1874, returned to Iowa, and died Octo- ber 14, 1874. Moses Dean was a resident of Wadsworth for many j'ears ; built a wagon-shop just west of the cemetery. The remains of the dam built for running machinerv, in 1828, are still seen ; he married Harriet Hosford, of West- field ; died in Iowa. Ebenezer Dean lives near Dixon, 111. ; Sal- mon Dean lives in Iowa ; William died in Iowa ; Polly died in Wadsworth, in 1824 ; Ruth mar- ried D. Gridley ; died in Wadsworth. Abel Dickinson, a native of Litchfield Coun- ty, Conn. ; came to Wadsworth, about 1821 ; married Julia Moody ; he was a man of good education and talent ; was the first Postmaster at Wadsworth, and at one period was County Surveyor, and took the census of the county in 1840 ; he was noted for practical jokes ; he cleared up the farm, and built the large stone house, now the residence of William Phelps ; he died at Glenhope, Penn., 1868, aged seventy- five. Dr. Nathaniel Eastman, born at Fort Ann, N. Y., June 17, 1792 ; he came to Wadsworth in 1823; where he resided till 1827, when he removed to Seville. Bverhard Families. — Jacob Everhard, born in Northampton, Penn., in 1760 ; he was not in the Revolution, but was for some time a sol- dier in the Indian war that continued after its close ; he came to Wadsworth in 1818, and took up his residence on the farm southwest of the corners, at the coal-banks ; he was a worthy member of the Lutheran Church, as were all his family ; died in November, 1833. Children — Christian, born in Westmoreland County, Penn., in 1783 ; married Magdalena, daughter of Adam Smith ; came to Wadsworth in 1815 ; John, born in 1785 ; married Nancy Harter ; came to Wadsworth in 1815 ; Christina, mar- ried Christopher Rasor ; Mary, married Will- iam Rasor ; Jacob, born in 1793 ; married Elizabeth Smith ; second wife, Mary Harter ; lived just over the line of Chippewa ; was an influential citizen, and did much for the cause of education ; Susan, married John Parshall ; second husband, Jesse Rose ; Elizabeth, un- married ; died in 1873, aged seventy-five ; Jonathan, born February 18, 1801 ; came to -^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 447 Wadsworth in 1818, removed to Sharon in 1831 ; Dr. Nathan S. Everhard is a son of Jacob, at present practicing physician in Wadsworth ; Solomon Everhard, son of John, resides on his father's old farm ; and Adam, son of Christian, residing on his father's old homestead. Hon. William Ejles was born in Kent, Conn- Angust 16, 1783 ; his father was Joshua Eyles, who died when William was quite young. Will- iam married Polly, daughter of Ananias Der- thick ; she was born in Colchester, Conn., Sep- tember 22, 1782. In 1813, he came West with his familj', crossing the Alleghany Mountains by the old Braddock army road, down the Youghiogheny, through Pittsburgh, to Palmyra, Trumbull County, Ohio. Mr. Eyles lived in Palmyra about a year, when he moved to Port- age Township, then Portage, now Summit, County, and bought a farm north of Summit Lake, in what is now Upper Akron. His house was where the Summit House now stands. In January, 1820, he moved to Wadsworth, on the farm on the Akron road, now owned b)' his grand- son, William N. Eyles. His children, who were born in Connecticut, were Mary Ann, born March 19, 1805; Biancy Eveline, born March 30, 1807 ; William Madison, born February 11, 1812 ; Clarinda Elvira was born in Portage July 12, 1815 ; Betsy Maria, born in the same place April 19, 1819 ; Ann Louisa was born in Wadsworth December 3, 1821, and Viola Ma- tilda, July 9, 1824. Mrs. Eyles died September 27, 1849. He was residing in Wadsworth Vil- lage at the time of his death, February 11, 1870. His oldest daughter wasmarried to Orin Loomis ; the second, to Aaron Pardee ; the third, to Al- bert Hinsdale ; the fourth, to Reuben N. Woods ; the fifth, to D. L. Harris ; and the sixth, to James McGalliard. Mr. Eyles was a remarkable man. He inher- ited nothing from his father but a good consti- tution and strong mind. He was a cooper by trade, which he followed, in connection with farming, for many years, during which he accu- mulated considerable property ; his early edu- cation was quite limited, but he made up for this deficiency by an unusual share of natural ability and good sense ; he was much respected by his neighbors and fellow-citizens ; this was manifested by their keeping him in public of- fice, without his seeking ; he was Justice of the Peace in Portage, and afterward in Wadsworth — in all, more than twenty years ; he was County Commissioner one or two terms, was twice elected to the Legislature, and served one term as Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; he was originally a Jeflfersonian Demo- crat, but voted for John Quincy Adams in 1824 and in 1828 ; was afterward a Van Buren man, and, finally, a Republican of the straitest sect ; and he always asserted and believed that he had never changed his politics in the least. In religion, he was by education a Congrega- tionalist, but, while living in Portage Township, he and his wife united with the Baptists. In 1824, Mr. Eyles and his wife assisted in form- ing the first Disciples' Church in Wadsworth, and each continued earnest and consistent members of that church during life. No citizen of Me- dina County ever left a better example to those who should come after him than did Judge Eyles. David Ettinger was born in Lehigh County, Penn., January 8, 1807 ; married Elizabeth Borbst ; second wife, Rachel Mj'ers ; came to Wadsworth in 1832 ; established a manufactory of hats, which he carried on for twenty -five years ; still lives in Wadsworth. The Geissingers. — Henry G-eissinger was born in Northampton County, Penn,, March 5, 1786 ; married Elizabeth Kurtz ; resided sev- eral years in Canada, whence he removed and settled in Wadsworth in 1825 ; he had a family of sixteen children; he died April 28, 1872 ; of his children living in Ohio, David G., born in Wadsworth in October, 1825, married Mary McAlpine and lives in Wadsworth Village ; Jo- J^l JA 448 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. seph, born in 1828, lives on the old homestead ; married Lj'dia Shieb. Hard Families. — Abraham and Lysander Hard came from Vermont in 1816, and settled in Wadsworth in 1818. Abraham was born in Xew Millford, Conn., July 7, 1766 he was a member of the Methodist Church he died August 12, 1844, aged seventy-eight Mrs. Hard died March 11, 1860, aged ninety- one. Lysander Hard, brother of Abraham, was born in Connecticut, date unknown. Children of Abraham Hard — Aurelia, born January 4, 1791 ; married William Phelps ; Sojihia married Abel Johnson of Vermont ; came to Wadsworth a widow, in 1829, where her four children died ; one of them, H. C. Johnson, was editor of the AVooster Republican and Sandusky Register. Cyrus Hard, born in Salis- burj', Vt, July 25, 1795 ; came to Wadsworth before his father, remained a brief time, and located in Middlebury, where he erected the first fulling and carding works in this part of the Western Keserve ; he married Lydia Hart ; his carding and fulling works in Wadsworth are mentioned elsewhere ; he was a prominent citizen, several times elected Justice of the Peace ; died in August, 1865. Rosella, born April 24, 1798 ; married Chauncey Hart. Abraham Hard, born in Berkshire, Vt., Novem- ber 29, 1800 ; married Susan E. Burroughs ; died January 28, 1850. Julia, born April 1, 1806 ; married Caleb Battles ; resides in Akron. Laura, born January 3, 1809 ; married L. Al- len. Lucius Nelson, born in Berkshire May 30, 1812 ; came with his father in 1818 ; mar- ried Rebecca Snyder; is a house joiner and architect ; lives in Wadsworth. Dr. Moses K., born in Wadsworth August 10, 1818 ; edu- cated at Delaware College, Ohio. Children of Cyrus Hard — Dr. Hanson, born in 1821 ; studied with Dr. G. K. Pardee ; grad- uated at Cleveland Medical College ; practiced several years in Ohio, Lidiana, Illinois and Wis- consin. La Fayette, born in 1823 ; attorney at law ; studied with A. Pardee ; resides in Cali- ornia. Dr. E. G. studied with Dr. A. Fisher ; graduated at Cleveland ; practices at Medina. Pulaski C, is noticed under the head of at- torneys of Wadsworth ; married Sarah C. Wittner. Julia E. married Judge Don A. Par- dee, of New Orleans. Caroline, married George K. Pardee, of Akron. Elbert J. Hard, born in 1848 ; married Filla Dehart. The Hilliards. — Gurdon Hilliard came to Wadsworth from Torrington, Conn., in 1 818, and settled in the north part of Wadsworth, where he lived till about 1835, when he removed to Michigan. He married Adeline Derthiek ; sec- ond wife, Mrs. Birge. He is still living in Oliio, upward of eighty j-ears old, for several years past totally blind. Robert Hilliard, brother of Gurdon, born in Stonington, came about 1820. Married Alice K. Briggs ; died in February, 1874. The Hilliard brothers cleared a great quantity of land in the early days of the settlement. Children of Rob- ert Hilliard — Emilj-, born June 15, 1840 ; mar- ried I. H. Chandler. Henry H., born August 21, 1842 ; married Adele G. Pardee. Newton, born June 17, 1844 ; married Agnes Chandler. Jane, born March 28, 1849. Albert Hinsdale, son of Capt. Elisha Hins- dale, a soldier of the Revolution ; was born in Torrington, Conn., July 18, 1809. Married Clarinda Eyles ; moved into the north part of Wadsworth in 1835, where he still resides. His children are — Burke A., born March 31, 1837 ; is President of Hiram College ; Rolden 0., born April 30, 1844 ; now resides in Wadsworth. Louisa, born ; Wilbert B. was born May 23, 1851 ; now resides in Wadsworth. The Loomis Family. — Joseph Loomis, fifth generation from Joseph Loomis, a wool-draper from Braintree, England, who came to Windsor, Conn., in 1639 ; was born in Torrington, Conn., January 19, 1767. Married Clymena Taylor ; came to AA'adsworth in 1816 ; he was the first *^ av* uu D y HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 449 Justice of the Peace elected after the township was organized; died August 15, 1835. Orin Loomis, born in Torrington, Conn., No- vember 16, 1791 ; came to Wadsworth in 1815, where he resided till about 1840, when he moved to Mentor, Ohio, and in 1866 removed to Old- town, 111. He married Mary Ann Byles. He was closel}- identified with the early history of the township ; his hunting exploits have been mentioned elsewhere. Sherman Loomis, born in Torrington, Conn., January 23, 1792 ; came in 1816. Married Julia M. Mills ; second wife, Lodemia Sackett ; he was one of the leading men in the com- munity in the early history of the town ; was Justice of the Peace for several years, and Township Clerk and Trustee ; was universally respected ; he was one of the original mem- bers of the Congregational Church, and one of the first teachers in the schools of Wadsworth. He died February 13, 1851. Children of Orin Loomis — Oscar, born July 24, 1825 ; married A. H. Randall ; Julia, mar- ried Luke Smith ; Joseph P., died in the army ; Edwin, Albert, Orin, and Frank went West. Children of Sherman Loomis — Erastus Gay- lord Loomis, born September 6, 1824 ; married Harriet Eliza Pardee ; he has always resided in Wadsworth, and been an enterprising business man. No one has done more to build up the town and develop the resources of prosperity than he ; he was 'five years a partner with John Pardee in mercantile business, and several years with his brother, E. H. Loomis. He is now engaged in coal mining in the Silver Creek Mining Company. Harvey J. Loomis, born February 18, 1828. Married Sarah Ann Reasoner ; he was one of the early Free State men of Kansas ; has been several times a member of the State Legisla- ture. Edgar H. Loomis, born March 22, 1830. Married Mary A. Bryan ; second wife, Margaret J. Mills. Died August 19, 1871. Julia Loomis, born December 5, 1836. Mar- ried Joseph Schlabach ; second husband, A. P. Steele. Mrs. Lodemia Loomis still lives with her daughter in Wadsworth. Capt. George Lyman was born in Torringtoni Conn., August 1, 1790. Married Ophelia Cook ; came to Wadsworth in 1817 ; was the first Township Clerk, and one of the earliest school teachers. In 1821, he went to Canton, where he was engaged in teaching three years. He returned to Wadsworth and engaged in the ■manufacture of fanning-mills, which had an extensive sale. For a time, also, he engaged in mercantile business, and, in company with Cyrus Curtis, built a saw-mill on Holmes' Brook, which did considerable business. He also carried on a cabinet-shop several j'ears, and afterward was engaged for several years in the manufacture of friction matches. Capt. Lyman was the first commander of the military company after it was organized for the town- ship. By his energy and enterprise, he did much toward the business prosperity of the place in its early history. He was one of the original members of the Congregational Church, and has continued an active, earnest member for fiftj'-five years. He has been Deacon of the church, and Sabbath school Superintendent more than thirtj' years. Mrs. Lyman died February, 1869, aged seventy -five. Children of Capt. Lyman. — Emilj' Charlotte, born December 15, 1812 ; was for several years a teacher in Wadsworth ; married Dr. John Brown; died February 23, 1838. Dr. C. N. Lyman, born in Wadsworth, May 14, 1819. His professional history is given in that of the physicians of Wadsworth ; married Caroline E. Beach. Has practiced as a phj'sician in Wads- worth since 1843, except three years he spent in Medina. Dr. Lyman is extensively known and consulted as a physician among the first of his profession in Northern Ohio. The Miller Families. — Jacob Miller, a native of Pennsylvania, was born October 14, 1785. Vji ^ vy ^ D \ Al± U2L^ 450 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. Married Sarah Luttman. Second wife, Mrs. Editha Warner ; came to Wadsworth in 1816 ; was a man of influence in tlie town for many years, and a leading member of tlie Lutheran Church ; died June 6, 1859. Children — George, born December 14, 1807 ; married Eebecca Baughman ; was engaged several years in mer- cantile business, in companj' with his brother, John Miller ; was Justice of the Peace ; now resides near Aliron. David, born January 23, 1810 ; married Martha Mills ; was killed by the fall of a burning building in Akron, at- which he was working as a member of a fire company, September 23, 1849. Catharine, born April 13, 1812; married Reuben Baughman. John, born December 1, 1816 ; was a merchant in Wadsworth ; died August 8, 1841. Harriet, born March 3, 1820. Mary, born July 28, 1823. Married Alexander Beck. Aaron, born Decem- ber 3, 1825, died on the waj^ to California, June 20, 1850. Susan, born December 4, 1834. Married Henry Parmelee ; lives in Wadsworth. The Mills Family. — Augustus Mills, was born in Norfolk, Conn., August 10, 1772, Married Martha Pettibone ; came from Marcellus, N. Y., to Wadsworth in 1818. He opened a large farm and built the house where his grandson, Frank Mills, now lives. Mr. and Mrs. Mills were among the original members of the Con- gregational Church. He died August 16, 1849, aged seventy-five. Mrs. Mills died April 6, 1859, aged seventy-four. Children — Sylva, born February 16, 1793; was one of the earli- est teachers in Wadsworth ; married Lemuel North; died June 27, 1840. Col. Harry A. Mills, born in Norfolk, Conn., February 13, 1795 ; came in 1816 ; married Harriet Ruggles ; second wife, Mrs. Rebecca Grevil. In 1844, four of his family were swept off by the epi- demic erysipelas, within eleven days. Mrs. Mills died April 11, 1844, aged forty-four. He died December 4, 1867, aged seventy-three. Julia A. Mills, born October 22, 1796 ; mar- ried Sherman Loomis ; died May 27, 1820. Philecta E., born April 7, 1799 ; married Daniel Warner; second husband, Jacob Miller. Mrs. Janet Christie, of Akron, is her only surviving child. Luman P. Mills, born in Norfolk, Conn., Februarj' 9, 1801 ; married Sylva Pease ; sec- ond wife, Mary Hawkins ; he was one of the leading citizens of Wadsworth; died October 11, 1872. Philo P. Mills, born in Norfolk, Conn., July 8, 1805; married Amoret Bates. William Mills, born in Norfolk October 22, 1807 ; married Mrs. Lydia Hurlbutt ; resides in Richfield. Martha Mills, born May 25, 1810 ; married David Miller; now lives in Toledo. Nancy Mills, born January 25, 1813; married Lorenzo D. Russell ; lives in Princeton, 111. Cyrus Curtis Mills, born August 2, 1818; married Harriet Hurlbutt ; second wife, Mary Ann Harter; died March 7, 1874. John L. Mills, died May 7, 1855, aged thirty-four years. Children of Harry A. Mills — Julia M., mar- ried Charles R. Sprague. Azor R., born Febru- ary 11, 1829 ; lives in Iowa. Capt. Henry A., born March 12, 1838; married Matilda C. Leacock ; served in the war of the rebellion ; lives on the old homestead. Children of Luman P. Mills — Charles P.; Lurilla, born November 7, 1 830 ; married W. P. Boyer ; lives in Wadsworth. Margaret, born September 24, 1833 ; married Edgar H. Loomis ; resides in Wadsworth. William D. and Ira H., reside near Marshalltown, Iowa. Luman G. re- sides in Wadsworth. Frank Mills, son of Philo P., was born May 14, 1836 ; married Julia Grotz ; resides in Wadsworth. William McGalliard came from Kentucky to Middlebury. Married Ann Newcomb ; came to Wadsworth in 1831 ; was a tailor; died in Illinois. James McGalliard, son of William, born March 19, 1821; married Viola Eyles; died February 27, 1855. John McGalliard, father of William, died in Wadsworth in 1834, aged seventy-three. The Newcomb Family. — Rev. Obadiah New- comb, born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, 1774. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 451 Married Elinor Bishop ; came to Wadsworth in 1820; purchased a farm in the north part of the township. The first Baptist Church was organized under his ministry. Afterward the Disciples' Church ; he was an able preacher ; his services were sought on funeral occasions, more than those of all other ministers, for several j-ears ; died October 2, 1847, aged seventy- three. Jlrs. Newcomb died October 11, 1849, aged seventj'-nine. Children — Hannah, born in Nova Scotia September 12, 1799 ; married Richard Clark ; lives in Wadsworth. Ann, born October 8, 1801 ; married William Mc- Galliard ; lives in Illinois. James, born March 11, 1804; married Harriet Bennett; lives in Hiram. Margaret, born June 2, 1806 ; mar- ried Julius Sumner, of Middlebury. Susan, born September 19. 1808 ; married Augustus Pardee. Statira, born March 31, 1811 ; mar- ried Henry Clapp ; lives in Mentor. Matilda, born December 24, 1813; married W. M. Byles ; died November 22, 1847. The Pardee Families. — The Pardee brothers were, in the early days of Wadsworth, among the leading men in the town. There were orig- inally ten brothers, sons of Bbenezer and Ann Pardee, of Norfolk, Conn., who moved to Skan- eateles, N. Y.; seven of them lived in Wads- worth. Sheldon Pardee was born in Norfolk April 21, 1788. Married Sally Weisner ; was engaged in mercantile business in Elbridge and in Ged- des ; was several years employed as salt in- spector at Syracuse, N. Y. ; he moved to Wads- worth, and died May 6, 1 834 ; his family removed to Michigan. Judge Allen Pardee was born in Norfolk February 7, 1790 ; removed to Wadsworth in 1818. Married Phebe Foster, who died in 1844; second wife was Mrs. Louisa (Bates) Wilcox. In 1826, he and his brother John set up the first store in Wadsworth. In 1830, the Pardees built a flouring-mill (now Yoder's), which he carried on about thirty years ; he also built one in Copley, and a carding and cloth-dressing works. J udge Pardee was fourteen years Asso- ciate Judge of the county, and fifteen years Justice of the Peace ; from his earliest resi- dence he has been one of the most active busi- ness men, and a leading man in the community; he still enjoys a vigorous old age, in his ninety- first year. John Pardee was born in Norfolk February 20, 1796. Married Eunice Chamberlain ; came from Marcellus, N. Y., to Wadsworth, in 1824 ; was in mercantile business upward of thirty years, under the firms of A. & J. Pardee, A., J. & E. Pardee, J. Pardee, and Pardee & Loomis ; he was a very capable business man ; held the office of Justice of the Peace and Postmaster for a long time. In 1859, he removed to Par- deeville. Wis., where he spent the remainder of his life ; Mrs. Pardee died about 1868 ; he died June 24, 1873. Ebenezer Pardee was born in Skaneateles, N. Y., August 8, 1802. Married Almira Brace ; he began business in Cleveland about 1825 ; was in mercantile business in Canton, and in banking in Wooster ; came to Wadsworth in 1834, and went into business with his brothers ; he afterward owned and lived upon a large farm east of Western Star, now owned by Dr. Hill ; removed to Rochester, Penn., where Mrs. Pardee died, when he returned to Wadsworth, and died September 5, 1865. Augustus Pardee was born in Skaneateles, August, 1804. Married Susan Newcomb ; set up business as a saddler ; came to Wadsworth in 1832, and carried on the same business about thirty years. Dr. George K. Pardee was born September 23, 1806. But few men accomplished more in a short life than he. He was a man of mark in the county ; studied medicine in his native town (Skaneateles, N. Y.) with Dr. Evelyn Porter ; was admitted to practice as physician at the early age of twenty years ; came to Wadsworth in 1826, where his professional life ;k* 1^ 452 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. was spent ; his wife was Susan Thomas, who still survives him ; he left no children ; died October 3, 1849. Aaron Pardee was born in Skaneateles, N. Y., October 8, 1808 ; came with his brother John in 1825 ; married Eveline Eyles, who died Sep- tember 13, 1873. Children of Allen Pardee — William N., born July 30, 1812 ; was a lawyer, and held the office of Clerk of Medina County ; married Livonia E. Clark ; second wife, Caroline Par- dee ; died in Michigan. Eugene was born Oc- tober 5, 1814 ; attorney at law ; married Eleanor Taylor ; resided in Wooster thirty -five j^ears, in professional business. Lauraette was born March 11, 1817 ; married Rev. J. H. Jones. Ann S. was born February 24, 1818 ; married Homer King ; resides in Wadsworth. Norman C. was born May 9, 1830 ; lives in Wadsworth. Mary E. was born April 13, 1832 ; married Eev. J. F. Rowe ; resides in Akron. Children of John Pardee — Caroline, born 1816 ; married William N. Pardee ; died in Michigan, 1847. John S.. born 1818; married Emeline Benedict ; was several years a mer- chant in Milwaukee, Wis.; located a village in Wisconsin called Pardeeville ; was appointed United States Consul at San Juan, Nicaragua, and died there September, 1854. Emily, born February 22, 1825 ; married Asahel Hanchet. Minerva, born February, 1825 ; married Joseph Utley. Charles, born September 29, 1829 ; Vir- ginia married Yates Ashley ; Jane married G. W. Vilas. Children of Ebenezer Pardee — Harriet E., born in Wadsworth, Julj' 23, 1834 ; married E. G. Loomis. Richard H., born in Wadsworth, January 13, 1836 ; married Nellie Ketchum ; resides at Waterloo, Iowa. Catharine, born in Wadsworth, May 13, 1839 ; married Dr. John Hill, of Western Star. Mary E., born at Woos- ter, February 16, 1841 ; married Lucian Moses, of Skaneateles, N. Y. James K., born at Woos- ter February 26,1845; married Maria Lukins ; lives in Montana. Joseph W., born at Woos- ter May 12, 1845 ; died in California. Ephraim Q., born April 2, 1847 ; married Jennie Hall ; lives in Detroit. Elizabeth J., born January 4, 1849 ; married James H. Reed, Marion Ohio. Children of Aaron Pardee — William E., born June 6, 1829 ; married Helen S. Dickey ; was an attorney, residing in Cleveland ; died April 6, 1866. Henry Clay, born April 27, 1831 ; married Catharine Houck ; attorne}' at law and Auditor of Medina Count}'. Almira S., born January 17, 1835 ; married John G. Houston, Don A., born March 29, 1837 ; married Julia E. Hard. George K., born March 1, 1839; married Caroline C. Hard ; attorney; resides in Akron. Frances, born December 25, 1844; married P. V Wilkins. Mrs. Wilkins died. Ella N., born September 5, 1850 ; married Dr. Wallace A. Briggs. Sutliff E., born September 14, 1852 ; married Olivia Donat. Simcox Families. — Three brothers b}' that name were among the early pioneers — Michael, Benjamin and William. Michael removed to Harrisville ; Benjamin lived ujjward of thirty years in Wadsworth ; died in Harrisville. Chil- dren — Jerusha, married John Brown ; stiU lives in Wadsworth. Peregrine Pickle lives in Harrisville ; Betsj^ married John D. Haynes ; moved West. William Simcox, born in Penn- sylvania, in 1792 ; came in 1816 ; married Es- ther Robinson ; second wife, Margaret Wheeler ; died February 6, 1855. Children — Resin B., married Rebecca Heath ; Nancy, born 1820 ; married Joseph Bolich. Talbert, born August 31,1822; married Hannah Baughman ; resides in Wadsworth. Spillman Family. — James Spillman came from Ireland ; married Nancj' O'Brien ; was one of the earliest settlers in Wadsworth. Mr. and Mrs. Spillman were among the earliest members of the Methodist Church. Children — John married Abigail Ward ; Charles, Mitchell, Henry and Robert ; none of them remained in liL HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 453 this yicinity. Dr. Henry Spillman, fourth son, rose to considerable distinction as a physician ; married Laura Ann Brown ; died at Medina. Harvey B. Spillman, son of Buel Spillman, a native of Connecticut, was for several years a merchant in Wadsworth ; married Lucy Henrj'. Snell Family. — Isaac Snell, born in Khode Island, 1786 ; married Abigail Chapman ; re- sided several years in Westfield ; came to Wadsworth in 1829 ; was Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner ; died April 17, 1851. Children — Job, born 1807 ; married Sarah Belden ; died in California. Isaac M., born Februarj' 16, 1811 ; married Nancy A. Hill- iard ; died April 24, 1873. Martin, born 1813 ; married Eliza Davis ; second wife, Mrs. Laura Ann (Brown) Spillman. Mary, died 1835, aged eighteen ; Chauncey married Ann Scott ; lives in California. James S., died March 25, 1849, aged twenty-two. Tyler Familj'. — Benjamin Tyler, born in Uxbridge, Mass., February 22, 1796 ; came with his brothers, Parker and Solomon, and first set- tled in Norton ; moved to Wadsworth in 1825'; married Mrs. Olive (Brown) Bartlett, who died August 21, 1874. He was for fifty-seven years a member of the Methodist Church; died in 1875. Children — Joseph, born 1822 ; married Eliza Ann Williams ; lives in Wadsworth. Sol- omon, born 1824 ; Eosina, married Amos Hart. The Turner Family. — Alexander Turner was born in New York March 29, 1797. Married Betsy French ; came to Wadsworth in 1825 ; Mrs. Turner died November 7, 1871, aged sixty- nine. Children — ^Alonzo, born August 4, 1822, lives in Idaho ; Maria L., born February 22, 1826, married Charles B. Curtis ; Jasper, born April 14, 1838, lives in Missouri ; J. Q. A. Tur- ner, born April 1, 1841, married Mary Etta Traver. The Warner Family. — Salmon Warner was born in Westmoreland, N. Y., April 26, 1764. Married Lucina Field ; moved from Fairfield, Vt., to Wadsworth, in 1815. He died Decem- ber 5, 1839 ; Mrs. Warner died September 28, 1829, aged fifty-nine. Children of Salmon Warner — Harriet, born in Vermont about 1790, was unmarried ; died in Iowa, 1870 ; Lamira, married Oliver Dur- ham ; Reuben F., born in Fairfield, Vt., August 26, 1794 ; came with his father in 1815. He was four times married — first wife, Hannah Bartholomew ; second, Sarah Reese ; third, Mrs. Chloe (Bartholomew) G-ritHn ; fourth, Susan Reese. He died September 28, 1838. Lucina married Alvin Agard ; Salmon Warner, Jr., joined the Mormons and went with them to Salt Lake, where he died in 1871. Capt. Daniel Warner, born in Vermont, 1800 ; married Phi- lecta E. Mills ; died August 30, 1839. Orpha, born 1804, died 1826 ; Horatio, born November 1, 1806 ; moved to Iowa ; was for some time Sheriff of Clayton County, and held other offices of trust. Dr. Amos Warner, born 1808 ; studied with Dr. A. Fisher, of Western Star, and practiced in company with him at that place ; married !Mrs. Esther (Carter) Griswold ; removed to Garnavillo, Iowa ; was an able physician and highly respected. He was killed by being thrown from a carriage. Children of Reuben F. Warner — Elmer A., born 1822 ; married Antoinette Crittenden ; lives in Iowa. Bennett B., born 1824 ; married Eliza Cogshall ; resides in Massillon, Ohio. The Wall Family. — Christopher Wall was born in Germany, November 27, 1779 ; died in Wads- worth October 24, 1853. Children — John, born December 24, 1804 ; married Mary W. Baugh- man ; still lives in Wadsworth. Mary, born 1806 ; married Jonathan Everhard. Children of John Wall — Paul, born August 6, 1830 ; married Isabella Euthaker ; resides in Wadsworth. Daniel, born November 3, 1835 ; married Abigail Geiger ; resides in Wadsworth. Hon. Philo Welton was born in Waterbury, Conn,, March 7, 1782. Married Sarah Blakes- lee ; was a Colonel in the war of 1812 ; was one of the earliest settlers of Montville ; after- :iL 454 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ward moved to Wadsworth, and owned the farm late the residence of Orlando Beach. He was for many years one of the leading men of the county. Was twice Eepresentative in the Legislature, and served one term as Associate Judge. He died September, 19, 1852. Mrs. Welton died 1852, aged sixty-four. Children — Sally, born 1806 ; married Caleb Chase, second husband, Nathaniel Bell ; now lives in Iowa. Dr. William S. H. Welton, married Caroline Crocker ; practiced medicine several j'ears in this county ; now lives in Iowa. Susan, born September 15, 1815 ; married Orlando Beach. The Weeks Families. — Three brothers of that name came about 1818 from Vermont. They were men of great strength and vigor ; were carpenters. John Moody Weeks married Mar- tha Dennett. Leavitt Weeks, born about 1794 ; married Celestia Taylor, of Norton ; worked as a carpenter many years in company with his brother, Peter Weeks ; the greater part of the barns and houses of the earlier years were erected by the Weeks brothers. He died in 1870. His son, George Weeks, lives in Akron. CHAPTER XI.* GUILFORD TOWNSHIP — TOPOGRAPHY AND BOUNDARY— ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS — IT.S SETTLE- MENT AND ORGANIZATION — THE ANNALS OF A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD — f»RIGIN OF SEVILLE— GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE- CHURCH AND SCHOOL INTERESTS. ALL persons possessing ordinary intelli- gence, as they arrive at the age of un- derstanding, become students of history, not to the same extent, nor in the same manner, but usually in keeping with their general mental culture, by such means as are at their com- mand, and always for the purpose of gaining a knowledge of past events, and with the expect- ation of being benefited thereby. The pro- fessor and the student, the aristocrat and the man of toil, the statesman and his most hum- ble constituent, alike pore over the pages of the history of their own and other countries, and find therein much that is beneficial to them in their manj' and varied callings. While the unlettered savage of the forest and desert, by listening to the discourses of those older in J'ears than himself, becomes learned in the legends that have been handed down from one generation to another, and is influenced largely in his acts through life by his knowledge thus *Cnntriliuted by J. T. GiaveB. gained ; as all men are more interested in the community immediatelj' surrounding their owii homes, and to which their acquaintance extends, than to anj' other portion of the world, so a his- tory is of a general or local interest to the ex- tent that it treats of subjects which are of a general or local nature. A history of the world is of general interest to the inhabitants of the entire globe, while the historj' of a State is more particularly beneficial to the people of that particular State, and so of the history of a township or county. The immediate descend- ants of those enterprising fathers and mothers who carved our present homes out of the un- broken wilderness, naturally have more sj^mpa- thy for their sufferings, privations and discour- agements, than would others. So those de- scendants take more pride in contemplating the many deeds of heroism, instances of self-denial and final triumphs of those ancestors, during their earlj' experiences in the woods, than would those who were in no waj' connected ^f^ _i) 4^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 455 with them. As hallowed associations seem to cluster more and more around the memory of the scenes of our j'outhful days, as time grad- ual! j' removes us from them, so " distance lends enchantment to the view " of that, to us, im- portant epoch of the past, the time of the first settlement of our county and township, as those daj-s and the events that then transpired, seem to recede from us. Being admonished that sources now existing, from which to gather ma- terial for a history of that period, are rapidly slipping away beyond our reach, and as it re- quires a vivid imagination, even when assisted by the narration as it falls from the lips of the pioneer, to set aside the picture that is now presented to the eye of the beholder, as he views this beautiful Chippewa Valley and the hills adjacent to it, and draw one of them, as they appeared when clothed with nature's adorn- ments, and during the process of, and shortly after their removal, the necessity for a written history covering that period, becomes apparent, as it will tend to refresh the recollections of those who have helped to make it, and be of use to others who will live when the tongue of the last narrator who can tell the story from personal recollection, shall have been hushed in death for ages. As manj' of the events herein treated of are not matters of record, some dates have been arrived at bj' calculation and from recollection, and that there are some inaccuracies, is quite probable. Yet it will be well for those who are disposed to criticise, to bear in mind the fact that they may also be mistaken, and on that account be charitable. The territory now comprising the township of Gruilford was, prior to its being organized as such, known as No. 1, in Kange 14, in the West- ern Reserve. It was purchased, originally, bj' four individ- uals ; Mr. Roger Newberry, of Windham, Conn., owned the southeast quarter , Justin Eley, of Springfield, Mass., the southwest quarter ; Enoch Perkins, of Hartford, Conn., the north- east quarter ; and Elijah White, of Hudson, Conn., northwest quarter. It is situated in the south central portion of Medina County, and bounded on the east by Wadsworth, west bj- Westfield, north by Montville, and south by Mil- ton, in Wayne County. The land throughout al- most the entire township is of a good quality for farming purposes, and produces well all of the products adapted to this climate. The Chip- pewa Bottoms extend for some distance each side of the creek of the same name, and along these flats are to be found many of the most valuable farms in Northern Ohio. The soil is strong, durable, and especially adapted to the raising of corn, of which valuable grain thou- sands of bushels are shipped j'early, besides much that is taken bj- teams to the central and northern portions of the county. Potatoes are extensively cultivated, and, for the last decade, a great amount of tobacco has been raised in this valley, the sandy ridges that are to be found in almost everj' field having been found to produce a quality of this article that com- pares very favorably with the famous seed-leaf of Connecticut. The high lands on either side of the valley are considered rather superior to the low lands for the production of wheat and oats, as less straw is produced, on which ac- count there is less danger of injury to the grow- ing crop, resulting from storms of wind and rain. The character of the land along the Hub- bard Creek Valley is similar to that just de- scribed. In the northern and central portions of the township, claj^ predominates to some ex- tent, and the farmers use more fertilizing sub- stances, and exercise more care in cropping. The extreme eastern portion descends into the River Styx Valley, and there the land is of the best quality for nearly all purposes. The en- tire township was originally heavily timbered, all the varieties natural to this latitude being found' in abundance, and of fine proportions. This necessarily made the clearing of land very 1^1 'SiL 456 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. laborious, and j'et the early settlers seem to have undertaken the task cheerfullj', and with the determination to overcome all obstacles. The first white man who came to No. 1, with the object in view of there making for himself a future home, was Henry Hosmer. He was born on the 22d of May, 1793, in Massa- chusetts, and, in his youth, had often listened to stories of frontier life, as told at his father's fireside by his uncle, who had removed with his family to Central New York. As that section of country was at that time almost an unbroken wilderness, this uncle, who occasionally re- turned East, of course had much to tell of hard- ships that he and his family had experienced, and instances of personal adventure through which he had passed. Those narratives flred the young Henry's heart with an admiration for frontier life to such an extent that he then and there formed the resolution that, " as soon as he was old enough, he would go West," and, during the man}' long years- that he remained with his father thereafter, laboring upon the old farm, he seems not to have changed his mind, for, upon his twentj'-third birthdaj', it being the 22d day of Maj', 1816, he shoul- dered his knapsack, and, in companj' with one William TraH a young man about the same age as himself, commenced the journey on foot to this then far-off and'almost unknown region. On arriving at Buffalo, which place was then only a small village and the end of all stage lines, thej' found that there were but four sail- ing vessels upon the lake, and that there was but little regularitj' to their arrival and depart- ure. There was one small vessel in the harbor, owned in Cleveland and commanded bj- a Capt. Graves, of Newburg, that place being larger than Cleveland at that time. The vessel was laden, and only waiting for a favorable breeze to waft her on her way homeward. The j'oung men waited two days in order to take passage on board her to Cleveland, at the end of which time, finding the wind still unfavorable, and her speedy departure very improbable, they again swung their knapsacks upon their backs and started on foot for Ohio. The country through which they were now to pass was al- most a wilderness, except that occupied by the Cattaraugus Indians, they having so far ap- proached civilization as to cultivate the soil somewhat. The Ohio line was crossed at last, and the first night in this State passed at Mes- opotamia. On leaving there the next morning, they found that their course lay through a dense forest, and, as the daj' passed and no clearing was reached, they continued their walk, and, as night came on, it became very dark, and soon they commenced to hear what were to them strange noises from the surrounding woods, in all directions. Supposing them to be the cry of some species of the owl peculiar to this country, the travelers plodded on their way, and at last arrived at a house at midnight, where thej' obtained lodging. Here they learned that the strange noises that had attracted their attention in the woods were the howls of wolves, and that persons were often attacked by them upon that road ; that, shortly before, a man was passing through there on horseback, and, being attacked bj' them, was obliged to keep them off with an umbrella, it being his only weapon, but that he finallj- escaped, with his pantaloons nearlj' torn off, and with his legs bad- ly scratched. As the young men sat there in that cabin and listened to that woodsman's tales, they began to think that they were, truly, in a new country, and that they had already had one " hair-breadth escape.'' Having reached Trum- bull County, they found but few roads open in any direction, and those that were open had but little in their appearance or condition to en- title them to the name. While traveling through Newton, Trail mounted a prostrate log, in order thus to get over a low, wet piece of ground, and, when he had proceeded about half the length of the log, he slipped oS, and came down in the thicket of tall weeds, astride of a fawn. 's ^ ^r^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 457 What then ensued is thus described by Mr. Hosmer : •' They were both verj' much fright- ened. The deer jumped and bleatsd most pit- eously, while Trail scrambled to regain the log, screaming at the top of his voice. For a short time, it was a most laughable scene. The fawn, finally, being more considerate than his human trespasser, went away a few feet, where it qui- etly lay down, while Trail was so badlj' fright- ened that he was also obliged to lie down. While he was thus resting, I caught the fawn and brought it to him. It was very beautiful, and appeared to have recovered entirely from its fright. After amusing ourselves with it for a few minutes, we started on our vfny. and were surprised to see the fawn follow us like a dog, nor could we drive it back. I finally carried it back, placed it behind the log, and, by running, finally got away from it.'' The settlements through that region of country were from five to thirty miles apart, and, owing to the bad roads, traveling was a very slow and tedious business, and must have fulljr tested the pluck of those 3'oung men, who had never had any experience of the kind be- fore. Notwithstanding all this, they pressed on, and, after a continuous walk of eighteen days, arrived at Warren, where they remained a few days, when they again started westward and came to Tallmadge, in Portage Countj-. Thence to Canton, Stark County, thence westward again, through Wooster and Ashland, to Mans- field, where there was simplj' one log house. While on the way through Ashland Countj-, a little incident occurred, which, in Mr. Hos- mer's own language, was as follows : " While passing through a small prairie, about sunrise, we saw some object apjjroaching us, but just what it was we could not determine, owing to the height of the vegetation. Making a halt, we soon saw a large bear rise up on his hind- legs, and, folded in his fore-legs, he was carry- ing a hog that he had evidently just killed. We raised a loud shout, whereupon he dropped his ; plunder and fled. The weight of the hog was certainly more than one hundred pounds." On the same day, another, as follows : " When near where New London now stands, we heard a hog squeal, not far from the trail in which we were traveling, and near a*abin. We frightened away the bear, and a young man at the cabin, hear- ing our shouts, came out with his gun and shot it." Still continuing^in a northerly direction, they arrived at the place where Norwalk now stands, which place they passed, and stopped for the night at a house not far distant there- from. This was on the 3d daj^ of July, and they there learned that the inhabitants of Ridge- ville and the surrounding country had made preparations to celebrate the Fourth. Here was an opportunitj' afforded for a slight departure from the monotony of continuously tramping through the woods, and, starting earljr the next morning, they determined, if possible, to reach Ridgeville in time to participate in the dance that was to take place in the evening. In this, however, they failed entirely, as they did not reach the town until near time for breakfast on the following morning. The danc- ing party was still there, as the homes of many were several miles away, and traveling through the woods at night not at all pleasant, if possi- ble. After breakfast, when the party began making preparations to depart, the young " down-easters " found themselves, more fully than ever before, facing some of the amusing realities of new-country life, as they beheld the various and novel modes of conveyance. Some of the ladies rode on horseback, while their escorts went on foot. In several instances, a lady and gentleman rode together upon one horse, on saddle and pillion. There were sev- eral wagons, some of which were drawn by horses and others by oxen. The last load to depart was one upon a sled drawn by two yoke of oxen. Large bundles of straw placed upon the sled, aflTorded seats for the ladies, while the gentlemen all went on foot. This load was 'V -^ 458 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. from Columbia, seven miles distant. This was, in every sense of the vrord, a new-countrj' part}-. No superfluous articles of dress adorned the ladies, and no rough language or unbecom- ing conduct was indulged in by the gentlemen. Manjf of them had been reared and educated in the East, and found it just as easy to be ladies and gentlemen in the woods, as in the midst of civilization in Massachusetts and Con- necticut. On leaving Kidgeville, Messrs. Hos- mer and Trail proceeded to Cleveland, where they found the little vessel for which they had waited in Buffalo, and found that it had arrived but a few days in advance of them. This was long before the first steamboat had been launched upon the waters of Lake Erie. At Cleveland, those two young men, who had jour- neyed so many miles together through the woods, separated. Mr. Hosmer returned to Tallmadge, where he remained a few days, when he started through the woods and alone, for No. 1, or what is now Guilford, where he arrived on the 13th day of July. Having arrived upon the gi-ounds now occupied by the village of Seville, he stopped upon the north side of Hubbard Creek, a few rods from where the new iron bridge now is, and, as he says, '• Standing there in the midst of the primeval forest, which seemed to be rejoicing in the glory of midsum- mer, and gazing up and down the two streams whose waters went bubbling and rippling on their way, with none save the denizens of the forest to hear, and listening to the songs of wild birds, with which the forest seemed to be flooded, I thought I had indeed found the para- dise for which I had longed, and of which I had dreamed." Crossing to the south side of the Hubbard, he turned westward to the Chippewa, which he found too deep to be forded. He then walked down this stream a few rods, when he came to a large elm-tree that was lying en- tirely across it. Upon this he passed over, and ascended the little hill upon the west side, and there, amid the fine timber that covered it, he soon selected the site upon which his present residence now stands, and where he has resided for more than threescore years. Having thus found the spot upon which, as he says, "he felt that he would be content to live and die,'' he returned to Tallmadge, where he remained until fall, visiting this place twice more during the summer. In October, he started on foot for New England, where he arrived in due time, when he made an estimate of the distance he had traveled, and found that he had taken a nice little walk of 2,000 miles. The following incident, as related by him, illustrates very fairly' the average ideas of Eastern people re- specting life in the "Far West." He says; " When mj' mother gave me the parting hand and blessing, as I was leaving home for the first time, she also charged me to be very care- ful not to enter any house where the people had fever and ague, as I might take it. Con- trarj', however, to my mother's injunction, as we were traveling through the woods one hot, sultry day toward the last of June, we stopped at a house for the purpose of resting, and, upon entering, to our astonishment, beheld a man sitting, or rather crouching, over a blazing fire, with a large blanket thrown over him, his whole frame shivering, his teeth chattering, and his general appearance indicating that he was very cold, while we were suffering with the intense heat. We found, upon inquiry, that this man had fever and ague. I then recollected my mother's cautioning charge, but it was too late. I was exposed to the fever find ague. It was the first case of the kind we had ever seen." During the few months that he remained at home, there was, doubtless, much talk in the family and neighborhood about this new Ohio country, of its natural beauty, fine soil, excel- lent water, abundance of choice timber, etc., the result of which was the forming of a little band of young people who concluded to leave the comforts of civilization, and the " dear ones at home" and "follow the star of empire." >rr AGE 88 YEARS. 4f ^ s l^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 461 Accordingly, on the last daj^ of December, 1816, Henry Hosmer, Chester Hosmer and Mary Y. Hosmer, brothers and sister, Shubael Porter and his sister, Abigail, Moses Noble and Lyman !Munson, started with a two-horse team for Ohio. It being in midwinter, traveling was very tedious, as a matter of course, and yet, under all of the discouraging circum- stances attending their enterprise, those brave boys and girls severed the ties that bound them to their friends and the scenes and associations of their earlier years and faced the darkness and dangers of the wilderness toward which they were traveling. After having been upon the road about a month, they arrived at Wadsworth, within what is now Medina Countj^, and stopped with Salmon Warner, who had settled therein 1815. On the -Ith of February, 1817, leaving the girls at Wadsworth, the 3^0Ling men started to come to- this place, but encamped upon the center road near the Hubbard Creek. On the following morning, thej- came down the valley to where Seville now is. An Indian village, consisting of about a dozen lodges, oc- cupied the south bank of the Hubbard, and one of these lodges they purchased, giving therefor two canisters of gunpowder. This lodge they fitted up for temporary use, and at once com- menced building a log cabin on the creek bank, a few rods east of the present railroad track. As their axes were about the only tools they possessed, the building of their cabin progressed slowly, but, being finally completed, on the last day of February Chester Hosmer and Shubael Porter started for Wadsworth with the teams to bring over the girls and the household goods. On the morning of the 1st daj' of March, they accordingly started for their cabin, and, as they were crossing the River Styx, the weather hav- ing become much warmer, the ice broke, precip- itating the horses into the water. Having suc- ceeded in getting them out, and not knowing just how to proceed. Porter started for the cabin for assistance, while Hosmer remained to guard the team and goods. The girls, be- coming impatient, started on foot for the cabin, thinking it but a short distance, while they had, in fact, about six miles to walk. On being informed by Porter of the sad state of affairs at the Styx, Henry Hosmer and Ly- man Munson hurried away to Chester's assist- ance, and, when near the present center of Guil- ford, met the girls, tired, in tears and with their clothes loaded with snow and mud. After cheer- ing them on their way, the young men pressed on to the scene of the disaster, and, on arriving there, proceeded to fell a tree across the stream, upon which thej' carried their goods across. One end of a long rope was then tied around the neck of a horse, and the other end carried across the stream, when, by a united pull and push, thej' succeeded in getting the animal into the water and over upon the other side. The same process was repeated upon the other horse, the sled dragged through, the goods reloaded and another start made for the cabin, where they arrived at 10 o'clock in the evening, the girls having arrived a few hours in advance of them, weary and discouraged. Such was the arrival of those young people at the wilderness home of which they had talked and speculated in their New England homes. Not only was their arrival of a discouraging nature, for they soon found themselves in some- thing of a dilemma, as the breaking-up of the ice had destroyed all means of egress from their settlement except on foot, and their provision chest needed replenishing, as they had brought but a small supply with them, intending, as soon as they were settled, to send to Canton for a fresh stock. Shubael Porter, having learned that some hunters had killed a bear some distance up Hubbard Creek, went up the valley, found the carcass, and carried a portion of it home, thus affording temporary relief. Henry Hosmer and Moses Noble then went to Wadswortli and there learned that one David ft Xj ^1 AiL. 463 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. Blanker was erecting a mill some distance south- west of that place, and that some other families had gone on still farther west. They started for the new mill, which was on the land now owned by Mr. Hershey, and, on arriving there, learned that one William Doyle had gone into Milton, and that he had bridged the Styx on a line due west from that point. Following on, they soon reached the bridge and crossed over, but as the only visible trail led in a southerly direction, they started, without guide or com- pass, through the dense forest for home. Tak- ing a northerly course and marking the trees as they proceeded, they at last reached the pres- ent cemetery hill east of Seville, and were then soon at home. They having thus marked the trees, all hands turned out next day and cleared a road through to Doyle's bridge, after which thej' felt that they once more had communica- tion with the outside world. This road was very much used for several years, as all new settlers came in that way to this place, West- fleld, etc., and all supplies were hauled over it. As soon as it was opened, Moses Noble started for Canton with the team for a supply of pro- visions. To make this trip, required about four days. As he was returning, he arrived at the Doyle bridge just as night came on, and, the darkness soon becoming so intense that he was unable to keep the road, he turned the horses loose, while he, wrapping himself in his blanket, crept under the wagon and composed himself for a night's rest. On the following morning, having found and harnessed the horses, which had strayed away some little distance, he took a new start and was soon at home, where he arrived in time for breakfast, and was greeted by the entire colony, the great joy evidently being occasioned both by his safe return and the sight of his precious load. At that time there were several Indian vil- lages in this vicinity, besides the one already referred to — there being one at Chippewa Lake, one on the land now owned by J. A. McCoy, one on the Little Chippewa and one on the Killbuck. These villages each consisted of about a dozen lodges of Wyandots and Dela- wares. The Indians were all very friendly to the new settlers, and furnished them with all ■ the meat they desired at a very low price. j Though visiting the cabins quite often, they were never in any way uncivil. They would not approach a house until they had apprised the occupants of their presence, when they would strike their tomahawks into trees and advance unarmed, thus indicating their friend- ship. Henry and Chester Hosmer commenced chopping near where the business portion of i Seville now stands, their clearings extending I across the Hubbard and west to the Chippewa. Moses Noble commenced near where the lower j mill now stands, and Shubael Porter a short ] distance therefrom in a southeasterly direction. As spring opened, the sun's warm rays fell un- obstructedlj' upon many a spot that had never I been reached by them before. An opening had I been made in the forest that indicated the pres- I ence of the white man and the near approach of industry and civilization. The Indians stood, lazily looking on, sad at heart, no doubt, from seeing such havoc being made of the dear old woods where they had lived, fished and hunted, perhaps from their youth, and the wild animals, as they galloped over trails well known to them, stood upon the edge of the clearing, amazed at what they could not under- stand, and then, taking fright at the sound of the axes and falling timber, fled away to the depths of the still undisturbed wilderness. The fires were kindled in the brush and log-heaps, and fine oaks, poplars and black walnuts, that would now be of great value, were burned sim- ply to get them out of the waj- and off of the land. The rubbish was cleared away, and of those fine trees, among whose branches the winds had played but a few weeks before, there remained nothing but the stumps. Mau}^ of these were very large, and so thickly did they w - If^ HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 463 stand, that, under different circumstances, it would have seemed but of little use to caltivate the soil between them, but here the plow, har- row and hoe were introduced at once. Early in Jlay, William H. Bell and Samuel Owen came to the settlement from the East. Mr. Owen remained but a few days, when he re- turned East. Shubael Porter did the first plowing, near the Chippewa Creek, south of the road leading to the lower mill. About fifteen acres in all were cleared and planted, and, when the warm days of June came on, the first corn, oats, potatoes, etc., that had ever shown signs of life in the Chippewa Valley, modestly peeped forth from the virgin soil. As soon as the planting was done, Henry Hosmer, Moses No- ble and Mr. Bell started for their old homes in the East, Noble and Bell going for their fami- lies, and Hosmer for his father, William Hos- mer, and his family. After spending the sum- mer in the East, thej^ started upon the return trip on the 22d day of the following September, and arrived at the new home in Ohio, after having been upon the road fortj'-flve days. Chester Hosmer erected a large log house north of Hubbard Creek, on the site of A. G. Bar- nard's present residence, and thither the elder Hosmer removed with his family. In October, 1816, two brothers, David and John Wilson, came from Bristol, Trumbull County, and located in the northeastern corner of G-uilford, they having there found a place where considerable timber had blown down, and upon the roots of which were large quantities of soil which was to .them a sure indication of great fertility. About the same time, Willkim Moore commenced a clearing about one mile east of the Chippewa, on what is now known as the Jesse Smith place, now owned by Capt. Bates. Mr. Moore afterward settled in AVest- field, where he lived until his death, which oc- curred in 1865. The Wilsons purchased land where they first settled, paying therefor $4 per acre. They commenced work immediately, and with their axes, their only tools, they erected a log cabin, ten feet long by six feet wide. They then cleared and logged about two acres of land, and hunted with the Indians for amusement. Having killed a great amount of game, thej' salted down quite a quantity of the meat in a trough made of a basswood log, and hung up the balance around the sides and roof of the cabin to dry. As winter, was approaching and they were illy prepared to endure cold weather, the}' fastened up their cabin and returned to Bristol to await the opening of spring. During the succeeding winter, the wolves and bears were very troublesome, the former killing the sheep, and the latter the hogs and calves. Early in the spring of 1818, as Henrj- Hosmer went to the door of the cabin one morning, just after breakfast, he observed a deer in Hubbard Creek, not more than thirty feet distant from him. He says : " I had no gun, but had a verj' good dog. Upon seeing me, the deer immedi- ately started away in a northerlj' direction, fol- lowed by the dog. Arriving at the brush fence that laj' on the north side of the clearing, about where Washington street now is, I saw that the deer had stopped, and soon discovered, at a little distance, a large wolf that was evidently waiting for its approach. I endeavored to set the dog upon the wolf, but he evidently had too much discretion to obejr. The deer then started east, and the wolf followed. I also started on in the same direction shortly afterward, and, after having gone up the creek about fifty rods, I found them at a short distance from me, and saw that the wolf had caught the deer, killed it, and was then engaged in sucking its blood. I thereupon frightened the wolf awaj', and secured the deer for myself The wolf had evidently been in pursuit of the deer for some time, and it had gone into the water to avoid its foe." The Wilson brothers returned from Trumbull County as spring opened, and brought with them some provisions. Their flour thej' left with Mrs. Warner, of Wadsworth, who baked ^1 l^ 464 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. their bread for them, they going for it once a week. But they were sorely disappointed when they found that in their absence the wild- cats had broljen into their cabin and devoured all of their stock of meat except such pieces as were hung up bej'ond their reach. The woods were full of game, however, and bee-trees were numerous, and, as they were good marksmen, thejf soon had a supply of fresh meat and honey. In May, they were cutting "shakes" with which to cover their house, and at noon, as they were going out to their work after dinner, in passing up through a rocky glen. David sud- denly discovered a huge rattlesnake just in front of him. Being unused to such reptiles, he paused and called to his brother John " to come over to him, as there was a big snake there." John started upon a run, but before he got there, David discovered another and yet another of the reptiles lying about in the sun. Says Mr Wilson ; " John came running down the steep descent, and, before he was aware of it, he landed with both feet square upon one of those squirm- ers, and; with a profane expletive, he bounded into the air and sped onward, down the hillside, the snake flopping and squirming over and over and around John's feet, he giving it sev- eral unintentional kicks as they went. They finallj' landed at the bottom of the hill, both so thoroughljr frightened that neither seemed dis- posed to hurt the other. In fact, we were both badlj' scared; but, after recovering from our fright, we killed, at that time, over thirty snakes, and, returning each day at about noon, when the reptiles were out sunning themselves, we killed, in all, over eighty rattlesnakes." They continued their clearing, and, during the summer, built a new house, which was 22x18 feet. They soon formed the acquaintance of the young Eastern people who had located in the western part of the township, and often vis- ited them. Philo French came in and settled near the Wilsons. Timothy Phelps made an opening just north of William Moore, and Will- iam Walcott, where Nathaniel Grray now resides. Medina County was created, and, at the first meeting of the Commissioners, a petition was presented to them, asking for the opening of a road from Medina to the south line of the county. The petition was granted, and Chester Hosmer, William Walcott and James Cahow contracted to chop all trees along the line of the road that did not exceed six inches in diam- eter, clear away all fallen timber, build a bridge across each stream, and make more than one hundred rods of causeway, for $100, the amount appropriated by the Commissioners for that pur- pose. This thej' accomplished, building log bridges over both the Chippewa and Hubbard Creeks, near, if not in the same places, where the iron bridges now are. At that time, Henry and Chester Hosmer were the owners of a large sow that had a fine litter of pigs. They kept almost a constant watch upon her, and were careful not to allow her to wander far from the cabin. But, in their absence one daj', she went down the creek about forty rods and made a nest for herself and pigs. Here she soon had an unwelcome visitor. A large bear presented himself, killed the sow, carried her across the creek upon a large oak tree that had turned out of the bank bj' the roots, ascended the root, which was fullj' six feet high and about twelve feet from the bank, got the sow over and carried her about thirty rods, where he ate as much as he wished and then went away. It seems that the Wilson brothers found their new-made friends verj^ interesting. Such, we may judge, at least, of David, as he informed his brother John, one daj', that " he had con- cluded to relieve him of the irksome duties of housekeeping." " Accordingly," says Mr. Wil- son, "on the 18th day of December, 1818, Miss Abigail Porter and I were married. We were married at the house of Lyman Munson, who lived at Seville at that time. As Mrs. Munson, who was a sister of the prospective bride, was sick at the time, Abigail did the honors as ^ |£v HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 465 hostess herself. Brunswick, Medina, Wads- worth, Mogadore and Seville were fairly repre- sented by wedding guests. After dinner had been served and the house put in order, the bride made her toilet, almost unaided. Her little dressing-room was partitioned off from the rest of the house by quilts. She wore a steel-colored silk dress, her hair in flnger-puffs, and she looked charming.'' Esquire Warner, of Wadsworth, was the officiating officer, and, on the day following the wedding, Mr. Wilson took his wife home with him, they both riding upon one horse. The}' were the first couple of white people that were ever married in G-uilford Town- ship. Although Mr. Wilson had scarcely any- thing in the world, except some new land, his as and a horse, yet this brave girl united her destinies with his, well knowing that if ever they had a comfortable home of their own, b}' their united toil they must make it. And this they did, though many were their discouragements, and in that home thej- lived happily together for almost half a century. They raised a fam- ily of intelligent children, several of the sons being at the present time distinguished profes- sional men. Mrs. Wilson died in 18fi6. Mr. Wilson still lives, though very feeble, being al- most ninety years of age. At one time, as Mrs. Wilson was alone in the house with her child, she heard the hogs coming at full speed from the woods, and, supposing that they were pur- sued, she seized a hoe and met them at a gap in the fence that surrounded the house. A large bear was close at their heels, and, as he came to the fence, she raised the hoe and struck upon the rails as hard as she could, and, at the same instant, screamed at the top of her voice. This halted Bruin, who stood and looked at her for a short time, when he turned and went away. Such a spirit of unflinching bravery as she there exhibited equals that of the Spartan mothers of old. When contemplating such events, the question is often asked, " What would the girls of to-day do were they to be placed in similar circumstances ? " and the question is usually answered by a significant smile. But he who searches the pages of histor}' for recorded in- stances of the shrinking of American women from anj' duty, either in early or more recent times, even under the most perilous circum- stances, will surely search in vain. In 1819, Dr. John Smith settled near Wil- son's Corners, and was for some time the onlj- physician in the township. William H. Bell, who had been here in 1817, now came with his family, and settled just north of Seville, where Moses Shaw now lives. John and James Crawford settled farther north, where their de- scendants now reside. Samuel Owen, also re- turned, and Jonas Stiles settled west of Seville. A son was born to William Walcott. This child was named William, and lived to be five years old, when it died from the effects of a cancer in the eye. This was the first white child born in the township. Guilford Township was or- ganized this year and named, though reference has been made to it as such before, for con- venience. At the first township election, John Wilson, William H. Bell and Lyman Munson were elected Trustees, and Jonas Styles, Town- ship Clerk. The following are the names of the voters at that election: John Smith, Will- iam H. Bell, Timothy Phelps, Samuel Owen, John Crawford, William Walcott, Jonas Stiles and John Wilson. Another wedding was cel- ebrated, the contracting parties being Miss Jerusha Hosmer and Cjtus Chapman. This couple were married in Chester Hosmer's log- house, north of Hubbard Creek. Thej' settled in Harrisville. Henry Hosmer built a two- story, hewed-log house on the brink of the hill west of Chippewa Creek. This was by odds the most imposing edifice in the township. He also erected a small frame barn on the flats south of Seville, which was the first frame building erected in the township. The incon- venience and danger experienced for the want of a resident physician is well illustrated by :^ ^4^ 466 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. the following anecdote told by Henry Hosmer. lie says: "Being the owner of the only horse in the little settlement, I always had the privi- lege of going for the doctor, when he was re- quired, and this seemed invariably to occur in the night. In the fall of 1819, at about 11 o'clock at night, I was aroused from my slum- bers by a loud rap at the door, and was in- formed that the doctor was wanted, and that I must make all possible haste. I proceeded to arrange a torch, mounted my horse aud started for Dr. Smith. The wolves soon began to howl around me, and my torch was rather dim, which made them still bolder. When I had gone some two miles, I was obliged to renew my torch, and, while hunting around for a hickory tree from which to obtain bark, the light of my tirst torch went out, leaving me in almost total darkness. The wolves at once be- came perfectly silent, but I could tell that the}' were tramping in a circle around me, as I could see the glare of their ej-eballs and hear the snapping of their teeth. Having found some bark, I raised a light and remounted. All was still for a moment, when thej' sent forth a tre- mendous howl, as if disappointed at being cheated out of their anticipated meat of hu- man and horse flesh. My horse was terribly frightened, and the same sensation came over me to an alarming extent. I made the trip in safetj', however, and returned with the doctor at 3 o'clock in the morning." In 1820, the following additions were made to the inhabitants alreadj' here; Jacob Mun- son, Jotham Curtis. John Bell, Nathan Scran- ton and Jonathan Nj-e. An election for a Justice of the Peace was held on the 20th of 31ay, at which time it was found," upon count- ing the ballots, that John Smith had received six votes, Timothj- Phelps two votes, and John Crawford one vote, whereupon Smith was de- clared elected. Henry Hosmer and Lucy Haj'S were married at the residence of Dr. Hiram Williams, in Avon. Lorain County. Mr. Hos- mer brought his bride home on horseback, after the new-countrj' style, but, on their return here, quite in the fashion of nowadays, thej' took a wedding trip East, where they remained through the winter. Jonas Stiles and Maria Owen were also married. A State road was laid out from Wooster to Cleveland, over nearly the same ground occupied by the county road previously mentioned. The State made liberal appropriations for improving it, and private individuals contributed freely for the same purpose. The ne^v-comers in 1821 were James Bell, Robert Wilson, Lewis Wilson, Moses Shaw, H. N. Pool, Jacob Van Yleet and Chauncey Barker. Moses Shaw is still living. Chauncej' Barker opened the first dry goods store, in a log building on the hill west of the Chippewa, and upon the site now occupied by jMichael Deven's dwelling. The store was an addition upon the west end of the building, the main part being occupied by Barker as a dwelling. The enterprise soon proved a fail- ure, as the inhabitants at that time manu- factured their own clothes from wool and flax, made their sugar from the fine maple groves that surrounded them, and, as money was very scarce and produce very cheap, trade was so light that the venturesome merchant bade adieu to the woods and returned East. At Wilson's Corners, John Wilson erected a grist-mill, his motive power for which was a yoke of oxen, placed upon a large horizontal wheel some fif- teen feet in diameter, and inclined so as to con- stitute a tread-power. This was the first mill of anj' kind erected in the township, and with it he ground the grists for a large community for several years. A schoolhouse was also erected this j'ear, upon the west side of the road, and near where the flax-mill now stands. It was simply a log cabin, with a chimnej' of clay and sticks at one end, a clapboard roof, the boards of which were held on by weight- poles; puncheon furniture and floor, two small greased-paper windows, and a clapboard door - » 4^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 467 that swung on huge wooden hinges. The first summer school was taught b}- Miss Adeline Derthiek, and the first winter term by Mr. John Bell. Jacob and James A. Bell, Josiah, William and James Crawford, Levi Nye and Amer and Jacob Moore were among the pupils who improved the means there furnished them for obtaining an education. These boj'S all grew to manhood and occupied farms in Guil- ford Township. James A. Bell, for two con- secutive terms, represented Medina County in the State Legislature, and was for the same length of time State Senator from the district composed of Richland, Ashland, Lorain and Medina Counties. He now resides with his daughter at Anamosa, Iowa. Jacob Bell ad- vanced from the rude benches of the pioneer schoolhouse to college at Hudson, where he received a liberal education. He engaged in teaching and farming for several years, and, at one time, was interested in a carriage manu- factory. He now resides in Missouri. A de- bating society was organized, and therein many questions were handled in a manner that would do credit to the young men of the present day. A little " hunt " was engaged in this year, also, as the following anecdote, related by Hen- ry Hosmer, will show. He says : " In the fall of 1821, Mr. S. Barrett went out in a northerly direction from our little settlement, in quest of his cows ; when about half a mile out, his dogs treed two bears, a female and her cub. He well knew that, should he leave the tree, the bears would come down and escape ; he there- fore commenced hallooing at the top of his voice, which soon brought a Mr. Harnej^ to his assistance. One then remained at the tree while the other went for help. A. Forbes, C. Hosmer and mj'self went willingly to the scene of action. When we arrived at the tree, it had grown so dark that we were unable to see the game. We then built large fires around the tree in hopes that we would be able to shoot them by fire-light. The bears, however, were too shrewd for that, as they kept constantly secreting themselves among the thick branches ; so we were compelled to wait until daylight, when Forbes soon shot them off, and, upon looking a little farther into the tree-top, a large raccoon was discovered, and he was also brought down bj- Forbes. Guided by the re- port of our gun, a party of coon-hunters now came to us, who, like ourselves, had been out all night. They had three coons and a large wild-cat, so, altogether, we formed a triumphal procession and came into town with two bears, four coons and a wild-cat, a pretty good haul for one night." There also occurred, this year, a sad death, that caused a gloom to rest upon the -entire settlement. Mr. Elijah Porter started in the month of November, from the residence of his son, Shubael Porter, who lived a short distance south of Seville, to go to Medina on business connected with his pension, which he was then receiving from the United States Government, as a discharged Revolutionary soldier. He went on foot to Wilson's Corners, where he obtained a horse from his son-in-law, David Wilson, and with it started through the woods for Medina. Late at night the horse returned without a rider, and some blood was upon the stirrup. Mr. Wilson and the neigh- bors at once set out in search of him, with lan- terns, and finally found him in what was called the "four miles woods," near the center of Montville, sitting at the foot of a beech-tree, so chilled that he could scarcely speak. He had taken off one of his boots, and it was nearly filled with blood. A deep wound was upon his leg, which had the appearance of having been caused by a snag or root. They placed him upon a horse to take him to Medina ; but, when they had proceeded but a short distance, he waved his hand as if for them to stop, and im- mediately expired. With heavy hearts, they then returned home. He was buried near Da- vid Wilson's residence, and was the first white i) \, thL 468 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. man buried in Guilford Township. A militia company was formed during the same year, it requiring all male persons of the required age, in Harrisville, Westfield and Guilford Townships, to make up the requisite number of offleers and privates. In 1822, the following new settlers came into Guilford : David Clute, Oliver Houghton, Ambrose Houghton, James Harkness, Judah Dodge, Asahel Parmenter, Miles McCabe and Drs. John and Chapin Har- ris. The one last named remained here but a short time, when he went to Baltimore. Dr. John Harris settled in Seville, and was the second practicing ph5'sician in the township. Miles McCabe purchased land in the eastern part of the township. Ambrose Houghton settled south of Seville, on the State road. He died in December, 1880, at the age of nine- ty-one years. The wolves being more trouble- some this year ihan usual, the State offered a bounty of $5 for each one killed. The county offered about the same, and individuals enough in addition, so that in all a wolf's scalp was worth about $12. Mr. Alexander Forbes, an old hunter and trapper, commenced at once and soon captured about twenty. He used a large steel trap, to which he fastened a piece of wood about as large as a wolf could move. He dare not fasten the trap permanently, as the wolf, when caught, would proceed to amputate the confined foot and escape. He trapped one, at last, so large and strong that he deliberately walked away with both trap and log. There was a light snow upon the ground at the time, and they tracked him about two miles east, to the summit of Chestnut Ridge ; thence norther- ly nearly to the north line of Montville ; thence east half a mile, thence south nearly to the south line of Gu.ilford, where they came up with him ; and, notwithstanding they had sev- eral dogs and guns, they did not succeed in killing him until he became entangled in the top of a fallen tree, as he would fight off the dogs and keep out of range of the guns. This was pronounced to be much the largest wolf that had ever been seen b}' any of the party. During the same year, John Coolman, who lived at that time about four miles southeast of Seville, on what is now known as the McDer- mott farm, prepared to build a large double log barn. When he had his timber upon the ground, he invited all hands from Milton, Wadsworth, Guilford and Westfield, as it re- quired all the men then in those townships to accomplish the task before them. Mr. Cool- man offered a gallon of whisky to those who should be first upon the grounds in the morn- ing. Judge Henry Hosmer, in relating the an- ecdote, says : " We left home at about 1 o'clock in the morning with our axes and torch. Ar- riving at Coolman's at about 2 o'clock, we woke him up, got the promised whisky, took a drink all around, and lay down by the fire for a little sleep. Just before daylight, Jacob Knupp and others arrived from Milton, and called upon Coolman for the whisky. They were sorely disappointed when he informed them that the Yankees had beaten them by several hours. So, to.mend matters, we again took a drink all around, and commenced work immediately after breakfast. Coolman selected Marshall, of West- field, and Knupp, of Milton, for captains, and said he meant to determine who were the best men, the Dutch or the Yankees. Each party took an " end," as we termed it, and long before night we had the barn up and all left for home without the slightest accident or difl&culty. I never saw men work as they did upon that oc- casion. It was a continued strife throughout the entire day, and the best of feeling pre- vailed." People were often lost in the woods, even the most experienced hunters occasionally losing their way, and being obliged to remain out in the woods overnight. Upon one occasion, JMr. William H. Bell, upon a stormy evening, went into the woods as usual to find his cows. Not finding them readily, it became very dark, ^: HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 469 and, becoming confused, he was unable to find his wa}^ home, and so he sat down by the side of a tree and remained there until morning. At another time, Mrs. Deborah Scranton, mother of Luther Scranton, was lost in the woods, and was found at about midnight, by the neighbors who were searching for her. As it was a cold, stormy night in November, she would probably have perished with cold before morning. When found, she had her dress pulled over her head to keep her ears warm, was sitting quietly upon a log, and, although the wolves were howling around her, she said " she had no fear, except that perhaps she might not be found." Wild hogs were numerous in the woods, and persons often went out with kettles and other fixtures for dressing them, and killed as many as they desired for their own use, and, oftentimes, some for market. In 1823, ApoUos Dean, Noah Hatch, William Wilson and J. A. Johnson came in and settled, and, from that period, set- tlers came in rapidly, and all new lands were soon taken up. During this year, Henry Hos- mer put up and burned a brick-kiln on the flats south of Seville. These were the first bricks manufactured in the township. Henry Hosmer was elected Justice of the Peace, and the log schoolhouse, previously described, was burned down, and with it were consumed nearly all of the school-books in the western portion of the township. During the same summer another, very similar in material and architectural de- sign, was erected upon the south side of Hub- bard Creek, on the ground now occupied by J. K. Caughey's dry goods store. Miss Emeline Forbes, who afterward became Mrs. Chester Hosmer, taught the first term of summer school in the new house, and Mr. Nathaniel Bell, the succeeding winter term. David Clute commenced keeping " tavern " in a log building that stood upon the hill west of Chippewa Creek, and a few rods east of the one where Barker had previously opened a store. This was the first hotel, and the only one of which the people of Guilford could boast for the succeeding four years. Previous to this, the inhabitants had all kept hotel, so far that strangers and travelers were never turned away, but always received with cordiality, and treated in the most hospitable manner possible under existing circumstances. Abel Lindsley settled at the center of Guilford, and John Cannon on the Center road, upon the farm now owned by Hon. J. C. Johnson ; Nehemiah Abbott, at Dor- sey's Corners, on lands now owned by L. W. Strong, Jr., and Henry Earle built a log house upon the farm now owned and occupied by Rev. Varnum Noyes. In 1824, several new settlers came into the southeast quarter, among whom were John Halliwell, George Coolman, Valentine Riggle- man, Samuel Wideman and Charles Hecka- thorne. David Halliwell and Rufus Thayer settled in the southwest quarter. Thomas Hayes erected a water-wheel and turning-lathe on Fall Creek where it crosses the north-and- south center road, near the residence of Jacob Smith. The dense forest surrounded him on all sides ; and, from the fine trees that then grew upon those hills, he selected the timber from which he turned wooden bowls, churns and truncheons, the latter being a kind of wooden bottles. These articles were all very useful to the inhabitants and met with a quick sale, as crockery was rather scarce and costlj'. A schoolhouse was built at Wilson's Corners, being the third one in the township. Maj. Aaron Leland came in from the State of New York, and settled south of Seville. The cemetery east of Seville was surveyed, and conveyed by deed to the township for burial purposes. It is known at present as " Mound Hill Cemetery." The grounds ascend gradually from the road, north, to the mound from which the cemetery takes its name. When or by whom this mound was built, of course is not known ; but there it is, and a most beautiful spot, from the summit of which a fine view of the surround- *^ ■^^ ^kn 470 HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. ing countr3' and of the village below may be had. For man}- years it was only an ordinary country graveyard, with nothing about it to at- tract attention except its natural beauty'. A few j'ears since, however, the authorities of Seville added several acres to it bj' purchase, had the grounds regularly laid out into lots, walks and drives, the drives graded and the whole inclosed by a hedge, with appropriate gates. Two rows of evergreen hedge surrounded the mound, which adds verj' much to its ap- pearance. The citizens and others, whose friends are buried there, take great pains in grading and decorating their lots, and many fine and costlj' monuments have been erected there. Mrs. Harriet Wilson, wife of Robert Wilson, died on the 9th daj- of June, 1824, and was the first person buried there, and the first adult who died in the Seville settlement. Mrs. Margaret Wilson, wife of John Wilson, at Wilson's Cor- ners, died during the same year, and was buried near David Wilson's house, she being the sec- ond person interred there. In 1825, a mail route was established between New Haven, in Huron County, and New Por- tage, in Portage Countj'. The route lay through Seville, and William Hosmer was the first Post- master, having his office in Chester's log house, north of Hubbard Creek. Postage, at that time, was paid when the mail matter was deliv- ered, and the rates were as follows ; For five hundred miles or over, the postage on a letter was 25 cents ; for three hundred miles, 18 cents ; and for any distance less than three hundred miles, 10 cents. The date of the first mail ar- rival of which there is a record, is January 1, 1826, when there was a letter for Henry Hos- mer, and two newspapers. The latter were un- doubtedlj' addressed to some person or per- sons, but for whom, the record does not state. A few of the succeeding entries in Mr. Hos- mer's record are as follows : January 8, Sunday — Continues cloudj^ and misty ; snow gone ; wind south ; mail arrived ; brought one letter to Nathaniel Bell, and three newspapers. Sun- day, January 1 5 — Wind southwest ; stormy, with snow ; mail arrived ; brought two newspapers ; sent away one letter to JIanchester, Hart- ford Co., Conn. Monday, 18th — Cold, south- west wind ; flying clouds ; Mr. Clute lost his watch Thursday. Monday, 23d — Chilly, south- west wind ; cloudy, sour weather ; a little snow. Sunday, February 19 — Wind east ; clear and pleasant ; Elder Freeman preaches ; mail ar- rived ; three letters, one newspaper. 22d, Wednesday — Henry's calf lost ; Hills caught a beaver. 23d — Southwest wind, hazy , Hills' wife sold the beaver skin to a peddler. Friday, June 9 — Bought of Mr. G-illett five and one- half yards of calico, at 41 cents per yard. Sunday, 11th — Mail arrived ; one letter and sixteen newspapers. Sunday, Julj' 26 — Mail arrived ; one letter and twelve newspapers ; Shubael Porter's fence is on fire ; sent $3 to pay for the Religious Enquirer^ to Hartford^ Conn. Such entries as these appear, from the records, to have been made daily for several years. During the year 1826, David D. Dowd, E. W. Harris, Joseph Ross and Dr. L. Stewart came in from the East and settled here. As the wa- ter-power at Hayes' turning-lathe on Fall Creek seemed to invite some greater enterprise, Henry Hosmer and Nathaniel Bell purchased the site and erected a saw-mill thereon. This mill was owned and operated by different parties until 1847, when it was torn down. A frame school- house stood for man}r years on the hill just north of this mill, and was removed at about the same time. There is nothing left there now that would indicate the fact that either had ever been there. Some time previous to this a Methodist society had been organized at Wil- son's Corners, with David Wilson as Class-lea- der. During this year another was organized at Guilford Center, with Reuben Case as Class- leader. Circuit-riders preached there once in two weeks. William H. Bell was elected Jus- *71^ ;t* Jyv HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 471 tice of the Peace, and Shubael Porter Constable. Mr. John Cook, who had but just come from the East, died and was buried in the new ceme- tery, being the first man that was buried there. In 1S;27, Henrj- Hosmer built a large frame barn. This was the most marked improvement in the matter of buildings that had ever been made in the settlement. The people apparentlj' became more patriotic this season than usual, and determined to celebrate the 4th of Jul}-. Accordinglj-, when the day arrived, the inhabit- ants of the town and vicinity gathered together in a grove, and Elder Eufus Freeman delivered an oration. Mr. David Clute prepared the dinner for the occasion, and around his rude table, upon that anniversary of the daj' of which all Americans are proud, this jolly company of hard}- pioneers gathered to partake of such delicacies as their host had at his command. The Elder Freeman referred to was the father of Elder Rufus Freeman, who recently lived in Westfleld, and grandfather of Joseph Freeman. The " old Elder," as he is often termed, was a Revolutionary soldier. Prominent among the new-comers of this season was Dr. Nathaniel Eastman, who came from Wadsworth, where he had been staying for some time. On the 16th day of December of the same j'ear, he erected a sign and opened a hotel in the large log house upon the west bank of the Chippewa, erected by Henry Hosmer in 1819. Here he carried on, unitedly, the two callings of landlord and practicing physician until 1830, when he erected a hewed-log house of his own upon the north side of the road, nearly- opposite from where he then was. This house he occupied for four years, when he erected the large frame building just east from it upon the west bank of the creek. Here he continued to offer refreshment and rest to the weai-y traveler for several years, when he took charge of the American House, and, after hold- ing forth there for a short time as " mine host," he turned his whole attention to the practice of medicine. He was one of the most active of the early settlers, and was something of an invent- ive genius. During these early years, he con- structed a steam wagon, somewhat similar in appearance to the present portable engines. Though much skill was displaj'ed in its con- struction, it was found upon its completion that the proper application of the motive power had not been made, and failure crowned his first effort to make it move its own weight. Several yoke of oxen were then attached to it, and it was hauled out upon the hill west of Chippewa Creek, where the little park now is, and there left. And for several j'ears it stood there an object of wonderment to travelers and a play- thing for boys. The doctor was a regularly educated physician, was a surgeon in connection with Commodore Perry's fleet, and at the noted battle upon Lake Erie on the 10th of September, 1813. He was quite a public speaker, and fre- quently' lectured upon the subjects of temper- ance and medicine. When the civil war broke out in 1861, he often entertained closely listen- ing crowds with army narrations, and descrip- tions of soldier life, those being subjects in which all were interested in those days. He died August 15, 1861. Both of the houses erected by him on the west side of the creek are still standing, and are occupied as dwelling-houses. A post office was established at River Styx, with David Wilson as Postmaster. In 1828, a mail route was established from Cleveland to Columbus, over which the mail was carried on horseback for a short time, when Jarvis, Pike & Co., of Columbus, estab- lished a line of stages over the entire route. The first stage-coach arrived in Seville from Columbus on the 5th day of April. The snow was about four inches deep upon the ground at the time, and, as the roads were quite bad, the new "enterprise" came leisurely into town, where it was hailed by shouts from a large crowd of enthusiastic observers. James Craw- ford, Jr., soon became a driver of one of these ^tv ^ ' i\ 473 HISTORY OF MEDIIfA COUNTY. coaches, and, as he was driving from Medina to Seville, near where Fritz's steam saw-mill now is, in June of this year, he was overtaken in the midst of the woods by a heavy shower of wind and rain which blew down a large tree near him, killing three of his horses. Six pas- sengers who were in the coach, the driver and one horse, escaped injury. James Elliott erected a frame house a short distance west of Judge Hosmer's. In this he opened a dry goods store ; but, failing in a short time, en- gaged in shoe-making. This house is still standing just west of A. P. Beach's residence. Seville Village was laid out on land belonging to Henry Hosmer, and surveyed and platted bj' Nathaniel Bell, who was County Surveyor at that time. It was named Seville after a city in Spain. Although reference has previously been made to it in these pages by that name, it was known simply as the " Burgh " before this time. In 1829, Smith & Owen opened a drj- goods store in a small building on the south side of the road just west of the creek where J. C. Boice's residence now stands. As their business soon necessitated their having more room, this building was moved up on to the hill, where it now forms a part of A. P. Beach's residence, and a large one was erected on the site from which it was removed by the same parties. This building was occupied as a dry goods store by different parties until about 1855, when it was removed to the east side of the creek by Mr. John Harris, who sold goods in it until about 1861. Louis Leon, now of Cleveland, then occupied it for a year or two, when it was taken by J. C. Hamsher. The firm of Hamsher, Hay & Co., was then formed, the old building rebuilt and made into a very nice room. Kuder Brothers bought out this firm in 1868. G-eorge D. McCoy now owns and occupies it for a grocerj- store. A frame school- house was built on a lot donated for the pur- pose by Chester Hosmer, it being a part of the present vacant space west of the upper mill. Shortlj' after this, Henry Earle and Sylvanus Thayer started a blacksmith-shop in the old log schoolhouse on the corner, and there the in- habitants had their horses shod, their chains, hoes, shovels, tongs, plows, harrows, etc., made and repaii-ed for several years. A daily line of stages was now running, and frequently extras, as this route had become the thoroughfare to the South and West, and there was a vast amount of travel over the road for those days. In 1830, Henry Hosmer, Chester Hosmer and Aaron Leland erected a saw-mill upon the north side of Hubbard Creek, in the village of Seville. A dam was l)uilt about half a mile up the stream, which flowed the water back toward the center road ; from this pond, the water was conducted bj' a race to the mill below. Near the mill was quite a large basin, which, when filled with water and frozen over, formed a very fine place for skating, and, at almost any time when the ice was sufficiently strong, a score or more of boys and girls, and oftentimes many grown people, were to be seen there, with skates and sleds, enjoying the sport. At that time, Hubbard Creek afforded sufficient water with which to run the mills upon it about nine months in each year. During the fall of this year, the stage broke down, in coming from Medina to Seville, when near the Cook farm, and the driver was obliged to leave it and take the mail-bags upon the horses. Soon after he had gone, Henry Hosmer and his wife, and Nathaniel, Margaret and Mar- tha Bell, who had been to Medina in a lumber- wagon and were returning, found the stage standing where it had been left, and, for sport, took off the broken wheel, put one of their wagon-wheels on in its place, and transferred their horses from the wagon to the stage. The ladies then got inside the coach, and the men mounted the box. Hosmer did the driving, and Bell blew the horn. As they drove into town, the continued tooting roused the people, who, having seen the driver pass through on horse- ;^ '>t. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 473 back, knew not what was coming. The}' ac- cordingly turned out en masse, many without hats, headed by Dr. Eastman, who kept the stage tavern, and, when the point of the joke was discovered, and the strange occurrence un- derstood, a merrj' time ensued. The old Methodist meeting-house that used to stand west of Seville, where Mrs Mary Cook's house now stands, was erected during this year. In 1831, John Martin, an Englishman, just over from England, came in and settled north of Seville. This was an event of some impor- tance at that time, as he was the first and only foreigner then in the settlement. The present Kebman House was built this year by Lovell Redway. It was erected simply for a dwelling-house, and was used as such un- til about the year 1860, when it was purchased by I. S. Towers, who rebuilt it and opened it up as a hotel. In 1832, David D. Dowd built the house up- on the north side of Hubbard Creek, where George Porter now lives. Henry Hosmer erected the large frame house which he still occupies. J. S. Fisk built a large store build- ing just west of the present little park, and south of John Hayes' present residence. It was the intention of the citizens at that time to have the business portion of the village up- on that hill, and this building was occupied as a store until the flats upon the other side of the creek became the business center, when it was abandoned, for that purpose, and was re- moved many years after, by James Sickner, to the south side of the road, and rebuilt for a dwelling-house. It is now owned and occupied by Jacob Scomp. During this year, J. M. Cole started a rake factory about two miles southwest from Wilson's Corners. In 1833, Parsons and Butler erected the large building, a part of which is now occupied by John Hayes, as a 'dwelling-house, also west of the park, and started a cabinet-shop therein. This business also becoming unprofitable in that lo- cality, the building was made over and has since been used as a dwelling. During this year, also, E. W. Harris built the large frame house north of Hubbard Creek, where Dr. Piatt E. Beach now lives, and Michael Devin opened a dry goods store in a log building that stood where his present residence now stands. The main pare of the American House was built by James Elder and Elisha Young. The additions upon the east side of it were made by D. D. Dowd, a.bout the year 1851. It is now owned and occupied as a hotel by Chris- tian Roth. No important improvements were made in Seville, during the year 1834, except those made by Dr. Eastman, and previouslj' noticed. At Wilson's Corners, Slutter & Over- holt built the frame building which is still standing upon the southeast corner, and occu- pied the same as a storeroom. It is now owned by Hon. A. D. Licey, who occupies one of the rooms as an office. Aaron Leland and Nathaniel Bell built a saw-mill on the Chippewa Creek, one mile south of the village of Seville. They continued in partnership for two years, when Leland purchased Bell's interest. John B. Leland succeeded his father iu the ownership of the mill, and operated it until the spring of 1850, when he went to California. It then changed hands several times within a few years, being owned by H. H. Hay, Dailey & Graves, D. F. Soliday and James McElroy. Mr. Soli- day was killed there on the 3d day of May, 1862. He had been hurt the day previous by a stick, which was thrown back by a buzz-saw, striking him in the stomach. He was troubled with dizziness through the succeeding night and during the next forenoon. On going out from dinner, he remarked to his wife, that " he ex- pected the mill would kill him some day," — a remark that would not have been remembered but for what followed. His little boy, on going out to the mill a short time afterward, was un- able to find his father, and, on returning to the h Xj ^! ihL, 474 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. house, so informed his mother. A Miss Jones then went to the mill, which was still running, and, after searching for some time, discovered Mr. Soliday upon a horizontal shaft in the lower part of the mill. Not imderstanding how to stop the mill, she ran screaming toward the nearest neighbors. Her cries soon brought some men to her assistance, who stopped the mill, and, on going below, beheld a most sickening sight. The bodj' of the unfortunate man, en- tirelj' naked, was hanging upon the shaft, his vest and overshirt having slipped up around his neckj were wound around the shaft in such a manner as to draw his throat tightlj' against it, which caused him to revolve with the shaft, which made, at least, twenty' revolutions per minute. How long he had been upon the shaft, and whether he died suddenlj' or suffered long, of course will never be known. He was proba- bly engaged in placing a belt upon a pulley when the accident happened, and, as his shirt- sleeve was the last thing to unwind from the shaft, it probably caught first. He was a strong, resolute man, and had passed through many hardships, having gone to California by the over- land route during the earlj- daj's of the gold excitement there. After his death, the mill soon went to decay, and was finally purchased by C. W. Hay, of Seville, and by him torn down. At the time of its removal, the lower rim of a large cast-iron water-wheel was left deeply im- bedded in the mud. Some person maj' find this, ages hence, and wonder what machinerj' was ever operated there. A tannerj' was started near Dorsey's Corners, by J. P. Smith, about this time. He was succeeded therein bj- Thomas Hunt, and he by Charles Wright, who died there a few years since. There was also a blacksmith- shop upon the opposite corner in a very early day, which was burned down about 1827. The only notable event that occurred in 1835 was the construction of the locomotive, previously described, bj' Dr. Eastman, Henry Lane and Stephen C. Smith. In 1836, Dr. Eastman took charge of the American House as landlord. Jeremiah Wilcox purchased Ches- ter Hosmer's farm, north of Hubbard Creek, for $4,000. The village of Seville was platted, and the lots numbered from 1 to 214. William Hosmer resigned the office of Postmaster in favor of Frederic Butler. Peter King com- menced to build a grist-mill on the site now occupied by the Lower Mill. In 1837, Mr. King finished his grist-mill, and relieved the inhabitants from taking the long journeys to mill which thej' had been accustomed to pre- vious to this time. This was the first grist-mill in Guilford, except the small one at River Styx, previously noticed. Mr. King's mill did the grinding for a community extending several miles in all directions. It was taken down about the year 1849 by Aaron Leland and C. W, Hay, which firm erected the present Lower Mill, now owned and operated by Peton & Col- be tzer. In 1837, John G-eisinger built a saw-mill about three miles northeast from Seville. He kept a loom in his mill, and, while the saw was running through a log, he occupied the time in weaving cloth. He had no arrangement for gigging the carriage back except to tread it back with his foot, which was both slow and tiresome, and j-et he operated this mill for many j'ears and did a great amount of sawing with it. There was a vast amount of travel over the turnpike at this time, as all of the travelers wishing to go from the lakes southward passed through on this road. Each day, a hea\'ily loaded four-horse coach passed each wa}', and many times one or two extras, besides numer- ous private traA-eling carriages. All goods going south to Jackson, Wooster and other towns farther on down the road, were carried in wagons, manj' of which were of the large Pennsylvania pattern, and were drawn by four or six horses. The coming-in of the stage then caused more excitement than the com- IV ft- HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 475 ing-in of a railroad train does now. And no railroad conductor, and scarcelj' any rail- road President, is half so proud, or is looked upon with half of the admiration that was bestowed upon the old-time stage-coach driver as he thundered into town, blowing his bugle and flourishing his whip over the prancing and foaming steeds which he handled with so much skill. And the average boj' who beheld those things could think of but two things really to be desired in the future, and those were to be a militia Captain upon general training days and a stage-driver the balance of the year. About this time, E. W. Harris built a tannery on the same site that the present one stands upon, north of Hubbard Creek. He also erect- ed a shoeshop upon the same side of the creek, but farther west. This was afterward moved across the creek, and is now occupied b}' J. D. Edwards as a tinshop. William H. Alden built the corner block, now occupied by C. A. Stebbins, in 1836. In this he sold drj' goods until he was elected Sheriff of Medina County, in 1840, when he removed to Medina, where he still resides. In 1839, William Hosmer died, at the advanced age of ninety-nine j-ears. Lyman W. Strong came from Strongsville in 1840, and engaged in the sale of drj' goods in the large building previously described, upon the west bank of the Chippewa. He afterward occupied the present bakery room for the same purpose until 1850, when he built the corner block now owned and occupied as a store by John B. Leland. He was quite extensively engaged in the mercantile business for several 3'ears. He also carried on an asher3' for some time, and here the farmers for miles around found a market for their ashes, which they gladly sold for 10 cents per bushel, and took " store pay." Mr. Strong is still living, and he has always been one of the substantial citizens of Seville, and always prominently connected with all desirable improvements and reforms. The large frame house near the Up- per Mill was built by D. D. Dowd about the year 1842, and was occupied by him for sev- eral years as a " Temperance Hotel," which was something of a novelty in those days, and an enterprise in which but few men would have risked very much capital. Mr. Dowd, however, by his pluck and energy made it a success- The second house north from that was built by Thomas Wilcox when the village was first laid out. The southwest corner building, now owned and occupied by J. K. Caughey as a dry goods store, was erected bj' Chauncey Spear, in 1843. He there engaged in the sale of dry goods for several years, and the build- ing has ever since been used for that purpose, when it has been occupied at all, which has been, almost continually, although by several diflTerent parties. Mr. Spear is still living, and is one of the few of the early settlers yet remaining with us. He is now a Justice of the Peace, which office he has held for several successive terms. He has also been Mayor of Seville. The Masonic Block was erected in 1844, by G. W. Morgan, Dr. Witter and the Masonic Lodge. Mr. Morgan was Judge Hos- mer's son-in-law. He owned the lower or ground story. Dr. Witter the second, and the Masons the upper story, which is still occupied by that order. The building now used as a planing-mill by Stoaks & Barnard was erected about the same time, and was used for many years as a carding and spinning woolen fac- tory by E. C. Benton. When, however, the people adopted the practice of selling their wool and buying their cloths, he found his "occupation gone," and soon engaged in other business. At Wilson's Corners, there having been several cases of grave-robbing, the citi- zens constructed quite a large receiving vault in their little cemetery a short distance south from the village. This vault is still in good condition, and is the only one of the kind in Guilford Township. At about the same time, Jacob Leatheram opened a hotel on the center. ^ ^ 480 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. The scenery therein was painted in the spring of 1873, by A. M. Willard. The Methodist Church at Seville was organ- ized in the year 1830, or thereabouts. Henr}^ Wells, Ansell Briggs, Nathan Scranton, Ansell Brainard, Andrew Laird and Tunis Wells were among its first members. The present brick church edifice was erected in 1859. The church is in a flourishing condition at this time, with Rev. S. R. Clark, as Pastor. On the 25th day of June, 1831, there was a meeting of the citi- zens at the Chippewa Schoolhouse, for the pur- pose of organizing a Presbyterian Church. Revs. Barnes, of Medina, and Fay, of Wads- worth, were present. The following-named per- sons presented certificates of regular church membership, and were organized into a Church of Christ : James Bell, Isabel Bell, Margaret Bell, Martha Bell, James P. Smith, Violet Smith, Sarah Case, Thomas Whiteside, Ann Whiteside, Abraham Whiteside, Jane Colburn, Sarah Collins and Loisa Cook. The first site selected for building a meeting-house, was upon the center road, one mile east from the pike, A part of the timber for building was hauled up- on the ground at that place, when another site was decided upon, it being the one where the large brick house now stands, in the north part of the village. When the building was ready to be raised, it was decided that no intoxicating liquors should be furnished for the occasion. As this was contrary to a long-established cus- tom, it naturally caused much talk, and many openly declared, that " the frame would rot upon the ground, before it would be raised un- der that arrangement." No such trouble was experienced, however, and the building was raised without a murmur or an accident, being the first piece of work of the kind ever com- pleted in the township, without the presence of liquor. This building was used as a house of worship until 1856, when the present church building was erected. On the 20th day of March, 1834, the following resolution was passed at a meeting of the church : " That, in the opinion of this church, as a body, the man- ufacture, sale or use of ardent spirits, except for medicinal and mechanical purposes, is immoral, and ought to be abandoned by every professed Christian." Even at that early day, when, as we often hear asserted, " whisky was used as commonly as milk, and that a drunken man was seldom seen," the members of this organi- zation took this advanced position in regard to the temperance reform. On the 10th of Decem- ber, 1834, the form of church government was changed to Presbyterian, and Thomas White- side and David D. Dowd were elected Elders, and E. W. Harris, Deacon. Rev. Varnum Noyes was the first minister employed by the church, and he continued his labors with them almost unbrokenly, until 1871. He is still living, and, in the absence of the pastor, or at the funeral ser- vices of some early settler, still preaches a ser- mon. Three of his children are now in Canton, China, acting in the capacity of missionaries. Henry Noyes left Seville with that object in view on the 22d of January, 1866. His sister Harriet, on the 15th of October, 1867, and Martha, another sister, in 1873. In 1876, Henry and Harriet came home, visiting Palestine on their way, and returned the following year. Rev. J. C. Elliott succeeded Mr. Noyes in the Pastor- ate of the church in Seville, which position he still occupies. The church is now composed of about one hundred members. On the 13th of April, 1838, the Congrega- tional Church of Guilford was organized, the fol- lowing persons being members thereof : Caleb West, Bathsheba West, Bathsheba Whitney, James Bell, Isabella Bell, James Harkness, Margaret Bell, Martha Owen, Jesse Harkness, James Gray, Eliza Rhoads, Betsey Dennis, Adelia L. Russell, Isaac Gra}', Mrs. Submit Russell, Maria Russell, Abraham Gray, Mar- garet Gray, Phoebe Rhoads, Eleanor Harkness, John C. Dix, Salmon Whitney, Marian Dix, Mary A. Harris, Nancy Bell, Sarah Russell, V (3 Is 4i:, HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 481 Katharine Russell and Martha Gray. On the 29th da}' of March, 1841, the Ohio Legislature passed an act of incorporation for this church. In 1844, a house of worship was erected upon Lots 64 and 65, this site having been donated by Henry Hosmer. The first minister was Eev. Moses Longley. In 1853, a new house of worship was erected upon the site before named, the old house having been moved away. The new church was dedicated in January, 1854. Services were held regularly, most of the time, for several j'ears. Rev. A. S. Shaffer was called to the pastorate in July, 1867, which position he occupied until the spring of 1869, since which time the church has been in an unsettled condition. The Baptist church of Guilford was also or- ganized in 1838, on the 7th of July, with the following members ; John S. "Welch, Margaret Welch. Jonathan Cotton, Poller Cotton, Timothy Phelps, Huldah Phelps, Sidney Hastings, Claris- sa Hastings, Moses Greenwood, Sail}' Green- wood, Robert Suggett, Susan Suggett, B. H. Warren, Harrison Greenwood and Clarissa Greenwood. The first house of worship, being of brick, was erected in 1844, on Lots 66 and 67, this site also having been donated by Henry Hosmer. The first death that occurred in this church, was that of Hannah Welch, on the 18th day of April, 1845. On the 7th of March, 1860, John Ross, an aged Englishman, donated $1,000 to this church, with which the present parsonage was built and the sur- rounding grounds purchased. In 1873, the old house of worship was taken down and the present one erected. Rev. J. W. Weatherby is the present pastor, and the church is in a pros- perous condition. The Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is situated in the eastern part of the township was organized in 1839, with John F. Long, C. Clows, Jacob Westerman, Conrad Snyder, Sam- uel Miller. Adam Everhart, John Koppes, Jacob Kraver, Blichael Frye, Isaac Bartholomy and Jacob Wright, with their families, as mem- bers. Meetings were held in houses and barns until 1842, when this congregation, with the Ger- man Reformed Church, which was organized about the same time, built a log meeting-house, which was used until 1867, when the present one was erected. The present Lutheran minis- ter is Rev. J. H. Smith, and the present Ger- man Reformed Pastor, Rev. John Leiter. The present membership numbers over 200, and there is a prosperous Sunday school. The small Lutheran Church near the center of Guilford was built about the j'ear 1870. Serv- ices are held once each month. The new Method- ist Church at Wilson's Corners was erected in 1878; Rev. Mr. Wolf is the present Pastor. In a community where so many churches were supported, the subject of schools would natiir- allj' receive attention. On the 20th of March, 1851, the Legislature passed an act incorpor- ating the Seville Academy of Medina County. A sufficient amount of funds having been raised by subscription, with which to build and furnish a house, a meeting of the stockholders was held on the 7th of April of the same j-ear. James A. Bell was elected President, L. W. Strong, Treasurer, D. D. Dowd, Clerk and Hal- sej' Hulburt, L. W. Strong, Henrj' Hosmer, James A. Bell, Cornelius Welch, E. A. Norton and E. W. Harris, Directors. Mr. A. Harper, of Oberlin, was the first teacher employed in this institution, he commencing his first term on the 1st day of October, 1851, in the old Con- gregational Church, as the Academj' building was not then finished. The enterprise proved successful, and, for many j'ears, large numbers of young people came, not only from our own communitj', but from adjoining townships, to avail themselves of the advantages here ofl:ered for improvement. In 1868, the building was purchased by the Board of Education of Seville. This body proceeded to make the requisite ad- ditions to it to accommodate the village schools, which were organized at that time upon the nv ±iL 482 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. graded school plan. Mr. D. A. Ilaylor is Prin- cipal of the school at present, and John P. Dix. Miss La Vonne Weatherby and Miss Sarah Warner are the teachers of the lower depart- ments. Elijah Myers is Glerk of G-uilford Township, he having held that office continu. ously for twenty-five years. John Montgomery is Treasurer, which office he has held continu- ously since 1846, when he was first elected. Chauncey Spear, John Coolman and L. B. Wil- son are Justices of the Peace, and John G. Chambers, William A. Lee and P. C. Steiner, Trustees. The village of Seville was incorpor- ated in 1853 b}' the Count}- Commissioners, under a general act of the Legislature confer- ring upon them the requisite power. Milton Stiles was the first Mayor, A. G-. Hawley the first Clerk, and Aaron Leland, L. W. Strong, I. H. Brown, A. R. Whiteside and W. H. Hatch, the first Councilmen. The first meeting of the Council was on the evening of the 4th day of October, A. D. 1853. The present officers are J. T. Graves, Mayor ; W. E. Barnard, Clerk ; John Montgomery, Treasurer, and Van Bell, John Eshbaugh, J. F. Martin, C. R. Leland, Prank P. Wideman and A. P. Beach, Council- men. The population of Seville is 588, and of the entire township, 1872, according to the cen- sus of 1880. River Styx is in the northeast corner of the township, is a pleasant village, and near it are the petrifying springs, quite a summer resort for pleasure-seekers. Steam Town is between River Styx and the center of Guilford, it being a little cluster of houses where Mr. Pred Beck has a blacksmith-shop and A. S. Ritter a wagon-shop. Of the little company who came into Guilford in the spring of 1817, Henry Hosmer and Chester Hosmer are still living. Mary Y. Hosmer married Shu- bael Porter, had six children, and died on the 19th day of February, 1862, aged sixty-four years. Lyman Munson died at River Styx in 1863, aged eighty -two years. His son Albert has represented Medina County in the State Legislature, and is at present Probate Judge of the county. Abigail Porter married David Wilson ; died in 1866 at River Styx. Moses Noble died at Seville on the 15th day of Febru- ary, 1831, and Shubael Porter died on his farm near Seville, on the 14th day of March, 1870, aged seventy-two j-ears. Henry Hosmer has held the offices of Justice of the Peace, County Commissioner, Coroner and Associate Judge of Medina County under the old constitution, and to him we wish to give credit for his assistance in gathering material for this history, also, to his daughter, Mrs. L. C. Cronise. Samuel Har- ris came from Saybrook, Conn., about 1820. Had three sons in the Mexican war, John S., now of La Crescent, Minn., William T. died in the United States Army, July 30, 1847, and Albert D., killed at the battle of Churubusco, August 20, 1847. Mr. Harris married Mabel Gibbs ; he died July 22, 1844 ; his wife is still living at Seville, aged eight}- years. Capt. M. V. Bates, the Kentucky giant, and his wife, Margaret Swan Bates, the Nova Scotia giantess, are residents of Guilford. They are the largest people in Ohio, if not the largest in America. They own a large farm east of Seville, upon which they have erected a fine large residence. ^ a "^s ® "V ^! !k^ HISTORY or MEDINA COUNTY. 483 CHAPTER XII.* HAKRISVILLE TOWNSHIP— A PIONEER EXPLORER— THE HARRIS FAMILY — EARLY ADVENTURES —A PROSPEROUS SETTLEMENT— POLITICAL AND CIVIL DEVELOPMENT CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. IN that bright cluster of townships which to-day forms the county of Medina, Harris- ville stands out pre-eminent as the one in which the first dawn of civilization broke forth, and the one in which the first home of a white man was reared. This township is the richest in pio- neer lore, and in the interesting reminiscences of its earliest settlements. The treasures of memorj' that are culled from the first hardships, and the experiences and vicissitudes of the brave men and women who first penetrated into this unbroken wilderness, are today clothed with a sacred charm, upon which succeeding generations can scarcely look with anything less than veneration. The deeds of personal heroism and the persistent toil accomplished by our forefathers, are indelibly impressed for all time to come upon the fruitful fields, the shady groves, the picturesque valleys, and the bright and happy homes that dot our land. Under the land company's survey, Harrisville was set apart as Township No. 1, Range 16. It is bounded on the north by Chatham, on the east by Westfield, on the west by Homer, and on the south by Wayne County. The land of Harrisville Township is somewhat rolling, and affords a variety of soil. In some parts, the land is clayey, and in others slightly sandy. Peat covers over 2,000 acres in this township. One-half of this territory has the deposit not over eighteen inches deep, the underlying being heavy, yet light colored. The average depth of the peat on 1,000 acres is about 5 feet. Most of the western and southern parts of this Har- risville swamp have been plowed. The bed- * Contributed by Charles Neil, Medina. rock is 12 to 18 feet below the surface of the marsh. The land can be shaken by jumping on it, although cattle go all over it. The digging of ditches has revealed quantities of shells, but no large fossils, as far as could be learned. Eailroad levels were run in 1853, between Wooster and Grafton. The extreme elevation of the road, as it was surveyed through the marsh, was 340.3 above Lake Erie. The road was to have been run west of the village of Lodi, and the elevation there was 336 feet above Lake Erie. This would give the surface, at the town pump, an altitude of about 350 feet. Harrisville is one of the townships in which the water " divides " to the Ohio River and Lake Erie. The great marsh is drained in both di- rections, and is much lower than most of the land along the " divide.'' Quarrying has been carried on since 1840 in numerous places along Whetstone Creek, a mile southeast of Lodi. The rock is chiefly an ar- gillaceous sandstone, most of the beds being only a few inches thick, and the thickest not twenty inches. The exposures here are twentj^- five to thirty feet high. Large crevices run through all the rock, which is badly broken up. In the fall of 1810, a sturdy young farmer, of the clear-headed, gritty New England type, started out on a journey Westward, after he had gathered the season's scanty crop of corn, wheat and potatoes. In his rude hut near Ran- dolph, in Portage County, he left his young wife with her little babe, while he pushed on to prospect the land that lay further west, on which he might find a location more suitable to his ambitious desires, and rear thereon a new home. i, \ ' tit. 484 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. The impulse that started him on liis journey was somewhat akin to that which impelled the famous Genoese navigator to plow the unknown seas and find a newer and richer land near the setting sun. What the needle of the compass and the starry points of the heavens had been to Columbus, the survej'or's " blazes " on the trees were to the intrepid, coarsely-clad pioneer. Unarmed, save with an ax, and carr^'ing a lim- ited supply of provisions, he took his course through the townships on the southern line of the Western Eeserve. Coming to the stream in Westfield, now known as Campbell's Creek, and while crossing it on a log which reached from bank to bank, he heard a bear chopping its jaws, in an unpleasant manner, to say the least. Retreat was impossible, and, putting on a bold front, he advanced upon the beast ! Fortu- nateh', the bear did not wait to trj' conclusions, and incontinently broke for a place of safety'. Scarcely pausing for this episode, he advanced, and before evening, when the sun was j'et a half-hour high, he had reached the ridge which runs southward on the east of the vallej- in which the town of Lodi is now located. Before him, on a line with his ej^es, was a waving mass of leaves — a forest of tall and majestic trees. The flickering light of the setting sun was dancing and glowing through the rustling leaves of the stately trees. With the awe-in- spiring impression of the grand sight before him, the resolution formed itself in the young pioneer's mind that he would make this his fut- ure home. After he had seen the sun sink behind the thick foliage, he built a fire and camped out for the night. The next morning he descended into the valley, and set about exploring the re- gion. The rich virgin soil was studded with clumps of large walnut and oak trees. A small rivulet, a tributary of Black Eiver. came wind- ing through an open gorge from the north, and then bent westward, and, a mile further on, united with the waters of Black River. Fur- ther on to the west, he found another swell in the ground, which is again broken, a half-mile further on, by the course of the Black River. From thence there is a level stretch west through the township, slightly undulating. To the north of Lodi a high ridge extends along the west side of the East Branch of Black River into the township of Chatham, sloping toward the northwest down to the banks of Black River. Toward the south, from this base of location, which is now the center of Lodi, the land rolled out flat, and he found a large area of marsh land, thickly matted with alders, bogs, cranberry bushes and underbrush. Young Harris set to work with his ax, after he had assured himself of the practicability of the undertaking and the natural resources and advantages for a settlement, selecting a site for a home. He placed his stake on a spot of ground which is now known as the Tuttle lot, a few rods south of the center of the village of Lodi. He kept at work for several weeks, and erected during this time by his own individual exertions, a small, rude log house, and cut down a small tract of timber. This ac- complished, he retraced his steps to the mother settlement, near Randolph, in Portage County, which at that time, included the territor}^ in which he had just selected his new home. This pioneer was Joseph Harris, the first settler of Medina County-, after whom the township of Harrisville has been named. The Connecticut Land Company had, in the year 1807, under the old charter, granted by King Charles II, of England, to the Colony of Connecticut, made a division of their lands west of the Cuyahoga River Township, and No. 1, in Range 16, (Harrisville) had been drawn by sixteen incorporators, whose names are as follows : Nehemiah Gaylord, John and Jabes Gillett, Solomon Rockwell and brothers, Hez- ekiah Huntington, William Battell, Russ Burr, Job Curtis' heirs, Thomas Huntington, Royal Tylee, Wright & SutliflT, Joseph Har- f- Qu^/UJb ^iL^ l\^ HISTORY OF MEDIJSTA COUNTY. 485 ris. Martin Kellogg, Burr & Loomis, Joseph Battell and Bliphalet Austin, which was known as the Torringford Land Company, together with 2,000 acres, in Township No. 1, in Range 15, to compensate for swamp land in Harrisville Township. In the spring of 1810, the township was surveyed by a party sent out by the Connecticut Land Company, and subdivided into lots of 100 acres each. A road was also established during this same year, by the company of Portage County, through No. 1, from the Franklinton road, in Norton, west, through the center, to the east line in Huron County. The Legislature of the j'oung State of Ohio, also during this year, appropriated $800, bj' a legislative act, to estab- lish a State road, to run from Mansfield to Cleveland, through this township. After the subdivision of the lands in this township had been made, Mr. Joseph Harris was delegated by the Torringford Company, with the power of an agent, to dispose of and effect sales of the land. The price of the land was fixed at $2 per acre, Mr. Harris being granted the privilege of 200 acres as a pioneer settlement — location to be deducted from his undivided portion. After his return to Randolph, from his jour- ney into Harrisville Township, he set about making preparations to remove his famil}' to the new territory' in the following spring. When February came, the young pioneer had all of his aflFairs in shape, had his household goods and personal efiTects, few as they were, gotten to- gether, and was now readj- to move into the new settlement. On the morning of the 11th of Feb- ruary, 1811, the "moving" party started out from the settlement near Randolph, for the new land, that was about forty miles to the west. The train consisted of four sleds, each drawn by a yoke of oxen. Three of these trains had been gratuitously furnished by the neighbors of Mr. Harris, to help him to his new settlement. The ground was covered with about a foot of snow, and the progress of the pioneers was rather slow. Near the evening of the third day, they arrived in the lowlands south of Lake Chippewa. A halt was made here for the night, on account of the exhausted condition of the cattle, which had found it a wearisome march through the snow that lay unbroken in the road. Mr. Harris, with his wife and her two-year- old boy, mounted a horse and pushed forward the same day toward their new home, which was about eight miles distant. On the next morning, the 14th day of February, 1811, the ox-teams arrived in Harrisville, and Mr. Joseph Harris, his wife and child, together with a trusty, bright young lad, named James Red- field, who was about eleven years old at that time, settled permanently in the new township ; and it is from this day that the first settlement of Harrisville Township dates. The life of the settler in this new clearing, miles away from human habitation, was full of hardships and privations. Winter was still on hand with its benumbing coldness, and the ground and woods were alternately covered with snow and slush. The log hut was small, and the only opening in it, serving as a door, was covered b3' a blanket. The first daj's were spent in cut- ting down trees, and making new openings in the woods and laying out roads. A small ad- dition was made to the log hut, and its interior more comfortably arranged. Small brush sheds, for the shelter of the horse and two cattle were erected. With the opening of spring, new life sprang up in this little colonj'. New work be- gan ; the gi'ound of the cleared tract was got ready, and seeding commenced. The nearest neighbors were, at that time, at Wooster, in Wayne Countj', a settlement seven- teen miles south, on the Killbuck River. Woos- ter was then one of the trading-posts in the northwest. An Indian trail leading from San- dusky to Wooster, and thence on to Pittsburg, ran through Harrisville Township, a few miles west of the center of Lodi. Hunters and ■Wrap- pers of the different Indian tribes which at that :^ -l^ 486 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. time roamed through Northern Ohio, passed often over this trail, taldng their hides and furs to market. The location selected b}' Mr. Har- ris, had also been, and was then, one of the favorite hunting grounds of the Wjandot and Ottawa Indians, and many of their wigwams — still in a good state of preservation — were standing near the spot he selected for the site of his residence. Still, although the social re- lations that subsisted at this time between Mr. Harris and these denizens of the forest were of the most friendly and reciprocal character, yet, true to their national characteristics, they pre- ferred retirement from the proximity of the pale- faces, abandoning their lodges, and building new ones from two to six miles distant. A few 3^ears later, Capt. Wolf, of the Delawares, a sort of missionary among the tribes of Indians north of the Ohio, and a man tolerably well educated, and who looked after the trapping interests at Chippewa Lake, quite frequently visited the Harrisville colony, and conversed and talked with the settlers. He had been under Gen. Harrison's command, and had been an eye-wit- ness to the battle of Lake Erie, fought by Com- modore Perry on the 10th of September, 1812. He gave the Harrisville people a description of the battle as he witnessed it, and told them other adventures of his career, which was all very entertaining. Mr. Albert Harris, son of Joseph Harris, often went, when he was a lad ten or twelve years old, as a companion of Wolf's son — a young buck about the same age — with the Indian Captain to Lake Chippewa, to look over the trapping-ground. The old Indian would put the two boys in a bark canoe, and paddle them back and forth across the lake. The younger Harris is still a resident of Harrisville Township, and has fresh in his memory the days of the early settlement in this township, when young papooses were the associates of his child- hood. With June of the same year there came an accession to the new colony. George Burr and his wife and his brother Russell, arrived that month from Litchfield County, Conn., and set- tled on a lot adjoining Mr. Harris. The month of September brought in two more settlers, Cal- vin and Lyman Corbin, from the city of Bos- ton, Mass., who purchased and settled on the farm now owned by George Burr, a mile south of Lodi. That fall the first crop of corn and potatoes was gathered in the township. Au- tumn, with its blustering days, was on hand, and cold winter was fast approaching. The Harrisville colony now consisted of five men, two women and two boys. There were three log huts about one-half mile apart from each other, seven yoke of oxen and one horse and two dogs, with a lot of household furniture and farming tools and wagons. This was the in- ventory on the 1st day of October, 1811. About this time Mr. Joseph Harris contracted with one Daniel Cross, a carpenter living near Randolph, to put up a log barn in Harrisville. Cross with his son Aver}' (who was about eleven 3'ears old) came out from Randolph dur- ing the fall, with a 3'oke of oxen, the boy to drive them and haul the logs together, while the old man cut them. The barn was finished in about a month's time. For this job, Mr. Cross received, in payment, a yoke of oxen. With the declining year came long evenings, and with them the need and desire of sociability and an interchange of views upon topics of common interest to all. The prospects, the new land and the crops had to be talked about ; and, then, there was the old home in the East, with all its dear associations of childhood ; the political affairs of the young Republic. These sturdy pioneers often gathered, during these days, in one of the log cabins, and there sat by day and in the evenings, before the flickering fire of a log or stump burning on the hearth, and discussed, like true, sober-minded New Englanders, matters and events that were of interest to them. The first intimation the Harrisville people -if a 'f [^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 487 had of the serious hostilities which began in 1812 was the arrival of a messenger from Ran- dolph, in Portage County, bringing a newspaper containing the declaration of war, also a letter warning the settlers of their danger, as it was not then known in whose interest the Indians would enlist, and urgently soliciting them to return to the older settlements. A consulta- tion was then held in the evening at Mr. Har- ris' house, which resulted in the conclusion, that, under existing circumstances, it would be safer to repair to the settlements until something more decisive could be learned in relation to the political affairs on the then extreme northwestern frontier. Accordingly, the next morning, Mr. Harris, Russell and George Burr, with the Corbins, loaded the most valuable of their household goods on wagons, and, with seven j'oke of oxen, started for Randolph, George Burr's wife having gone there some weeks previous. Almost at the outset, one of the wagons was unfortunately overturned, throwing Mrs. Harris and the child from the wagon. But, quite undaunted, al- though badlj' bruised, she insisted on going forward, and, that the journey might be expe- dited, she was mounted with her child on the only horse in the settlement. Accompanied by her husband on foot, she reached their friends in Randolph the next morning, having been obliged to lie out overnight in the woods on account of having lost the trail when within a mile or two of the settlement. The settlers, in leaving their homes, of necessity had to aban- don their crops ; and, as the prosperity of the settlement depended on their being secured, Mr. Harris, on the following Monday morning, mounted his horse, shouldered his trusty rifle, and, accompanied only by his faithful dog, proceeded on his solitary way back to Harris- ville. As he approached the settlement, he discovered that some person had been in the vicinity during his absence. On examining the tracks, he discovered that some had been made with shoes and some with moccasins. Dismounting from his horse and muffling the bell (an appendage, by the way, which all early settlers were in the habit of attaching to their domestic animals), he cautiously proceeded to examine the Indian trail leading from Sandus- ky to Wooster, and, discovering no appearance of Indians having passed along it, he soon came to the conclusion that some white person must have been in the vicinity during his absence. On entering his cabin, appearances indicated that a number of persons had passed a night there, having used some of his iron ware for the purpose of cooking. It was afterward found out that the Commissioners appointed bj' the Legislature to establish a road from Mansfield to Cleveland passed a night at Mr. Harris' house, cooking their supper and break- fast there. Mr. Harris, finding that his wheat was not yet fit for harvesting, set about hoeing his corn and potatoes. After having been here about ten days, Russell Burr and Elisha Sears came out and harvested the crops belonging to the Burrs, which occupied about five days, and then returned to Randolph. Mr. Harris re- mained about five weeks, his dog being his sole companion during the whole time, except the five days that Burr and Sears were with him. His only bed was an old wagon-board, each end of which was so supported that it had a sort of spring motion, and furnished as much rest and comfort to his weary body after a day's hard toil as the modern spring bed gives to the gentleman of leisure. On the return of Mr. Harris to Portage County, he first learned of the surrender of Hull, at Detroit, to the British, and, at a call from Gen. Wadsworth, the militia on the Re- serve turned out en masse, and Harris, with Burr and others, were out in the campaign some three weeks, in and about Cleveland. After a short service in the Western Reserve Militia during the month of September, Harris, s ^V It, 488 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. with his companions, returned to Kandolph, and preparations were then made to return forthwith to Harrisvllle. The Corbins had sold out their possessions in Harrisville about this time, and Russell Burr returned to his home in Connecticut. This left Joseph Harris and George Burr alone, with their families, of those who once made up the infant settlement. Har- ris and Burr, with their families, again reached Harrisville in the first week in October, 1812, finding everything quiet and unmolested. Here was again a tr3'ing period before them. Winter was again close at hand, and, being almost entire- ly isolated from the world around them, and away from post roads and post offices, they could, of course, know little or nothing of what was transpiring outside of the settlement, and they necessarily lived in that uneasjf state of uncertainty, which, to be realized, must be ex- perienced. Yet nothing occurred to disturb their quiet until some time in the latter part of November, when, in the early part of the even- ing, was heard what was supposed to be the shrill whoop of an Indian, easilj' discerned to be in an easterlj- direction, and supposed to be about half a mile distant. Mr. Burr, whose house was nearer to the point from which the whoop seemed to come, hastily seized his rifle, and, taking his wife and child, instantlj' started for the Harris cabin, giving the old horse, which was quietly feeding in the woods, a sharp cut, to seud him on a keen run toward Harris' house, rattling his bell and alarming his familj^, together with the old dog, which, barking and bounding about, added considerable to the agi- tation. JMr. Harris was alreadj'on the qui vh-e. He was out on the trail, with his rifle in his hand, after first taking the precaution to extin- guish the light in his cabin. After meeting with the Burr family, the women were barri- caded in the house, and the men took positions outside to await developments. Soon footsteps were heard, and then a human form came in sight, nearing the house. Harris drew up his rifle and halted the man. It was then discov- ered that he was a settler from Randolph named Billy Thornington, who had come out on an exploration tramp to see the country, and, having lost his way, had given the yell. He remained with them for a short time, and then returned to the mother settlement in Portage Count}'. With the beginning of the new year, 1813, snow commenced to fall and covered the ground several feet deep. The young settlers were almost completely snowed in, and it was nearly an impossibility to visit one of the sister settle- ments. Then a biting cold frost set in and con- tinued until the latter part of Februar}'. After that the weather moderated. On the night of the 6th of March, a foot messenger arrived at the house of Mr. Harris and informed him that Henry Chittenden, in charge of five teams loaded with fortj- barrels of flour, being for- warded bj' Norton & Adams, contractors at Middlebury, to General Perkins' camp on the Huron River, were detained by the deep snow in the wilderness in the neighborhood of the Chippewa, and were entirely destitute of forage and provisions, having been five daj's out from Middlebury. The messenger had come to so- licit aid from Mr. Harris. He promptly respond- ed and proceeded at once to their camp, with a supply of provisions for the men and a bag of corn for the team. He left his house about midnight in company with the messenger, and arrived at the camp at 4 o'clock in the morn- ing. His reception by the half-starved men at the camp can better be imagined than described. The provision train was now only thirty-two miles from Middlebury, their starting-point, and fortj'-flve miles had j'et to be traveled through an unbroken wilderness, to reach the camp of the American army on the Huron River. Their teams were overloaded and underfed. Their only reliance for succor and help seemed to be Mr. Harris, his place being the only settlement on the route. He came very generousl}' to their ''^' B "V d^ HISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 489 relief. Furnishing the men with provisions such as his own scantj- supply afforded, and giving forage for the teams, he hitched up his own ox-team, and, thus lessening the load of others, he started next daj- with them for the camp at Huron. After a slow and laborious journey, they reached the camp on the eighth day out from Harrisville settlement. The return trip to this settlement only consumed about four days. The commission firm from Middlebury referred to, continued thereafter to supplj- the American army under Perkins on the shores of Lake Erie. Their trips in for- warding these supplies were made more expe- ditiousl}' after a road had been cut through, but the provision trains always found it convenient to stop at the Harrisville settlement on their journeys back and forth. In the spring of this year, manj' of the militiamen in the Northwestern army, from the counties of Knox and Wayne, and from other counties in Southeastern Ohio, passed through the settlement, their terms of service having ex- pired. Mr. Harris often entertained companies of from ten to twenty of these returning sol- diers at a time, and always furnished them the best his scanty board afforded. During the winter of 1812, a detachment of troops from Pennsylvania was stationed at Wooster, Wa}'ne Countj', under the command of Gen. Bell. Provisions for soldiers, as well as for the horses employed in the service, were scarce, and commanded high prices. Tempted by the prospect of gain, Averj' Cross, of Randolph, in Portage County, set out the latter part of December, with a load of oats for the army. He was accompanied by his son Samuel, a young man of about eighteen years. On ar- riving at Wooster, the}' found teams were so scarce that the army had not the means of transportation, and, by the offer of high prices, Cross was induced to go with the army as far as Mansfield, and aid in transporting baggage and forage. At Mansfield, he was paid off, and started for home. On the road between Mans- field and Wooster, he purchased seventeen head of cattle, with which he arrived at Woos- ter on the last day of December. The next day, he and his son started up the valley of the Killbuck, intending to reach the settlement of Joseph Harris, with whom thej- were well ac- quainted. Soon after they left Wooster, there came on. a terrible snow-storm, which lasted three days. Nothing further was heard of Cross and his son, until the March following, when, his family becoming alarmed at his lengthened absence, sent another sou in pursuit of them. Finding they had left Wooster on the 1st day of January for the north, the son sent in pursuit of them took their trail up the Killbuck to Harris' settlement, where he ascer- tained they had not been there, and that sev- eral cattle had been taken up during the winter, for which no owner could be found. It was now evident that they had perished. The few settlers in that region turned out to find them. In the valley of the Killbuck, they found the trail of the cattle, but, instead of following it, which would have led them to Harris', it seems Cross got bewildered, and, when within a mile of the settlement, which lay northwest, he took another valley, which led them a southeast- wardly course into what is now Westfleld. Here, almost three miles from Lodi, they found the skull of Cross, and some of his bones, the flesh having been entirely eaten off by wolves. Near by, was found a jack-knife and a small pile of sticks, where he had tried to make a fire, but failed. Pieces of clothing, and his great-coat, were found near bj', showing the place where he and his son lay down to sleep after they had failed to make a fire. The bones of a yoke of oxen, still in the j'oke, and chained to a tree, were lying near by, and the bones of another yoke of oxen, still in the yoke, a little further off. From all of them, except the last yoke, the flesh had been en- tirely eaten. It was evident that one of them '7\- e) R* 490 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. -^ had not been dead long, as the flesh was but partly eaten, and the blood in a fluid state. The trail was very plain to be seen where this ox had drawn his mate around, after he was dead, while the living one was trj'ing to get something on which to live. No remains of young Cross were ever found. The bones of the old man were gathered up, and buried in a field just south of the village of Lodi. An inscription carved on a beech-tree, marks the place of the pioneer's death. Nothing but a natural mound, in which he was buried, marks his burial-place. Another incident in these early da3's, of less tragical outcome than the one just related, but giving a glimpse of the life of the pioneers, has been related by James Kedfleld. Their grain, at that time, had to be carried on horseback to a mill in Wooster, seventeen miles distant. At one time, when James Redfield was a boy about twelve years old, Mr. Harris had balanced two bags of grain on his horse, and placed the boy on top, and started him for Wooster. The boy proceeded all right until about half-wa}^ to the mill, when the bags overbalanced, and slipped from the horse. The boy had not strength suf- ficient to replace the bags on the horse, though he labored desperatelj' for an hour or more. Returning to the settlement for help, he found Mr. Harris had gone. So his wife mounted the horse behind the boy, and the two rode back where the bags had been left. Replacing them on the horse, she started the boj' for Wooster, walking back through the woods to her home. In Februarj^j 1814, Russell and Justus Burr reached the settlement from Connecticut, and settled in the immediate vicinit}- of the two families already located. In March of the same year, young James Redfield, a lad fourteen years of age, who had remained in Randolph after the flight from Harrisville in 1 812, again made his advent in the new settlement, and took up his abode with the family of Mr. Harris- He was a hard}', plucky boy, and the career of his life is inseparabh' connected with the de- velopment of Harrisville Township, and the his- tory of Medina County. It was in the years closel}^ following his return to the new settle- ment, when James was fast ripening into young manhood, that he became one of its nota- ble and interesting characters. He became noted for his prowess and dexterity in trapping and hunting wild game, in a large measure taking away from the Indians in this neighborhood their occupation. In the period of a verj' few years, he caught 122 wolves, for which he re- ceived a bounty given by the State G-overnment. He related to the writer, that, " having at one time caught one of those beasts by the end of the forefoot, and fearing that in its struggles it would get its foot out of the trap and escape, he pounced upon it, cuffed its ears, and put the foot into the trap, carr3''ing it in this way into the settlement. This wolf, it would seem, was about as passive as old Put's, when he applied the twist to its nose, for it offered no resistance, and seemed completely cowed." Another hunt- ing adventure told bj' him occurred in the earlier daj^s of the settlement. Finding his traps tampered with, of which he had out a large number, in a circuit of several miles from the settlement, and the game taken therefrom, he secreted himself with his trusty gun in the crotch of a tall sycamore on the Black River bottoms, where he remained overnight to await events in the morning. In the morning, he es- pied several redskins sneaking along the river banks, and killing and taking from his traps whatever animals were caught. He waited un- til one of the scoundrels came within easj' range of his rifle, and then let him have it ; the Indian made a big jump in the air, and he and his companion beat a precipitate retreat west of Black River. His traps were no more molested after that. In the spring of 1816, when James was a boy seventeen years old, he took a con- tract to chop out a road from the center of Harrisville to the center of Medina, for which w D^ HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 491 appropriations had been made by the State Legislature. It was a distance of ten miles, on which he made fifty-seven rods of bridge and causeway, principally bridge. He proceeded from day to day with his work, following the prescribed survey, having a small supply of provisions with him. When night came, he would build a fire, eat his supper, and then peel off a large sheet of bark from an oak-tree, and roll himself up in it and go to sleep. He had the road cut out through to Medina in the fall. New families came into the settlement in the spring of 1814. The first were Timothy Mun- son, of Vermont, and Loammi Holcomb, from the State of New York, who with their families came in April and settled on the west bank of Black River, about two miles from Mr. Harris' house. From that year on, the influx of set- tlers increased and permanent settlements were made in the close neighborhood. In the spring of 1815, there arrived Timothy Burr, Alvin Loomis, Collins Young and Job Davis, with their families, and to these were added in the year 1816, the families of Carolus Tuttle, Isaac Catlin, Nathan Marsh, Elisha Bishop, Perez and Nathaniel Rogers and James Rogers^ who came together in the spring. Later on in the same year, came Charles Lewis, David Birge, Josiah Perkins and William Welsh, all of whom located permanently in the township, at various points, from a quarter of a mile to three miles distant from the original location, where Mr. Joseph Harris had placed his home- stead. More came in the spring of 1817, whose names are Noah Kellog, Jason Spencer, Noah Holcomb, Thomas Russell, Isaac Rogers, Orange Stoddart, Daniel Delvin, Henry K. Joline, Cy- rus and Arvis Chapman, Jonathan Fitts, David Rogers, Cyrus Curtis, George Hanna, and Dr. William Barnes, quite a genius in his way. He assumed the functions of preacher, doctor and miller in the colony, and soon after his advent became a man of considerable importance to the people of Harrisville. A notable event occurred in the settlement on the 15th of April, 1815. It was the birth of a daughter to George and Mehitable Burr. There was great rejoicing over the arrival of this little messenger from heaven, among the pioneers. It was the first child born in the township. It lived but a few years, dying in Julj', 1817. It was buried on its father's farm. The funeral services were simple but impressive ; all the settlers with their families attended. Dr. William Barnes conducted the services, and preached a sermon over the grave of the child. In the spring of 1818, there came nine more families, among them being Lomer Griffin and his wife and six sons and one daughter. Lomer Griffin was destined to become one of the most remarkable and most widely-known men of Harrisville Township and Medina County, on account of the unprecedented age he attained. There were now thirty-five families in the settlement. Clearings were made on every side, and the area of soil on which the sun threw its beneficent rays and rewarded human labor with crops of grain, grew larger everj' day. Joys had also come to the sturdy pio- neers. One of these was a marriage feast, the contracting parties to which were Levi Hol- comb and Miss Laura Marsh, which occurred in November, 1816. There being no Justice of the Peace in the township at that time to solemnize the marriage contract, Mr. James Rogers volunteered his services to procure the needed official dignity. Setting out on foot, he started for Wadsworth, and there secured Esquire Warner, who readily assented to come out the next day and legalize the ceremony. Mr. Rogers stayed overnight to return with the official next day ; but Mr. Warner was taken severely ill during the night, and it was quite impossible for him to fulfill his engage- ment. Here was a dilemma. The weddins J^. a i^ ^kv 493 HIHTOKV OF MEDINA COUNTY. had been set for that very night, and no one on hand to perform the ceremony ; but Mr. Rogers, true to his purpose, pushed on east to Norton, to Esquire Van Heinans ; but this gentleman was out on a deer hunt, and did not return until night, when he informed Mr. Rogers that he could not go with him. This, to most men, would have been a settler ; not so to Mr. Rogers. These reverses and backsets only stim- ulated his zeal the more, for, on learning that there was a Justice of the Peace in Coventry, he forthwith went there and engaged the serv- ices of an Esquire Heathman, and the two together arrived at Harrisville the next day after the wedding should have been. However, the affair was closed up that evening. This was the first wedding in Medina County. Other festivities and excitement of a general kind, at this time, were wolf-hunts, for the purpose of destroying and driving out these troublesome beasts. There lived, during the years from 1830 to about 1839, an old and strange character near the Harrisville settlement. Nobody knew whither he had come ; and, when he, in the lat- ter year, disappeared, it remained unknown where he had gone. He was known to the set- tlers as " Old Chen-yman," and was supposed to be a half-breed, as traits of Caucasian and Indian blood mingled in his features. He in- habited one of the little cabins, back in the woods, that had been abandoned by its builder. He wore a pair of buckskin trousers, and a cloak made out of wolfskin ; on his head he wore a squirrel cap, and his feet were clothed in leather moccasins. His hair hung in long strings over his shoulders, and his sal- low, brown-colored, peaked face was covered with a grizzly beard. His sole companion in the woods, and at his lodgment were two rifles, which he invariably carried about with him on his tramps. When he spotted any game, he would drop one of his guns. He was taciturn and xmcommunicative, and would talk with no person more than the disposal of his slaugh- tered game, and the buying of ammunition, re- quired. One of his ways to track the deer and bring them within reach of his rifle was to start with a burning hickory torch and burn a line of the dry leaves and grass through the woods for a considerable distance. This some- times caused great annoj-ance and trouble to the farmers, as, in many instances, the Are would extend, and, quite often, burn down tim- ber. The deer would approach the fire line, but would be afraid to cross it, and pass along its entire length, while the old hunter would post himself at some convenient spot, and kill the deer as they passed along. The farmers of the neighborhood finally made efforts to have him stop this practice, as they feared that great injury might be done to their property by the fire. He stolidly listened to the remonstrances, and made no reply. He suddenlj^ disappeared, and was never seen again in the locality. The first sjnnptom of political organization manifested itself in 1816, when an "Ear-mark " and Estray Recorder was appointed, Alvin Loomis being the person who was endowed with this function. This was unquestionably the first office held by anj' person in Medina County This is the direct antecedent of the much-ma- ligned " pound-keeper " of to-day. It was an outgrowth of necessity at that time. There were no fences, and the cattle ran at large. To distinguish the ownership of the cattle and sheep and hogs, a distinct and separate ear- mark by every owner of stock in the colony, was required, and the mark properly re- corded in a book kept by the " Ear-marlc " Clerk. The first entrj' in the book reads as follows : '' Harris\ille Township, Portage County, State of Ohio, April 16, 1816.— This day Joseph Harris entered his ear-mark for his cattle, sheep and hogs, which is as follows ; A half-penny on the under side of the left ear.'' Then follows Timothy Burr, whose mai'k is " a swallow tail in the end of the right ear." Rus- T k^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 493 sell Burr, " a square crop off the right ear." Five more were recorded in this year ; two in 1817 ; one in 1818. Then follow records ever}' year up to the year 1865. A complete political organization of the township was effected in April, 1817, and the new township then included all the territory which now belongs to the town- ships of Harrisville, Westfield, La Fayette, Chatham, Spencer, Huntington, Eochester, Troy, Sullivan and Homer. Twenty-nine votes were cast at the election held for township officers on October 6, 1877, at the little schoolhouse erected in the spring of that year. The poll sheet of this election has been lost, but the following were elected as township officers for the ensu- ing year : Joseph Harris, Loammi Holcomb and Isaac Catlin, Trustees ; Isaac Catlin, Jus- tice of the Peace ; and Timothy Burr, Town- ship Clerk. The first is a list of the taxable property of Harrisville Township, made out by Willey Hamilton in the spring of 1819. There are eighty-one names listed, and their personal property comprises 49 horses and 211 neat cat- tle. This included territory north, east and west, other than what constitutes Harrisville Township to-daj', although at that time it all came within its political boundaries. The next election occurred in Harrisville on the 12th day of October, 1819, at which time, State, county and township officers were voted for by the Harrisville people. Thirty-nine votes were cast at this election. At one of the township elections in the early years, fort3--seven candi- dates were voted for, though there were but thirt3'-one votes cast. This included all the different township offices, such as Eoad Super- visor, Overseer of the Poor, Fence Overseer and " Ear-mark " Recorder. Some of the can- didates had the honor of receiving ballots for four and five different offices. From this, it may be inferred that there was as much strife for office among our forefathers as there is among the politicians of to-da}'. This is again well illustrated at a special election held on July 3 following, to elect two Justices of the Peace. Twenty-nine votes were deposited, and they were divided among eleven candidates, as fol- lows : Waynewright De Witt, 23 : Leonard Chapman, 2-i ; Elijah De Witt, 2 ; James Rog- ers, 2 ; William Burr, 1 ; Amos Witter, 1 ; Jo- seph Harris, 1 ; Jonathan Fitts, 1 ; Lomer Griffin, 1 ; Carolus Tuttle, 1 ; and Ebenezer Harris, 1. The names of the voters at this election, the first Presidential held in Harris- ' ville Township, were Aaron Loomis, Reuben Chapman, Arvis S. Chapman, Joseph Harris James Rogers, Seeva Chapman, C3'rus Chap- man, Loammi Holcomb, Carolus Tuttle, Timo- thy Burr and Levi Chapman. At the next spring election, forty-seven votes were polled. This increased, at the election on April 7, 1828, to fiftj'-six. During the fall of that year, the people of Harrisville were thoroughly aroused in the Presidential canvass that was being waged between Andrew Jackson (Democrat) and John Q. Adams (National Republican). Sixtj'-five citizens came out that day for the Adams Electors, and one solitar}' vote had been cast for Andrew Jackson. Then indignation arose. Who could have been the traitor in their midst, who had presumed to vote for An- drew Jackson and the Democratic ticket ? When it was suggested by Waynewright De Witt that the man who had presumed to vote the Democratic ticket should be rewarded bj' a free ride on a rail, and the scorn of the entire colony, Josiah Perkins arose and defiantly de- clared that he had been the man, and intimated to the suggestor of the free ride that he was ready, right then and there, to sustain the vir- tue of a free ballot with a little more forcible argument than mere words. But it did not go further than words, and the political excitement soon subsided, and pleasant good feeling was restored. At the Presidential election held on November 2, 1832, 86 votes were cast. The Henr}' Clay Electors (Whig) received 45 votes, and the Andrew Jackson Electors (Democrat) ■v tii. 494 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 41. Pour years later, the vote ran up to 171 votes, the William H. Harrison Electors receiv- ing 100 votes, and the Martin Van Buren Elect- ors 71. On November 3, 1840, the total vote in Harrisville Township amounted to 240, the Whig candidate receiving 138, and the Dem- ocrat 102. The most intense excitement known in the election annals of Harrisville Town- ship was created at the Presidential election held in 1844. The anti-slavery sentiment of the North was asserting itself all over the coun- try, and it had come to the surface in the new settlement. Five of the citizens of Harrisville, whose names are Timothy Burr, Milo Loomis, Ebenezer Munson, L. 31. Grant and John Grant, voted the " Free-Soil " or " Third-Party " ticket at this election. In connection with the growth and develop- ment of the township, stand the men and women whose names will ever be associated with its his- torjr. First and foremost stands the founder and pioneer settler of the township. Judge Joseph Harris. His life's career has been told in the foregoing pages. He helped and sustained all laudable and beneficent enterprises, social, re- ligious, political and industrial, that were ad- vanced and consummated, until the daj' when his eyes were closed in death. He died on the 2d of October, 1863, at the age of eighty -one years, at the home which he built in the town of Lodi. As prominent bj' his side is the life of his wife, Rachel, who followed him to the grave about ten years later. She came with him to the settlement, and endured all the hard- ships, struggles and privations of the pioneer life, and with him enjoyed the sweet reward of their energy and industry by his side. She died on the 5th of October, 1874, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Henry Ainsworth. Another life, graven in the township's history, is that of James Rogers, one of its first pio- neers. His public labors will go down with it to coming posterity. He died November 20, 1877. Quite as brilliantly in this gallery of histor- ical characters, stands James Starr Redfield. His life is told in the history of the township. Another personage, perhaps the widest known the world over, is Lomer Griffln. A few years ago, the world knew him as one of the most re- markable men of the day. He attained an age that no man with well-authenticated record of birth and age had ever reached before. A few years ago, at the time of Mr. Griffin's death, the writer prepared the following obituary, which was published in the leading journals of America and England : " The last mortal re- mains of Lomer Griffln, the man whose life covers a centurj', and who has exceeded the Scriptural allotment of years given to man by nearly two scores, have been borne to their final resting-place. There are but few mortals to whom such a rich harvest of years are given. He was cotemporary with times and events that have gone into history generations ago. When he first saw the light of day, this Repub- lic, whose existence now covers a period of over a hundred years, was unborn, and was yet but the dream of a few brave men. The grand struggle for freedom, on this side of the Atlan- tic, had not yet commenced. He was j-et a boy when those burning lines that gave birth and liberty to a great nation were indited and pro- claimed to mankind, and, as a boj', he shared in the triumphs and glory of the Revolutionary host. The vast domain west of the Allegha- nies was yet one unbroken wilderness, and the numberless treasures hidden within them were undreamed of bj' man. " The old man is dead now, and he rests well in his grave. His last breath passed from him on Monday evening, and he died peacefully. Life ebbed slowly awaj-. It was an easy, nat- ural death. He clung to life as long as there was a spark of vitality left in him, and it was some days after parts of his body had turned cold that he fell into the never-ending slumber. ' Just seven weeks ago to-day, Mr. Griffln ;r^ RACHE L HARRIS. ^f liL^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 497 walked out in his back yard on a rainy morn- ing to split some kindling wood, and do a few chores, as was his wont. He was found pros- trate on the ground shortly after, having met with a fall. He was carried in the house and placed in a bed, from which he never rose again. He lingered along bravelj', but, within a week or so, it became apparent that he could live no longer. The machinery of life was worn out, and, on Monday evening, the news passed out that Lomer Grriffln, the oldest man in America, was gone forever. The funeral took place in the Congregational Church in Lodi on Thursday afternoon, Seiitember 19, 1878, and was conducted bj^ the Rev. William Moody, of La Payette, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Whitman, of Chatham. After the services, the corpse was placed in a convenient spot in the open air, to give the large crowd of mourners who had gathered, a parting look of the re- mains. After the viewing of the body, it was conveyed to the village cemetery, followed by a large procession. The following gentlemen, all advanced in years, and old settlers of this county, acted as pall-bearers : Albert Harris, Dyer Strong, John Holmes, B. F. Criswell, Al- bert Brainard and Henry Obers. The body was placed by the side of his first wife, who died in 1830, and lies buried in these grounds. "The precise age of the deceased, which has long been under dispute, has, at last, been conclusively settled, and he was, be- yond a doubt, now, one hundred and six years six months and twenty-five days, on the day of his death. Mr. Griffin was born in Granby (formerly Simsbury), Litchfield Co., Conn. We have been furnished with a copy of the familj' record of the Griffin family, as re- corded in the Archives at Granby, and we give that part of the record pertaining to the birth of Lomer Griffin ; ' Chedorlaomer Griffin, the son of Nathaniel Griffin, by Abigail, his wife, was born in Simsbury the 22d of April, A. D. 1772.' " The reason that this record of the birth was not sooner discovered and all disputes about his age at once settled, was that he had been given such a singular name, ' Chedorlaomer,' which was abbreviated and corrupted into the short ' Lomer,' and investigators were led to error in the difference of these names. We have been furnished some very interesting in- formation in regard to the ancestry of this re- markable man, and find that the family is wide- spread, and, in many instances, some of its descendants have held high social rank. John Griffin came from England about the year 1640, and first settled with a party of emigrants in Dorchester, Conn., and afterward moved to Windsor, in the same State. He stopped some time in Windsor ; but, hearing that there was plenty of pine timber over the mountains west, he started on an excursion in that direction, passing through the gorge at Loupville, and settled down on the north bank of Tunxus River, in a region which the Indians called Massawa, where he established a manufactory of pitch, tar and turpentine. The Indians burnt up his works, and, to settle with him, gave him a deed of the land in that region. He gave away several tracts of land to settlers from Windsor, but reserved for himself a tract three miles square, which was for many years known as ' Griffin's Lordship.' In the year 1647, John Griffin married Anna Bancroft, and by her had six daughters and four sons. The names of the sons were John, Thomas, Ephra- im and Nathaniel. The last, Nathaniel, was the youngest, and was born May 31, 1693. This Nathaniel had a son Nathaniel, who was the father of Chedorlaomer, the subject of this sketch. This finishes the genealogical tale of the first ancestors of Lomer Griffin from the time they left England. " As already stated, Lomer was born in that part of the village of Simsbury which is now known as Granby, Conn., on the 22d of April, 1772. No surprising events marked his boy- IT?- Ml k S^ 498 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. hood days. His father was a sort of farmer, and the boy's life passed along as farmers' boys' lives usually do. The first event In the life of Lomer Griffin, of which we have any in- formation and record, is his marriage to Miss Charity Moore, which occurred April 15, 1797, from which union there were seven children, namely, Parley, Willis, Ralzimond, Andrew, Thomas, Lydia and Harlow, of whom three, settled in Harrisville Township, are still alive. Another event which has latelj' been brought prominently before the public, as, in some re- spects, proving his age, was his enlistment in the Connecticut militia company commanded by one Capt. Moses He3rden, in August, 1813, and serving until October of the same year. On the strength of this enlistment, he, in the year 1850, made an application to the Government for bounty land, which stands recorded in the Pen- sion Office at Washington, and was recently brought to light by another application made by Mr. Griffin last spring for the same service in the militia company, under an act of Con- gress passed last winter, giving a pension to soldiers of 1812. Jlr. Griffin's application was at once made special, on account of the extreme age of the applicant, and his claim was granted. He has been drawing a pension since last spring, and was the oldest pensioner on the list in the Government offices. In the beginning of the year 1818, early in the month of January, Lo- mer Griffin, who had by that time become the proud and happy father of five childi'en, col- lected his familj' treasures about him, loaded a large box on bob-sled runners, drawn by a pair of oxen, and moved out West. During the latter part of March, he arrived in Harrisville Township, and at once went to work and put up a rude log cabin on a part of the Harris farm, two miles north of Lodi, which is now known as the Hoag farm. The rest of this man's life is given in the history of the town- ship in which he lived to the daj' of his death, taking a lively interest in its affairs. During the last five years of his life, he became a celebrity, talked about the world over as the American Centenarian." Jeremiah Higbee, for a number of years a resident in Lodi, during the earlier existence of the Harrisville Settlement, exerted a command- ing and wide-felt infiuence in its business and civil affairs. He was a man deeply interested in^ the social and religious movements that were propagated during his life in Lodi. He removed to Cleveland in 1858, and there became the founder of one of the most prosperous business establishments in that city. He died in the fall of 1878. An active part was played b}' several of the Harrisville people in the anti-slavery move- ments in the North, during the two decades pre- ceding the war of the Rebellion. Quite promi- nent in this matter, stood Uncle Timothy Burr, who then lived in the large brick building west of the village of Lodi, and now occupied by Mr. E. W. Minns. He, with a number of his neigh- bors, was in accord with the sentiments of the Abolition party that was manifesting it- self throughout the North ; and they together made their best endeavors to help the cause. The Burr House, near Lodi, became a famous station on the " underground railroad," on which the fugitive slaves who had escaped their masters in the South, were transported during the night to places of safety in the North- ern States and Canada. Numbers of the col- ored people, who had left their shackles of bond- age in the South, came to the Burr House and there found shelter, protection and food. Often- times there were ten and fifteen negroes secreted in the house, and some of them remained for days. Most of them traveled from there on to Oberlin and other points of safet}'. Laura, the wife of Mr. Burr, and Rachel Norton, a young girl who then lived with them, and is now the wife of E. W. Minns, nobly assisted in giving succor to the fleeing slaves. The industrial and commercial life of Harris- ^V HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 499 ville Township commenced with its first colo- nization. As a stripling boy of sixteen or eighteen years, James Redfield opened up a traffic in wolf hides, and, by his shrewd energy and industry, earned a good many dollars through the reward given by the State of Ohio for wolves killed. It is said that in a period of several years, he killed as many as 125 of these beasts. He captured and killed them in a sys- tematic, business-like manner. At one time, he traveled to a settlement some twenty miles dis- tant, in Wayne County, and bought an old, de- crepit horse of which he had heard, for 12. He brought the horse back to Harrisville and led it out into the thick woods and shot it. He set his traps on the dead carcass, and, in a short time, captured as many as fifteen wolves. Aside from the capturing and killing of wolves, the young pioneer early devoted his attention to other industrial pursuits. Among the first was the establishment of an ashery for the pro- duction of "black salts." This he carried to Elyria and exchanged for merchandise, which he disposed of to advantage in the home settle- ment. He was soon joined in the enterprise by Reuben Chapman, forming, in 1826, a partner- ship, and opening up a small village store. Another store, with an assortment of general merchandise, was opened in the year 1828 in the center of the village, hj Barker & Siza. A few 3'ears later, another country store was added to the business world of the Harrisville settle- ment, by Archibald Miles and Charles E. Dem- ing. This made three stores, and the country trade naturally drifted into the settlement. The store buildings were small, and the stock of goods rather limited, yet sufficiently large for the immediate wants of the early settlers. The immediate interests of the people of the township are agricultural. The desire of the American farmer is to excel. This is mani- fested in agricultural fairs held all over this broad land. Harrisville had its fair at an early day. The first exhibition of farm products and stock was quite limited, and conducted in an informal way. A few head of farm animals were shown on the green, and products were exhibited in the village tavern. This occurred for two or three seasons, and some years after an agricultural society entitled the Harrisville Agricultural Society, was organized in the sum- mer of 1859. The following were chosen a board of officers, at the first meeting of the society, held on the 15th of September of the same year : E. H. Sibley, President ; H. Selders, Treasurer ; N. Harris, Secretary ; and Lyman Mihills, Dyer Strong, T. G-. Loomis, H. Selders and Isaac Rogers as Board of Trustees. The first fair was held on the Redfield farm one-half mile east of Lodi, on October 25 and 26, of 1 859. It was a grand success for the first exhibition. Two more fairs were held in the following years, — the last being a complete failure on account of the inclemency of the weather. The society then died out, and the leading farmers of the township have joined the County Agricultural Society' of Medina. Harrisville was established as a post oflSce in 1834. The first mail line was run by James Redfield, who had a Government contract to carry the United States mails from Wooster to Elyria, by way of Harrisville, Spencer, Penn- field and Turner's Mills. The mail was carried twice a week. There is no authentic record to show when and at whose suggestion the name of the post office was changed to Lodi. There is now a tri-weekly mail passing from Burbank, on the N. Y., P. & 0. R. R., to Bel- den, on the C, T., V. & W. R. R. The population statistics of the township since its earliest settlement, are slightly sug- gestive of the different changes that have passed over it since its civil existence. In 1818, at an enumeration taken by the State of Ohio, the population numbered 231. This number rapidly augmented, until, b}' 1850, the United States census returns exhibited a total population of 1,477 persons. In 1860, this T vy w t>L^ 500 HISTOBY OF MEDINA COUNTY. number had decreased to 1,226, and, in 1870, there were only 1,182 persons living in the township. The United States census returns for 1880, show that there are 1,382 persons, and 197 farms in the township. Lodi is an unincorporated village of 439 in- habitants. The town is located just one-half mile east of the geographical center of the town- ship, at the northern extremity of the Harris- ville swamp. The East Branch River skirts the town on the north, while gently rising slopes extend to the east and north. The first settlement of the township was made right near the center of the village, and from that day it has formed the nucleus of the township. The first stores were built at this center. A tavern was erected there at a very early day by Orrin Chapman. In the spring of 1818, William Barnes came from the East, after hav- ing stopped in Cleveland and in Portage County for a short time, into the little settle- ment in Harrisville Township, and located at Lodi. With his coming, the industrial interests of the colony commenced. He had his proj- ects ripe and ready for execution soon after his arrival. The first was the construction of a dam up the "gully,"' on the East Branch River, and then, running a race-course for water-power down into the settlement. A grist-mill was put up, to which, a few j^ears after, a distillery was added, and, later, a card- ing-mill. A number of other additions were made to this building, and, in the course of time, it has been used for various purposes. From 1870 to 1873, it served as a cheese- factory. Mr. Jeremiah Higbee built a large store-building, and opened up a local mercan- tile business in Lodi in the year 1835, on an extensive scale. The structure is to-day intact and serving the purpose for which it was orig- inally erected. The spacious and commodious room caused the people to wonder at the time it was erected, and they all looked with aston- ishment upon the advancement that was being made in the commercial affairs of the town. This soon became the great village store, and, when Harrisville was set apart as a post office, in the year 1835, the office was located in this build- ing, with Mr. Higbee as Postmaster. This store was for many years the center of home trade in the country about. Another business structure, somewhat on the style of Mr. Hig- bee's, was erected in the "forties,'' on the site where now stands the large brick block owned bj' H. Ainsworth. Aside from a storeroom, it contained several shops for trades-people. Bus- iness was carried on here by the Ainsworth Brothers. This opened up a healthy competition, and made business livel}'^ in Lodi. This build- ing, with all its contents, was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1858. The conflagration caused a great commotion among the people. It was on a Sunday morning, when nearly all of the inhabitants of the village were attend- ing divine service, that the fire broke out. It had its origin from a defective flue. The en- tire building, with storeroom and stock, har- ness, tailor and shoe shops, and an adjacent dwelling, were consumed. In 1859, the Harrisville Masonic Lodge, in connection with a Masonic Hall, built a large store building on the south side of the public square in Lodi. The room was occupied by J. H. Warren as a hardware store for several years. In May, 1870, it burned down, with all of its contents, caused by the explosion of a lamp. James Richey came up from Wooster in 1834, and built a woolen factory and oarding- mill on the Little Killbuck River, two miles south of Lodi. This was, at a later date, owned and used by James Moore for a number of years, until the progress of the country left no demand for this business, when the small factory buildings became dilapidated, and all traces of it have since entirely disappeared. An iron foundry, for the making of agricultural implements, was established a few years before ^1 iht^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 501 the late war, by Mr. Joseph Wan-en. It has re- mained in successful operation, though it has undergone a number of changes in the proprie- torship. The most notable factorj' in Harris- ville Township to-day, is the wood-turning establishment owned and controlled by A. B. Taylor. A considerable force of hands is em- ploj^ed, and various articles of manufacture are turned out. In 1868, a large grist and saw mill was removed from Peniield, Ohio, and erected south of the center of the village. The Snow Flake Flouring Mill was built in 1875, adjacent to the old cheese-factory, and where, fifty years ago, the first flouring-mill in Medina County had been put up. The Crawford Cheese Factory, built two miles west of Lodi, by Christ Albert, was put in operation in the year 1876, under control of the Crawford Cheese Company, embracing the well-known cheese firm of Horr, Warner & Co., of Wellington, Joseph Crawford and Christ Albert, each one of whom owns a third share in the company. The most prominent business building in Lodi now is the brick block built and owned by Mr. Henry Ainsworth. It contains several large salerooms, warerooms, private offices, pub- lic halls, etc. It was completed in 1866. The new Masonic Block also claims attention by the elegance and spaciousness of interior, and its adaptability for mercantile business. An unusual prominence was given to the com- mercial affairs of Lodi, when, in 1863, the or- ganization of a National Bank was effected. The organization took place on the 7th of August, 1863, and the original stockholders were Joseph Harris, W. W. Prentice, H. Ains- worth, John Taylor, William Walcott, H. Seld- ers, Asa Famum, Leonard Tuttle, J. Higbee, J. N. Holmes, Josiah Nafzker and L. A. Shepard. The first officers were W. W. Prentice, Presi- dent, and H. Ainsworth, Cashier. The former died some years after the organization, and John Taylor was chosen in his place. The bank was known as " The First National Bank " of Lodi. On the 11th of January, 1876, the company went into voluntary liquidation, and its affairs were closed up. A private banking business has since been carried on by H. Ains- worth, in Lodi. Various and persistent efforts have been made by the people of Lodi, to have a line of railway pass through the town. So far, the ■ attempts have been futile in the completion of an iron highway. Numerous survej's have been run through the township from east to west and north to south. The first railroad agita- tion in Lodi commenced when projects were set afoot bj' capitalists of Northern and Cen- tral Ohio, to have a railroad built between Cleveland and Columbus. A line of survey was run through Harrisville, passing one-half mile west of Lodi. Considerable stock was subscribed by the citizens of the township for this project, and Jeremiah Higbee was ap- pointed and acted as one of the directors of the projected road. Through the efforts of Alfred Kelley, a wealthj' quarry man at Berea, the road was finallj' built and finished in 1851 through Berea, on to its southern terminus, passing about twenty miles west of Harrisville. There was no more railroad talk in the settle- ment until the year 1871, when it again com- menced in earnest. The Black Kiver road, run- ning nortli and south, was the first project which was incorporated under the name of the Wooster & Muskingum Valley Railroad. Har- risville subscribed $30,000 for the building of this road. Nothing has ever come of this road, except the establishment of lines of surveys. The next railroad project was the Wheeling & Lake Erie line, and intended to run from Wheeling, W. Va., to Toledo, in the northwest corner of the State. Harrisville subscribed $48,000 to this line. Henry Ainsworth was made one of the directors. Work commenced on this road, in the township, in the fall of 1874, and three or four miles were graded, and "^v J^l Vi^ 503 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. then, from several causes, work was abandoned until 1877, when another spurt was made, and a few more miles graded, the effort then being to construct it as a narrow-gauge rail- road. This also failed. Then work again com- menced in the fall of 1880, Harrisville sub- scribing $5,000 of additional stock. The grad- ing in the township for this road is now completed, and the prospects are of the decided indication that the road will be completed in the near future. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, from Pittsburgh to Chicago, has a line of sur- vej' established through the township, and strong hopes are entertained by its people that connection will be made on this line with the branches of this great railroad enterprise. The commercial and financial convulsions of 1837 and 1857 passed through the country without any visible material effect upon the interest of the people of Harrisville. The panic of 1873 was quite different. The village just then, in the years following the war, had reached the heyday of its prosperity. With the collapse of the banking house of Jay Cook & Co., and the failure of the Northern Pacific, $200,000, the money invested by citizens of Harrisville, was swept away. Business and manufacture commenced to stagnate ; other business failures in Ashland, Akron and Woos- ter followed, and a number of thousands of dollars that had been invested bj' Harrisville people, were lost. The darkest days in the annals of the town are those in 1864, when the small-pox broke out in Lodi, in the spring of that year, and made the fair town look desolate and forsaken for a number of months. The disease was brought into town by two tramp soldiers, who had stopped for a night's lodging at the village hotel, then kept by S. L. Stringham. In a few days the infectious contagion broke out and laid the inmates of the hotel prostrate. The hotel became, by necessity, a pest-house, and was isolated from the rest of the village, and held under quarantine. The disease died out after several months' ravages, and after exact- ing a number of victims. The wave of patriotism that electrified the North in the spring of 1861, struck the Harris- ville settlement in the month of April of the same year. The news of the firing on Fort Sumter had aroused the people, and it had ar- rived in Lodi. The call of President Lincoln for troops to suppress the rebellion had been issued ; it caused intense excitement in Har- risville ; a war meeting was held in the Con- gregational Church at Lodi ; the house was densely packed with anxious people ; stirring and patriotic addresses were made by a num- ber present. A few days later, half a dozen of the young men of the town started to enlist in the war ; they enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantrj', which was then in course of formation in Cleveland. In September of the same year, a contingent of fifteen more left their homes to fight for the Union. Harris- ville furnished about 100 men to the armies of the North. F. R. Loomis, J. C. Bacon, W. M. Bacon, S. W. DeWitt, C. C. Eldred, W. F. Ford and J. H. Green, were the boj's who answered to the first call to arms. The Harrisville Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, No. 1 37, was organized as a lodge on the 23d of October, 1846. For several years previous the question of formation had been agitated by the leading citizens of Harrisville, and meetings under a charter of dispensation had been held. It was on this day that a char- ter was granted them. It reads as follows : To Whom it mat Concern: We, the Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Hon- orable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio, convened in the ci(y of Dayton ; where- as, a petition has been presented to us from Joseph Hildreth, James S. Redfield and Benjamin Kidder, all Free and Accepted Master Masons, stating that they have heretofore assembled together under a warrant of dispensation from the Most Worshipful Grand Master ; I hey therefore pray for a charter extending and con- k. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 503 firming unto them the rights and privileges of a regu- larly constituted lodge of Master Masons; and where- as, the aforesaid petitioners having passed a proper lerm of probation and exhibited to this Grand Lodge satisfactory evidence that they have conducted bus- iness of Masonry agreeably to the original design ; Now. therefore, be it known. That we, the Grand Lodge aforesaid, reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and well-known attachment of the aforesaid petitioners to the sublime principles of Ma- sonry as originally taught, and earnestly believing that the true interests of the institution will be pro- moted by granting the prayer of said petitioners, have constituted and appointed, and do by these presents constitute and appoint them, the said Joseph Hildreth, James S. Redfield, M. Hoag, and their associates, a regular and constitutional Lodge of Master Masons, by the name, style or title of Harrisville Lodge, No. 137, and we do hereby appoint Brother Joseph Hildreth First Master ; Brother Calvin Holt, First Senior War- den, and Brother Hamner Palmer, First Junior War- den ; hereby giving and granting unto them and their successors full power and authority to assemble to- gether on all proper and lawful occasions as a legal lodge within the town of Lodi and State aforesaid ; to initiate good men and true who may apply to be made acquainted with the sublime principles of the several degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason, etc., etc. And furthermore. We do hereby declare the prece- dence of the Harrisville Lodge in the Grand Lodge, constitutional brethren to attend their Grand Lodge, etc., etc. And furthermore. We do hereby enjoin it upon them to conform in all their doings to the constitution, law and edicts of the Grand Lodge, and, in failure there- of, this charter and these powers herein granted are to cease and be of no further validity. In testimony whereof, and by virtue of the high power and authority in us vested, have hereunto set our hands and caused the seal of the Grand Lodge to be afiSxed, at Dayton, the 2.3d day of October, 1846, era of Masonry 5846. William B. Thrall, M. W. G. M. John L. Vatties, 11. W. D. G. M. M. Z. Kbeider, R. W. S. G. W. J. N. BuKR, R. W. J. G. W. B. F. Smith, R. W. G. Sec'y. The first regular meeting under the new char- ter, was held on November 27, 1846, and the following officers chosen for the ensuing year : Benjamin Kidder, W. M. ; Calvin Holt, S. W. ; James Kedfleld, J. W. ; James B. Richards, Secretary ; J. Yocum, S. D. ; P. Holt, J. D., and W. S. Moore, Tiler. The installation of these officers took place a month later. In a few years, the lodge, through wise and judicious management, had sufficient funds at its dis- posal to erect a building, and apartments in it were furnished for a Masonic hall. Lodge- meetings were held in it until the spring of 1871, when it was destroyed by fire. The lodge then transferred its quarters into the large busi- ness block that had been erected by Mr. Ains- worth, and held its business sessions there for a number of years. A new Masonic hall was erected on the old site in the summer of 1878, and was finished for occupancy in April, 1379. The apartments used by the Masonic lodge in the upper story are elegantly furnished, and are probably the best lodge-rooms in the county. This is the only secret organization that has ever existed in Harrisville Township. It has steadily grown in affluence, and is now one of the wealthiest lodges in the State. It numbers among its members the best citizens of Harris- ville Township, and holds the foremost position as a fraternal organization in Medina County. The different officers of the lodge for the year 1880 were Allan Pomeroy, Worshipful Master ; John Warren, Senior Warden ; A. A. Joline, Junior Warden ; J. C. Van Orman, Secretary ; N. Harris, Treasurer: J. H. Warren, Senior Deacon ; A. H. Vanderhoof, Junior Deacon ; S. L. Stringham, Tiler. Its regular monthly meetings are held on the Friday before the full moon. Pawnee is a post office, situated in Harris- ville Township, three miles west of Lodi, in the western part, on the line of Homer Township. It was formerly known as Esselburn's Corners. There are about a dozen houses clustered to- gether, and the inhabitants are all mostly Ger- mans. In 1872, Louis Esselburn erected a ^ ®- \ J^l ^ 504 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. large store building — the largest in Medina County — at this point, and carried on an ex- tensive trade. The property is now owned by D. B. Dudley. The hamlet was set apart as a post office in 1879, and is supplied with a tri-weekly mail from West Salem. Crawford's Corners forms a small settlement in the southwestern part of the township. It is located about three miles from Lodi, and contains about seventy-five inhabitants. The first settlement was made in this vicinity by Josiah Perkins, in 1819. Several years later, Joseph Crawford moved with his family from Wayne Count}', and settled in this locality. He opened up a store, and also erected a tavern. People traveling from Cleveland to Columbus frequently stopped at his place. After him the settlement was named. In the fall of 1816, the Rev. Mr. Bigelow, a circuit rider of the Methodist Church, whose station was in Kentucky, came into the Harris- ville settlement while on his way from Cleve- land to Columbus, and preached a sermon to the pioneers. He was accompanied by Mr. Harris as far as Wooster. on his way to the State Capital. The Rev. Royce Searl, Rector of St. Peter's Church, in Plymouth, Conn., preached a sermon in April, 1817, in the little log schoolhouse that had been put up that spring near the center of the town, on Timothy Burr's farm. Other ministers of different denomina- tions came into the settlement about this time ; among them, the Rev. Mr. Jones, a Baptist Minister, who was stationed at Wooster, and who held meetings at the different cabins in the settlement. This was the first religious life of the little colony. The origin of church societies in Harrisville Township, dates back to the fall of 1817. Re- ligious worship and devotional exercises had been held during and previous to that time in the little colony. It was on the 5th of October, 1817, that the first Christian Church was organ- ized in Medina County in the log schoolhouse in Harrisville Township. It was formed on the Congregational model of the Pilgrim Fathers. During the summer previous, there had been a revival among the settlers in the township, and all those who felt the need of salvation must be gathered into a church for their own safety, and that they might save others. On the 3d of October, all persons having a desire to form themselves into a church, met at the school- house, and gave the reason of their hope, and their views in uniting together as a church. The Rev. Luther Humphrey, settled in Geauga County, and Rev. Amasa Loomis, a home mis- sionary from Connecticut, were the ministers on the occasion. The examination was completed on the 4th, and on the 5th twelve persons came forward and formed a church. Their names were Isaac Catlin, Eunice Catlin, Loammi Hol- comb, Hannah Holcomb, Nathan Hall, Pemibri Hall, George Burr, Mehitable Burr, Cyrus Cur- tis, Russell Burr and Carolus Tuttle. On the 6th of October, 1817, the church voted to enter into connection with the Grand River Presby- tery, according to their rules of practice, and, on the third of the following February, their delegate appeared in Presbytery at their meet- ing in Tallmadge. There is nothing left on record to show what the confession of faith and covenant of the church was in these early days. No doubt, they were the same or similar to the other Con- gregational Churches on the Reserve, which were connected with Presbj'tery on the "accom- modation plan." This plan was formed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1801, and was approved by most of the New England ministers. Its aim was to relieve the new settlements, com- posed of mixed populations drawn partly from New England and partly from other States, and so partly Presbyterian and partly Congrega- tional. By uniting these elements for a time upon a fixed plan, they hoped to strengthen the weak church. It was conceived in a Christian r thL^ HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 505 spirit, and no doubt for some years accomplished good. It was abrogated by the old-school branch of the Presbyterian Church in 1837, and, on the 31st of July, 1841, this church voted to withdraw their connection from Pres- bytery. They some time after joined with other Congregational Churches in conference, and now belong to the Medina County Confer- ence. In the early days of the township, an occa- sional sermon or a sacramental Sabbath service was obtained from a missionary traveling, or from some minister principally occupied in another settlement. At other times, meetings were held without preaching. In this waj- Revs. Treats, Simeon Woodruff, Caleb Pitkin, Joel Talrot, John Seward, Varnum Noyes, William Hanford, Mr. Fay and Alvan Coe assisted the infant church. Rev. T. H. Breck was the first stated minister of the church, but it does not appear how long he continued in charge. The Rev. Joseph Edwards was the next stated min- ister — he served but one year. This was in 1831. There is no record to show the names of the ministers who were stationed here dur- ing the time intervening from the first organiza- tion up to this date. In 1832, the Rev. J. McCrea commenced preaching, and continued the whole or part of two years. Rev. Joel Groodell preached in 1834, who was followed for several years by the Rev. Asaph Boutelle. The Rev. B. W. Higbee preached for seven months in 1839. The Rev. Alvan Ingersol commenced a three years' service in 1840. Rev. J. H. Baldwin then served the church for a year. In 1844, November 30, A. N. McConoughey came, and left in 1847. He was succeeded by Rev. Moses Longley, who was Pastor for the year. Then came A. J. Drake, who preached about four years from 1850. From 1855 to 1865, the pulpit of the church was filled for different periods by T. H. Delamater, Q. M. Bosworth, William Russell and Rev. J. N. Whipple, who died in Lodi on the 29th of De- cember, 1865. He was followed by the Rev. James Gray, who continued for a year, and was then succeeded by the Rev. S. F. Porter. After the resignation of Mr. Porter, the Rev. A. H. Bobbins became Pastor of the church, and remained such for six years, when he was suc- ceeded by the Rev. L. Donaldson. The first Clerk of the church, Nathan Hall, was appointed October 6, 1817. Isaac Catlin, was appointed Aug. 29, 1822 ; James Rogers, May 10, 1836 ; Milo Loomis, March 30, 1839 ; Uriel T. Burr, April 29, 1841 ; R. Hunter, De- cember 25, 1852 ; and H. S. Chapman, the pres- ent incumbent, March 25, 1864. The church was incorporated on February 14, 1840. The act of incorporation reads as follows : Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of th- St-ite of Ohio, That George Burr, Isaac Catlin, Justus Burr, James Rogers, Augustus Phelps, Milo Loomis, William Converse and their associates and successors be, and they are hereby created a body corporate and politic, by the name of the First Congregational So- ciety of Harrisville, in Medina County, and as such shall be entitled to all rights, privileges and immunities granted by, and shall be subject to all the restrictions of an act entitled, " An act in relation to incorporated religious societies," passed on the 5th of March, 1836. Sec. 2. That said society shall give ten days' notice, by posting up advertisements in three of the most public places in the township of Harrisville, in said county, of their first meeting under this act. Thomas J. Buchanan, Speaker H. of R. William McLaughlin, Speaker of the Senate. The meetings of the church were continued in the log schoolhouse, where it had been formed, until the same was destroyed by fire a few years later. The burnt schoolhouse was replaced by a hewed-log town and school house, where meetings of this society were also held. Sometime in 1828, the congregation built for themselves a log meeting house, 24x30 feet, one story high. It was altogether primitive, both in structure and the furniture within — slab, benches, rough board pulpit, etc. The building Ai iiL 506 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. at present used by the society was erected in 1843. It was an enterprise not undertaken by the church, but by Mr. Milo Loomis, assisted bj' Mr. Jeremiah Higbee. After finishing the house, they sold the pews as best they could for payment. A semi-centennial was held in the church on October 7, 1867. One remarkable fact in connection with this church is, that it has not missed a single Sabbath service during its existence. The record and origin of the Methodist Epis- copal Church in Harrisville is not well known. Religious observances of the Sabbath Day were held by the Methodist ministers as early as 1818, but no organization was formed until several j'ears later, and no record has been kept to show the date. At different times, services were held in the Cotrell Schoolhouse, located a mile and a half northwest of Lodi. In 1825, the Wesleyans and Methodists joined with other denominations, and helped build, with the township, thri two-story town and school house on the site of the first log schoolhouse, which had burned down, and there, in the upper story, thej^ continued union worship for a number of years. During 181:6, the first Methodist Episcopal Church organization was formed in Harris- ville. In 1 847, the church list had a membership of sevent3'-flve, and the Revs. Warner, Dodge, Hitchcock and others were the ministers ia the following years. The present Methodist Epis- copal Church edifice was erected and fin- ished during the years from 1867 to 1869, and was dedicated by Bishop Clark, of Cincinnati, in August of that year. The church was in charge of the Rev. G-. A. Reeder during this year. He was followed by the Revs. Mr. Pope, E. 0. Mclntyre, B. D. Jones, Y. P. Lawrence and Gr. W. Huddleston. At a revival held in the church in the winter of 1878, there were sev- enty-two conversions, and there was consider- able interest attending the revival meetings. It was the largest religious movement ever known in Harrisville Township. The membership of the church now numbers 172. Another religious element which asserted itself in the earlier days of the settlement, and for several years maintained an organization, is the Universalist Church. For several years preceding the war of the rebellion, the Rev. Henry Gifford came at regular intervals and ad- dressed the small congregations at the town hall, and at private residences. An effort was made in the fall of 1871, for a permanent or- ganization of a Universalist Society. It was successful, and remained intact for several years. Meetings were held regularly every alternate Sabbath Day for religious worship, in the town hall. The incorporators, at this time, of the Lodi Universalist Society, were H. Ainsworth, Joseph Reynolds, A. Pomeroy, Mrs John War- ren, N. E. Shaw, E. 0. White and Calvin Holt. The Rev. N. Stacey Sage was the resident minis- ter, and preached for three years, when he re- moved to theWest. The regular Sabbath services were then discontinued, and the society gradu- ally died out, only a few meetings having since been held by the society in Lodi. The Rev. H. F. Miller and Rev. Mrs. Danforth have both preached several sermons. In the year 1840, a Presbyterian Society was formed in the western part of the township. The incorporators were John Douglas, William Finley, William Jeffreys, James Stevenson, Joseph Faulk and Skene Lowe. They held re- ligious worship at the little log schoolhouse, near the corner, with the Rev. Varnum Noyes as minister for five j'ears, and then disbanded and joined the Presbyterian Society at West Salem, The first public instruction given in the township of Harrisville was in the spring of 1817, in a small log schoolhouse erected on the farm of Timothy Burr, now belonging to E. W. Minns, one-half mile west of the town of Lodi. Miss Diadema Churchill taught school during the summer of that year. In the winter follow- ;(V s 'A k^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 507 ing, and for several j'ears after that, Mr. Tim-- othy dealt instruction in the rudimentary branches of learning to the few children, num- bering from four to eight at a time. A few years later than this, another school- house was put up by the few settlers in the western part of the township, on the site where now one of the churches at Cherry Cor- ners stands. Miss Harriet Hosford taught there a few terms, and also a Mr. George Mc- Quay. A division of the township in school districts was made on the 10th of October, 1827, with the following boundaries, as given in the original ordinance made by the Township Trustees : Commencing on the south line of the township, at the southeast corner of Lot No. 156, running from thence north on lot line, to the north corner of Lot 96 ; from thence west, on the line of the lots, to the West Branch of Black River; from thence northwardly, following said stream, to the outer road running east and west; from thence west, to the west line of the township. All that said part of said Township west and south of that line, shall constitute District No. 2. District No. 3, bounded by District No. 2 on the west, and a line run- ning from the northeast corner of Lot 96, running east to the south, to the southeast corner of Lot 87 ; from thence north, to the northeast corner of Lot 68 ; from thence east, to the east line of said township ; said dis- trict shall include all that part of the Township south and east of the said line not included in District No. 2. District No. 1 to contain all that part of the Township not included in the other two districts. The following are the names of all the householders in District No. 1 : Seth Lewis, Michael Loomis, Alvin Loomis, Justus Burr, Carolus Tuttle, John Jason, Jr., Nedebiah Cass, John B. Utter, Charles Lewis, Lomer Griffin, Willis Griffin, Anson Loomis, James Rogers, Amos Kinney, Timothy Burr, Joseph Harris, Thomas Dunbar, Eli Utter, Michael Simcox, Cyrus Chapman, Henry K. Jo- line, Asher Loomis, Ira Kingsby, Elijah De Witt, Isaac Catlin, Diodema Birge, John Jason, Moses Parsons, Ralzemond Griffin, Parley F. Griffin, Richard West and Perrin Chapman. District No. 2 — Loammi Holcomb, Reuben Harrington, Daniel Delevan, Timothy Munson, Josiah Perkins, John Munson, Nathaniel Rogers, Leon- ard Chapman, Samuel R. Munson, David Sausman, Roger Phelps, William Rogers, Perez Rogers, Anson Marsh, Jonathan Fitts and Thomas Holcomb. District No. 3 — Thomas Russell, Russell Burr, Webster Holcomb, Jere- miah Hill, Elijah Bishop, Levi Chapman, Warren John- son, Sceva Chapman, Orange Stoddart, Reuben Chap- man, Isaae Rogers, Ebenezer Harris, William Burr, George Burr and Celina Young. We, the undersigned. Trustees of Harrisville Town- ship, certify the above to be a true description of school districts in said township, as laid off by us, and also a correct list of householders in each district. James Roqees, Attested ; Jonathan Fitts, Anson Loomis, Clerk. Trustees. An enumeration taken on the 4th of Janu- ary, 1830, of the householders in the different school districts in the township showed eighty- one householders and one hundred and thir- teen children between the ages of four and eighteen. Another subdivision of school dis- tricts was made on the 16th of May, 1835, add- ing two more and making five school districts. Two more districts were created by the town- ship trustees, on the 15th of May, 1837, and on the 9th of October in the same j'car, Alvin Loomis, Joseph W. Rockwell and 0. S. Kinney were appointed Directors of School District No. 1. An enumeration of the youth between the ages of four and twenty, in the several school districts in the township, taken on the 20th of October, 1838, showed 253 males, 253 fe- males and a total of 506. This number had in- creased in 1840 to a total of 538, and in 1845 to 638. In 1855, the number of youth had de- creased to a total of 484, and in 1860 there were only 447 children between the ages of four and twenty years in Harrisville Township. Twenty years later, in the fall of 1880, the total number of school children between the ages of six and twenty-one, in the entire township, in- cluding the special school district of Lodi, was 482, being, strange as it may seem, just 156 less than were enumerated in 1845. By virtue of an act passed by the Ohio Leg- islature on April 9, 1867, a special school dis- trict was created in the winter of 1868, embrac- 1, iy l]^ 508 HISTORY OF MEDIJTA COUNTY. ing the territory within the limits of the town of Lodi. At the first election, held in April fol- lowing, H. Ainsworth, H. Selders and N. Harris were chosen a Board of Education for said dis- trict. Township District No. 8, on petition of the householders of said district, was merged into the special district of Lodi in April, 1872, and is now an incorporate part of the same. A few years previous to the separation of a special school district, the question of the es- tablishment of a higher grade of school than that of a common district school had been ex- tensively agitated among the people of Lodi, and consultation and private meetings had been held by its citizens, at various times, to en- courage a movement of this kind. In the fall of 1867, the following call was issued and placarded on the streets of the town : Let Us Build The House ! The advocates and Patrons of Education, within and adjacent to HarrisTille Township, are hereby notified that a meeting will be held at Lodi, on Saturday even- ing, February 16, 1867, at 6 P. M., to devise measures for the erection of an academy in said town. All are respectfully invited to convene on that evening at the Congregational Church. Friends of Education. The people of the neighborhood at once re- sponded to this call, and there was a large at- tendance and a great deal of enthusiasm mani- fested on the subject. Dr. M. Hoag was called to the chair, and spirited addresses and appeals were made by H. Ainsworth, Rev. Samuel F. Porter, T. G-. Loomis, John Taylor, M. Hoag and others for the cause of education, and the erection of an academy' building. A pream- ble and subscription list was offered by Mr. Ainsworth, and $8,500 was put down at this meeting. Committees were appointed and an adjournment had for a week, vt'hen an organi- zation was effected. H. Selders, S. C. Munson, H. Ainsworth, T. G. Loomis and W. W. Pren- tice were elected a board of trustees, with the following board of officers : President, W. W. Prentice ; Vice President, John Taylor ; Secre- tary, F. R. Loomis ; Treasurer, Henry Ains- worth. The total stock had been placed at 200 shares of $100 each, all of which were taken in less than a month's time ; there were sixty- three original stockholders. The project had so far advanced by the first of May that the se- lection of a site was made, and the proposals for a building given out. On the 5th of June, 1865, the first assessment of 10 per cent was made, and the ground was broken in the "Orchard" lot, within the town, for a large academy building, which was completed in the spring of 1871. The first academy school year opened the next fall with Prof J. N. Haskins as Principal. There was a very large attendance of scholars, which increased during the next year, and the school bid fair to become a prosperous and successful institution. A Boarding Hall, large enough to accommo- date 120 student boarders, was erected south of the Academy during the first j'ear. At the fourth annual meeting of the stockholders, held on April 5, 1873, the following proposition was submitted to the voters : " Shall the trustees create an indebtedness sufficient to complete the building, and inclose grounds?" which was adopted b}' a vote of 118 for, to 12 against. The success of the school continued for a few years, and the people of Lodi felt gratified and encouraged. Then came the panic of 1873, with it assessments on the capital stock of the academy association to meet contingent ex- penses. Prof Haskins resigned on account of failing health, and the attendance of the school grew less. Prof H. N. Miller, a Universalist minister, took charge of the school and con- ducted it in a very able manner for three j^ears. After that the Rev. Mr. Mclntyre and Prof W. R. Grannis took control of the school until the spring of 1878, when the school was closed for an indefinite time. One or two private se- lect schools were held in the building after that. In April, 1879, the question of purchas- \^ « ihL^. HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 509 ing the academy building and using it for a union school was submitted to the voters of Lodi Special School District, and carried with an overwhelming majority. John Warren, T. G. Loomis and E. W. Minns were elected •Directors of the district at the same election. The building, which had originally cost $25,000, was bought for $5,000. It is one of the finest structures for school purposes in Ohio. The public schools opened in it on the 2d of Sep- tember, 1879, with S. Thomas as Superintend- ent. CHAPTER XIII. YORK TOWNSHIP— DESCRIPTIVE— COMING OF SETTLERS— PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENTS— UNDER- GROUND RAILROAD— MANNERS AND MORALS. IT often occurs within the experience of the historical writer, that, when any section of country was first settled, some portions were cleared and inhabited a quarter of a centurj^ be- fore other portions removed but a few miles dis- tant. Owing to some natural feature which un- fitted the land for occupancy in early years, no improvements were made ; and some of the finest farms in the county have been cleared and subjected to cultivation within comparatively late years. Following the natural instincts of human life, the pioneer complacently selected what, in his judgment, was the finest land within the reach of his limited purse, for what- ever object he had in view, whether agriculture, horticulture, stock-rearing, milling or mechanics. Its proximity to mills, stores, schoolhouses, churches, good water, quarries, etc., was an im- portant item to be considered. If any or all of these were yet lacking, the settler chose a home where the configuration of the land and the natural surroundings gave promise that the farm would be favorably situated when the country became well settled. Sometimes, as was quite often the case, the settler arrived in the wilderness with more children than dollars, trusting that with the aid of those two valuable assistants — help and self-denial — he might at last secure a home where he could pass the re- mainder of his days in security and peace. " It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope," and what a rest it is from the dreary prospects that hang like the shadow of some impending calamity over the future. How precious to our happiness are the castles that we build ! How sweet it is to let the imagina- tion wander ofi" into pleasing representations of future stages of life ; and how universal and cherished is this phase of human character. It opens boundless fields of enjoyment as vivid as reality, and crowns desolate and desponding lives with the bright fiowers of approaching happiness. When all the blessings from Pan- dora's box are fled, hope alone remains, a sol- ace in the darkest hour of human life, to irradi- ate the future with the smiles of Divine promise and love, and to save man from de- spair at the approach of death. The pioneer, removed from the influences of human society, no doubt thought as did Alexander Selkirk : " Solitude ! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face ? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place. " I'm out of humanity's reach ; I shall finish my journey alone ; Never hear the sweet music of speech; I start at the sound of my own." His only prospect for relief from anxieties and toil lay in his sturdy nature, and in his hope that " something better would turn up." The total avoidance of human society is a S \ ^ '-ii. 510 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. cross that weighs heavilj' upon the heart as the years advance. In the seclusion of non- intercourse with fellow-men, the tendency of human nature is to revert from the standard of society in its present artificial character, and to renew the cast-off instincts and habits of barbarous man. Evolutionists insist that soci- ety is an organic growth or relation, and that it is neither the natural nor primitive condition of man. They assert, that, if the usages of so- ciety be partially relaxed or wholly avoided, the infallible result is a fatal retrogression to primitive conditions. This would place man back almost to the higher plane of brute capa- bilities. However, the pioneer had nothing of this nature to fear, as his isolation from social contact with his fellows was but temporary, from the obvious fact that thousands of settlers would locate near him in the course of a com- paratively short time. This philosophical ques- tion was not the one which most perplexed the settler. His problem was something like this : " How in the world am I to feed and clothe this ' raft ' of children ? " That same question has staggered many a man not recognized in histories as a pioneer ; and it may be added that many a husband and father never suc- ceeded in reaching a correct solution. He could not look in a book as the school-boy does, and write the answer in its proper position on the slate. That esteemed privilege was denied him. The case must be met with honest and incessant toil, and no legerdemain could de- ceive the great Teacher looking down from above. Others in the school of life could solve the problem at a glance, and the prosperous condition of their children, the presence of a broad scholarship, and a lofty refinement in thought and act, attest the accuracy and prac- tical value of their solution of the problem of social life. Pioneers belong to that division of humanity known as benefactors. Through countless denials and self-imposed hardships, through almost a lifetime of unceasing priva- tions and perplexities, they founded the bright and happy homes of to-day, where education, religion, refinement, and all the luxuries of wealth, abound. York Township remained as long unsettled as any other in the county. This was not be- cause of a dearth or absence of natural attrac- tions. The soil was as rich for agricultural purposes as that of any other ; and the open- ing for settlers was promising, and gave assur- ance of future opulence to those who were sav- ing and industrious. Settlers, like migratory birds, seek a common resort. They move in flocks (to continue the figure), and, at the end of a long journey, alight in the same neighbor- hood. It seems that no flock saw proper to alight in York until many years after several of the other townships had been visited. Ad- venturous birds, however, left the neighboring coveys, and attempted to build their nests and rear their young abroad. It thus came to pass that, prior to the appearance of the first permanent white settler in 1830, the township was the home of several wandering hunters and trappers, who served as an advance-guard to the advancing army of settlers. It is quite certain, that, soon after the war of 1812, one or more professional hunters resided in a small bark shanty, in the northeastern part, near the present site of Abbeyville. The dwelling was little better than a wigwam, and was permitted to fall into decay after one or two seasons of occupancjr. This brings the reader down to the time when the first permanent settler located in the township ; and, before entering upon the description of the first settlement, it will be proper to notice the physical features of this portion of the county. York Township is five miles square, and is bounded north by Liverpool, east by Medina, south by La Fayette, and west by Litchfield. Like the remainder of the county, its surface is irregular, and is characterized by peculiarly shaped prominences, which, at a distance, ap- 'F :\^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 511 pear to be the works of Mound-Builders, but which, upon closer inspection, prove to have been deposited by glacial action in times which antedate, by long periods of years, all recorded history. These prominences or hills, are usu- ally composed of a coarse bowlder clay, and large quantities of gravel of crystalline rock, granite, quartz, evidently of a foreign nature. The lower and more level portions, though com- prising a large percentage of claj', are still thoroughly intermingled with a rich semi-sandy and semi-alluvial soil, giving great strength and permanence to its productiveness. The composite nature of the soil, and the pro- portion in which the composing elements are blended, assure a fertility that is unknown in sections of the State or county where a pure soil abounds. Such lands are fitted for a greater varietj^ of crops, as each vegetable production can select from the soil that which is adapted to its permanent and most rapid growth and strength, while a pure soil, lacking as it does the elements necessary to the life of some plants, can support the growth of but few. The soil also has great strength, as is shown by the fact that the same crop can be raised j-ear after j'ear on the same piece of land, without decrease in quality or quantity produced. The land is good for grazing pur- poses, and for meadows of luxuriant grass. Considerable sand is displayed near Abbey- ville, not only in small inland and isolated banks, but in strata along the abrupt banks of Rocky River. Excellent hard water is ob- tained in abundance, at depths varying from ten to forty feet. A few perpetual springs are found, and, if their location is near a public highway, troughs are prepared where horses ma}' quench their thirst. The township is well drained by numerous streams which flow in a northerly direction, and the waters of each finally reach Rocky River. The principal stream is Mallet Creek, named thus for the first white settler who lived on its banks. It enters the township on the southern line, about a mile west of the center, and flows a little west of north until near the center, when it takes a course a little east of north, and finally leaves the township at very nearlj' the geographical center of the northern boundary. It is fed throughout its course by numerous aflftuents, which join it from either side. This whole system of drainage has suf- ficient fall to insure the contiguous bottom land from ever becoming marshy, and unfitted for the use of the husbandman. The stream and its branches have worn their way, in some places, many feet below the surrounding valley level, owing, no doubt, to the character of the soil. The northeastern corner is crossed by Rocky River, a stream which has worn its way deep into the underlying rock. Near the bridge at Abbeyville, perpendicular embankments of sandstone may be seen, rising abruptly from the water's edge, in some cases to the height of seventj' feet. From the worn character of the perpendicular surface thus exposed, it seems reasonable to infer that the bed of the stream was once at the top of the enbankment, and that through a long period of years it grad- ually descended to its present position. Mal- let Creek and its branches drain almost or quite one-half of the township. The north- eastern third is drained bj' three or more small "runs," which flow directly into Rocky River, near Abbeyville. There are no swamps of any note, although in earlj' years the northern part was quite wet, and was covered with an almost impenetrable thicket, wherein wild animals sought refuge from pursuing hounds or hunt- ers. In common with other portions of the county and State, York, in early j'cars, was destitute of convenient roads, and it was only after the lapse of time that the incidental sticking in the mud, which attended each jour- ney, could be avoided. The first road prop- erly surveyed in the township was the Nor- walk road, extending diagonally to York Cen- ^ -^ 512 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. ter from Medina, thence directly westward. It was surveyed in 1 830, and was laid out only to be avoided, as the passage of a few wagons so cut up the clay soil that drivers preferred to select their route through the woods near by. This procedure was only altered when the road had been sufficiently graded to turn off the water, instead of allowing it to remain in the ruts made bj^ the wagons. We come now to the time when the first set- tlers appeared in York. It being premised, that, inasmuch as portions of the county, con- tiguous to the township, had been first settled a score or more years earlier than 1830, and that the townships of Liverpool, Medina, La Payette, were at that date quite thicklj' populated — it may appear strange that no settler had yet concluded to locate in York. One reason for this state of affairs was that the township was owned by speculators in the East, who charged so much for their land that it was practically thrown out of market. The land was owned in six tracts — five of them each a mile wide, and extending from the eastern boundary to within a mile of the western line, and the sixth, comprising a strip one mile wide, extending north and south across the western side. The tracts number from the south to the north, the one on the west being the sixth. No. 1 was owned by a man named Chapman. It must not be understood that the price of the land was far above that in neighboring townships. The price asked varied from 25 cents to $1 above the current rates, and, in the estimation of a man with but little monej', this was an important consideration, and effectually pre- vented the sale of the land. In the year 1826, the following persons paid taxes on 14,137 acres of the land : Pannj' Chapman, Elijah Hubbard, James Mather, Samuel Mather's heirs, Thomas Mather, Thomas Sill and Will- iam N. Sill. The land was valued at $29,936, and the tax paid was $295.62. In the month of June, 1830, George Wilson. of Monroe County, N. Y., came to the town- ship, purchased a small tract of land on the branch road where Eli Hubbard now lives, erected a small dwelling, and immediately moved his family from Medina, where they had stopped until Mr. Wilson could build a house. This man was the first permanent settler. He was immediately followed by Levi Branch, Lawson Branch, Harvej' Bruce, E. Munger, John Dunshee, Reuben Stickney, and Solomon Hubbard. These men came with their fami- lies to Medina in the month of October, 1830, and, while the families remained in the village, the men went to York, found their land which had been previously bought or traded for, erected their rough log houses, and returned to Medina for their families. Levi Branch was looked upon with envy by his fellow-settlers, as he had taken the trouble to bring from York State a small stove. This was properly ad- justed in his cabin, and was looked upon by all visiting neighbors as a curiosity, and was spoken of so often throughout the neighbor- hood, that "Branch's stove" became almost a by-word. The cabin in which this " curiosity " was placed, and in which the family moved, was only half-finished, as but half of the roof was on, and the doors were 5'et to be man- ufactured. Blankets were hung up to serve the purpose of doors, temporarily, and Mr. Branch continued busilj' engaged in riving clapboard shingles to be placed on the half- finished roof A rough floor had been hastily fitted in, designed to do duty until leisure mo- ments would give Mr. Branch opportunity to construct a better one. The fact that settlers in the surrounding neighborhoods had attained a comparative degree of comfort, did not miti- gate in the least the hardships and sufferings of the York settlers. The}- were compelled to pass through the same bitter school of expe- rience. The size of the tracts of land pur- chased depended upon the means at the com- mand of the settlers. Levi Branch bought (PuM^y^ (n^\^ ^ p^ HISTORY OF MEDIISA COUNTY. 515 567 acres, but his farm was larger than that of aay of the other early settlers. All were located south or southeast of the center ; and, within a few years, this portion of the township put on the outer garb of pioneer civ- ilization. Cabins of various designs rested near the center of small clearings ; the ring and echo of ax and rifle awoke reverberations on the distant hills and in the heavy forest ; the " ding-dong" of cow-bells told where the herds were feeding ; the barking dog betrayed the fact that a coon had been treed ; and all the attendant features appeared which give to clearings in the forest the name "settlement." For the next five j'ears after the appearance of the settlers already mentioned, as many as thirty others located in the township and be- gan clearing their land and cultivating the soil. The first thing to be secured was a garden, where potatoes and kindred vegetables could be raised. After this came the fields of wheat, dotted with hundreds of stumps, to avoid which, the reaper must use care. While the crop was growing, the settler was busily en- gaged in deadening the trees, and leveling them with the ground. At this point of the clearing process, a great deal of useless labor could be avoided by judicious management, guided by the light of experience. In some cases, all the timber on a certain piece of land was to be destroyed by fire. On such occasions, the chop- per would select some central point, around which, for 300 or 400 feet, all the trees would be felled toward the center selected. They would lodge on the central tree, and remain standing until the latter was cut down, when all came thundering to the earth together. Here they would remain until dry and dead, when they were almost totally consumed by fire. At other times, a line, perhaps eighty rods or more in length, was laid out across a tract of land, and all the trees within 300 or 400 feet were felled toward this line, thus form- ing an enormous windrow. At the proper dis- tance away, another line was established, and the process was repeated. In this manner, whole sections were often chopped in windrows, and, as soon as the trees were thoroughly dead and dry, fires were lighted over the entire area of fallen timber, and the men devoted their time and attention in preventing the fire from dying out, and in seeing that all the fallen ma- terial was destroyed. In the night-time, the fires thus lighted over half a farm, compared favorably with the prairie fires so well known in the West. In early years, a great deal of farm labor was done through the medium of " bees." Whole neighborhoods would assemble and accomplish in a short time what would perplex one man for months. A large share of the clearing done in York was accomplished in this manner, and all was the result of an inter- change of labor. The men of a neighborhood would assemble and clear up the farms in rota- tion, and it is true, that a vast saving of time and labor resulted from these "bees," and it is often the case, from the peculiar nature of the work to be performed, that twenty men can accomplish in one day what one man cannot accomplish in twenty days. If the butt-cuts of trees were to be saved, the windrow process of clearing was often adopted, as in that case, the tops were crushed together, while the butts were free from troublesome branches. When one or more cuts were to be preserved on each tree, it was customary, also, to adopt the cen- tral process of clearing, and the center selected was usually the summit of some prominence, as in that case the logs could be rolled more easily out of the reach of the fire. It is impossible to name all the settlers who came to York prior to 1835. Previous to their coming, they were notified, upon inquirj', that the excellent and well-traveled Norwalk Turn- pike extended through the center of the town- ship, and afforded an unparalleled outlet to market and mill. They were also informed that the township was crossed by the beautiful Mal- ^ ^ s I A! '.\>L 516 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. let Creek, in whose clear waters thousands of speckled trout abounded. Thus, the most san- guine anticipations of the settlers were aroused, and all were anxious to view the bright land which destiny had selected for their home. Alas for the delusions of fancy ! It was dis- covered that the informant had meant speckled frogs, instead of speckled trout, and the well- traveled turnpike proved to be a snare and a myth. It is related that E. M. Lampson, Sr., went with his wagon to Medina for a few bricks, and, on his return, though he had but 125, his wagon sank to the hub in the soil of the " cel- ebrated Norwalk Turnpike.'' This enraged Mr. Lampson, whereupon he uttered some startling truths, in a peculiarlj' emphatic manner, re- specting the famous turnpike and the meander- ing Mallet Creek. He and manj' others were for a long time singularly tender on the sub- jects of speckled trout and turnpikes. Like a celebrated lady, they refused to be comforted, because they were not — as their hopes had de- picted. Time, at length, healed the wounds. The township was organized and named in 1832. The name " York " was bestowed upon it, owing to the fact that nearly all the settlers came from York State, and, at their suggestion, the authorities created the township under that title, and ordered an election held at the resi- idence of Levi Branch, on the 2d of April, 1832, for the purpose of electing the necessary officers and of completing the organization. On that day, twentj* settlers (all then living in the township, with the exception of about five) assembled, and polled their first votes as citi- zens of York Township. It will thus be seen, that, from June, 1830, to the following April, about twenty -five settlers located in the town- ship. This first election was held in Mr. Branch's barn, and, after a due amount of " wire-pulling '' and " electioneering," the fol- lowing officers were elected ; Alexander Forbes, Justice of the Peace and (probably) Clerk ; Philo Fenn, Treasurer ; Levi Branch, Thomas Brintnall and Sylvanus Thunn, Trustees. It was no uncommon occurrence, in pioneer times, to hold town meetings in barns and dwellings. This was rendered necessary from a lack of schoolhouses and town halls. It required but about six years from the time of the first set- tlement before the township was almost as densely populated as it is at present. It was during this period that the township sprang, like Minerva from the head of Jove, into vig- orous and mature life. Industries of various kinds began to arise as abruptly, if not as grandly, as Aladdin's palace, and soon the wild farms of the forest were transformed into those of civilization. Hundreds of acres of fine tim- ber were given to the flames, and the peaceful hum of busy human life was heard, where erst the howl of the wolf and the whoop of the sav- age resounded. The paths of the forest were opened to the light and heat of the sun ; the ponds and marshes slowly disappeared ; wav- ing seas of wheat and corn appeared ; roads were established and graded ; stumps were up- rooted and removed ; fields became encircled with strong rail fences ; domestic animals fre- quented the paths and feeding-grounds of wild ones ; schoolhouses appeared, with their disci- pline and instruction ; happy homes were cre- ated by the industry and genius of man ; relig- ious institutions, with their attendant bless- ings, arose ; the pleasing and complex relations of social life took the place of savage councils and pow-wows ; natural features, with artificial adornments, improved the wild figures of the forest ; and the vast energj' of a progressi\'e and enlightened people transformed the wil- derness into quiet hamlets and peaceful country homes. When the township was first settled, deer, wolves and other wild animals had not wholly disappeared. These and others were yet seen at their favorite haunts, and were pursued and shot by those whose inclinations had a sporting tendency, and whose wants could be supplied -KT— V A HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 517 from the spoils of the chase. Alexander Forbes was perhaps the most skillful and successful hunter ever a resident of the township. He built his cabin on the diagonal road running from Medina to York Center, in the fall of 1830. He was a tall, powerfully built man, and, it is said, would kill an average of one hundred deer each season. Extravagant stories are told con- cerning his ability to bring in large quantities of game, and his superior marksmanship. He often went into the forest in the morning, and returned at night with forty or fifty squirrels, each having been killed by a bullet through its brain. It is related that on one occasion of about three weeks, he killed eight deer, on an average, per daj\ On another occasion, he started a herd of seven deer early in the morn- ing, and continued following the same herd all daj', occasionally shooting one, and at night all had fallen before his unerring rifle. These stories are not impossible, and they bear the evidences of truth. It is no wonder that such rapid destruction of game soon left the forest deserted. Wolves were a continual annoyance for many years, and it seemed almost a necessary result, that, when a valuable flock of sheep had been reared with no little attendant trouble, these blood-thirsty creatures must steal into the fold, and slaughter the whole flock. It is not probable that the owner, in viewing the field of death the next morning, passed manj' complimentary remarks on the act, or went about his daily task in an enviable frame of mind. It thus came to pass that the Countj' Commissioners offered a bounty of several dol- lars for wolf-scalps, and so great was the push after the reward that the wolves found it best to depart for other localities. Since the disap- pearance of deer and wolves, coons and squirrels have been the principal " game." Levi Branch owned the only team in the township during the winter of 1830-31, and passed the greater portion of his time in travel- ing to Wooster, Akron and other distant places to procure supplies. He was a kind, benevolent Christian, and oddly built his cabin on that portion of his farm farthest removed from Me- dina. When asked why he did this, he replied, that it was done in order that, as he had the only team, he could have the pleasure of con- ve3'ing all his neighbors living on the diagonal road, to church in Medina everj- Sunday morn- ing. He was one of the most intelligent and prominent of the early settlers, and has many descendants living in the township. In the spring of 1835, Alonzo Forbes and An- son Bellamj' built a saw-mill on Mallet Creek, on the farm now owned by John B. Knapp. The mill was a sort of a shantj', constructed of lumber sawed before the building was erected. The saw was operated by water-power, and the mill was at first located on the bank of the stream ; but it was found impossible to allow the building to remain thel-e, as freshets were sure to damage the machinery, and, very likelj-, sweep away portions of the mill. It remained there, however, for several years of irregular operation, and prepared for the neighborhood a limited quantit3' of rough lumber. It changed owners several times, and was finallj' purchased by a Mr. Worden, who altered the arrangements materially. He built a dam back a quarter of a mile above the mill, and then, by means of a long, narrow race, obtained excellent water- power, without the danger of having his mill swept away by every freshet. The mill was enabled to operate some six months of the year, and turned out, in its time, quite a large quan- tity of lumber. It finally became unprofitable, was permitted to run down, and was not after- ward re-continued. Mr. Zimri Cook says that the first saw-mill in the township was built in November, 1832, and located on Mallet Creek, on the farm now owned by Mrs. Yorks. It was built and operated some three or four years by Squire Dra3'ton, who, at the expiration of that time, removed the machinery and permitted the mill-building to fall into ruin, from a lack of ^<^ V IV -^ 518 HISTORY OP MEDINA COUNTY. patronage. A rude dam was constructed, and then, bj^ means of a short race, a fair water- power was obtained. This mill, like most of the other early ones, was in danger of being swept away at ever}' heavy rain, as it was inse- curely built, and was erected below the limit of high-water mark. It was soon removed, but the machinery was put in running operation in another part of the State. It was the custom, even after saw-mills were in active and profitable operation in the town- ship, for the settlers to erect log houses instead of frame ones, from lumber obtained at the mills. This was done, as less time and expense were required, and the buildings thus erected, though homelier, were warmer, more substan- tial, and would last longer. It seems proper, in this connection, to give a description of the method of erecting log houses, " not," says an old settler, "for the enlighten- ment of the present generation, but from a de- sire to hand down to posteritj' the primitive structures of pioneer times, as this mode of building will soon become obsolete and un- known."* Proceeding with the description, he saj'S : " If a cabin was to be built from the forest, a leader was chosen, who was always a man of experience, and dubbed ' captain.' The officer thus commissioned would classify the assembled settlers, and assign to each his respective duties, about as follows : " 1. He would select four of the most expert axmen as corner-men, whose duty it was to first clear oflf the site, square it, and place a bowlder at each corner, to build upon, after be- ing duly leveled, then saddle and notch down the logs in good workmanlike order. " 2. He would assign a sufficient number of suitable men, to select, as near the site as pos- sible, the best large-grown, straight-grained white-oak tree, for clap-boards, whose further duty was to fell it and cross-cut it into suitable lengths, split the cuts into square bolts, and * Judge Patrick, of Urbana, in Antrim's History. rive them with a frow. Another set of men were required to prepare puncheons for floors, doors, window-casings, and chimney-corner jambs, out of such timber as was best adapted for the pur- pose, such as oak, chestnut or ash, which, when properly selected, could be made of sufficient length and width to make good building lum- ber. The puncheons for the floor were placed upon sills, and supported in the middle by joists, after which the upper surface was care- fully dressed by a skillful adz-man, who could make it almost as smooth as though it had been sawed and planed. " 3. He would select and detail such a num- ber as seemed necessary, to cull out, as near the site as possible, straight, suitably sized, stand- ing trees, and fell them, and chop them into re- quisite lengths, for the proposed structure, with teamsters to haul them in as thej' were pre- pared. To this force were added other team- sters, provided with rough wooden sleds, to haul in the clapboards, puncheons and other lumber of a similar nature. All the above hav- ing been carried into effect, the leader would take his station and direct men from his force, to prepare smooth skids, the necessary number of strong forks, with grape-vine or hickory withes around the prongs, to render them se- cure, and with two or three cross-sticks inserted through holes bored in the lower ends, to pre- vent the hands from slipping, and also to pro- vide a sufficient number of handspikes of tough hickory, dog-wood or iron-wood, some four feet long, with ends shaved flat and smooth, to be used in rolling the logs to their position or up- on the skids. All were under command of the leader, who was always selected because of his experience, skill and ability to secure the com- pletion of the work in the shortest space of time. Stationed upon a prominent position, where all the stages of the work passed in re- view before his eye, he could direct his forces as systematically as a General does his troops on the field of battle. As the logs were hauled to "D \ ' l\^ HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 519 the site and unloaded, the necessary number of men would be directed, either to roll the logs to the skids, or to pick them up on hand-spikes, and carry them there. Four corner-men were selected, who, from their experience and skill, could perform the best work, and one of these was assigned to each corner to notch and fit the logs as the walls of the house arose. The logs were shoved on the skids to their destined position, and here the expert corner-men would chamfer or bevel off the ends at a suitable an- gle, the work being done on each side of the log, so that the two beveled sides would meet in a point, upon which a notch in the transverse log destined to be placed above it, could rest. This operation was called saddling the logs, and re- quired considerable skill to secure a close fit. The two end logs were placed in their positions first, and then the sills were selected and notched deeper than the other logs, in order that the floor, which was to rest upon them, might not be too far above the ground. It will thus be observed that the lower end of each log was deeplj' notched, and that the upper side of the same end, was chamfered into a ridge, upon which the transverse log next above it could rest. The corner-men, at the same log, would work together, as each would notch or chamfer at the same time as the other. " After the four foundation logs had been properly notched and saddled, and placed in a firm position in the shape of a square, the next thing was to cut in the sills the slots to receive the sleepers, though this was often postponed until after the building was erected. These sleepers were selected with the view of their being intended to support the floor, and, after being hewed ofl" to the proper shape and size at the end, were placed in their positions in the slots or gains. " This being done, the rapid erection of the walls continued, the corner-men using their loosely-held axes to insure the perpendicularity of the corners. When the walls became quite high, the skids, with one end resting on the ground and the other on the top of the walls, were used as a rude tramway, upon which the logs could be moved to their positions. The logs would be slid up the skids as far as possi- ble with the hand-spikes, after which strong men, with the above-described forks, would take the logs, and, with the end well down toward the ground, would raise the latter to their posi- tion on the wall. It sometimes happened that the forks were not suflaciently strong to support the logs, in which case thej' split, thus allow- ing the logs to slide down the skids upon the men. Occasional deaths were caused by not taking the proper precaution to have the prongs strong enough. Thus the building progressed until the required height was reached — all be- ing done with precise uniformity and celerity. At last the eave-bearers would be raised upon the two ends of the building. These projected some twentj^ inches beyond the wall, and would be notched down and saddled back far enough to receive the timbers hereafter described. Then the butting-pole for the back of the cabin would be shoved up to the front corner-men and rolled to the back eave, and notched down upon the saddles, being allowed to project some fifteen inches beyond the outer surface of the wall. The first rib would be sent up in the same manner, and rolled back to a proper distance in- side of the butting-pole, and notched down so as to give the pitch of the roof from the center of the pole to the top surface of said rib. In this manner, the corresponding timbers for the front of the cabin were placed. The first two gable-logs would be placed in notches cut into the ribs, and chamfered at the ends to suit the pitch of the roof The remaining ribs 'and gable-logs being placed, the roof was then ready for the clapboards, which are laid down upon the ribs with the lower ends resting against the butting-poles, with small spaces be- tween, which are top-covered so as to break joints. Knees of proper length are prepared at •<^ IS ^ 5) k^ 520 IIISTOKY OF MEDINA COUNTY. each eud, and are placed endwise against the butting-poles to hold the weight-poles in place, the latter being laid upon the roof-coursers as nearly over the ribs as possible. In like man- ner, another course of clapboards is laid down- with the lower ends resting against the weight- pole of the next lower course. In this manner the roof is completed." This is the manner in which log houses were erected. It was usuallj^ the custom, however, for the owner to haul all the necessary logs and timbers before the workmen arrived, and even to cut and place in position upon the bowlders the four logs for the foundation. He also often rived out the clapboards with a frow, and pre- pared timbers for the floor and roof It was not long before school houses and churches were erected in diflferent parts of the township. Enterprises of various kinds were undertaken, and soon the citizens of York could boast of as fine schoolhouses, mills, etc., as any other portion of the county. The citizens were persevering in industry and stanch in integrity and moral worth, and the rising generation felt the impact of these influences, and grew into intelligent and moral people. During the days when Abolitionists arose all over the North to denounce, with ceaseless tongue, the wrongs of slavery, and especially what the}- deemed the infamous measures of the Fugitive Slave Law the citizens of York were not whollj' silent or inactive. They became satisfied that the meas- ures of the law were totally wrong in the sight of man and God, and set themselves industri- ouslj' to work to render the law practically in- operative by a constant evasion. As stated by Ephraim Lindley, of Brunswick, they were dis- satisfied with being made slave-catchers with- out their consent, and resolved to abrogate the measures of the law so far as lay in their power. Wesley Hulet, then residing near Abbeyville, was one of the most active men in the town- ship to assist runaway slaves to Canada, An underground railroad, with man}- branches, ex- tended north and south across Ohio, and, while the main line lay near some well-traveled high- way, and was traveled by those runaways who did not fear pursuit nor court concealment, the branches were much more secret, and were traversed by trembling men, women and chil- dren, upon whose heads a high reward was set, and whose safety from a punishment worse than death la}' in their secret passage to the domin- ion of the British queen. One of these branches extended through York, and was, perhaps, trav- eled far more extensively than many of the main lines. It is stated on the authority of Mr. Lindle}^, who was one of the most active slave concealers and assistants in the county, and whose cabin was the next station north of that of Mr. Hulet, that the latter helped more than a score of runaways on their way North. Ansel Bowen, of York, was coimected with the road, as were also Jonathan Hulet, of Bruns- wick ; W. P. Stevens, also of Brunswick ; Will- iam Castle, of Abbeyville, and Samuel Hale. It is stated by Mr. Lindlej'', that, on one occa- sion, Wesley Hulet, driving a wagon containing nine runaway slaves, stopped at the cabin of the former, and, after Mr. Lindley had fed the black people and furnished them with various articles of clothing, Mr. Hulet conveyed them on to the next station north, which was, per- haps, the cabin of W. P. Stevens. A huge negro, clothed in tatters and covered with scratches and wounds, presented himself one night at Lindlej^'s cabin, and begged food, and the privilege of remaining there until morning. The request was willingly granted ; but the negro, who had doubtless been pursued, and, in consequence, was distrustful of everybody, seemed to entertain misgivings as to the good faith of Mr. Lindley, and, when conducted to his bed for the night, asked the privilege of having the door locked, and of having posses- sion of the key during the night. Whether he slept well or not, is not known ; but, when he opened the door and came out to breakfast the "T> > L> HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 531 next morning, he told the family that he had had a dream, wherein it appeared that he was caught, at which point he awoke and was over- joj'ed to find that he was yet free and likely to reach Canada. It was afterward ascertained that he was closely pursued by his owner, but at last succeeded in eluding his pursuers and effecting his safe arrival across the lake. The point on the lake shore where the runaways were instructed to go, was at the mouth of Grand Eiver. Here thej^ were told to remain concealed until a certain hour on one or more days of the week, when a small steamer, com- ing from the Canada side, would approach the landing, whereupon the runaways were to hurry on board without ceremon}' or delay, and the vessel would convey them across the lake. It is said that men throughout the State furnished the money which paid the owner of the steamer for his trouble. This quiet place of boarding was selected because all the principal landings, such as at Cleveland, were thronged with dis- guised, watchful and irate owners, looking for their "cattle," and preparing to conduct them back to a condition worse than Egyptian bond- age. It may be said that York Township did her share of violating the Fugitive Slave Law, and of assisting the weary runawaj-s to gain their freedom. In the j-ear 1831, Levi Janes purchased 600 acres of land in the northeast part of the town- ship, and, during the following autumn, erected his cabin, which was the first in the village of Abbeyville. In the winter of 1831-32, he em- ployed Wesley Hulet, an experienced millwright, to built two mills on Rocky River, near the present site of the village, one for sawing lum- ber and the other for grinding grain. The country was quite new, and it was obvious that the combined enterprises were likely to meet with many discouragements and disasters ; but the energy and foresight of Mr. Janes, often tested in the practical field of experience, soon placed the mills on a firm financial foundation. and ere many years they afforded a satisfactory revenue to the owner. From some sources, and perhaps the most reliable ones, the report comes that the grist-mill was not erected until the sum- mer of 1833. If the precise date of its erection is known, the writer has been unable to ascer- tain it, and its recovery from the gloom sur- rounding the past must be left to the succeed- ing township historian. At any rate, it was running in 1833, with a fair patronage for those days, but which, at present, would consign the mill to desertion and decay. The mills were about ten rods apart, and both were operated by means of a dam and race, through the me- dium of which a strong water-power was ob- tained. The dam was constructed a few rods above the upper mill, the composing elements being stone, timber, brush, etc., making a strong and substantial structure. The race was short and easily constructed, partlj' because of the presence of substantial material within a few rods, and partly because of the advantage taken of naturally favorable conditions. The saw was one of the up-and-down pattern, and was set in operation in a small frame building. Here for a number of j'ears no small quantity of native lumber was turned out. As was almost uni- versally the case in the rapidly improving State of Ohio, sawing was done either by the hundred, or a share of the logs was retained by the saw- yer. The mill changed owners several times, and underwent a variety of alternating ups and downs for many j^ears. Wesley Hulet was, for a number of years, the partner of Mr. Janes, with a half-interest in at least one of the mills. Janes had come from Montreal, Canada, and was well situated financially. The grist-mill, under his supervision, received a fair local pat- ronage, and was a great accommodation to the surrounding neighborhood. His cabin was the first dwelling in the village, and his improve- ments, mills, store, etc., soon attracted others to the same neighborhood. It was through his influence and upon his land that the village was 5> ^ dA 533 HISTOEY OF MEDINA COUNTY. flnallj^ laid out, and upon it was bestowed the given name of his wife — Abbej^ — with the French termination viUe, meaning a small col- lection of houses. Mr. Hulet built the second cabin in the village a few weeks after the erec- tion of that of Mr. Janes. He was the first millwright in the township. His connection with the underground railroad was previously mentioned. The third house was built by a blacksmith named Webster, soon after the erection of the other buildings. This man was not only the first blacksmith in the village, but the first in the township. It is stated, that, at the time of the coming of Mr. Webster to the village, he was almost hopelessly addicted to the use of liquor ; but that, through the in- fluence of Mr. Janes, he was restored to his normal condition. In the fall of 1832, Mr. Janes placed in one room of his house a few hundred dollars' worth of goods, and thus opened the first store in the township. He afterward increased the stock, and for a num- ber of years did a thriving business selling dry goods, groceries, hardware, etc. It was through the influence of Mr. Janes that a post office was secured at the village, in about the year 18.35. Mr. Batchelder, a carpenter, became the fourth resident of the village. Several industries sprang up in earlj^ years, among them being an ashery conducted by Messrs. Castle & Holcomb. The enterprise was established in 1834, and a considerable quantity of potash was manu- factured, and conveyed to Cleveland and other large places. Abbeyville had an earlier start than the Center, though the latter has attained greater fame among the catalogue of villages. Many important facts connected with the early history of York Center seem both unreli- able and unattainable. There is a certainty, however, in a few things : The village had a start soon after Abbeyville ; it gradually got the better of its elder rival ; its future was firmly established when a station was located there. It is also true that it grew and pros- pered through the years. Various enterprises have sprung up from time to time as tttfe busi- ness energy of the place has increased. Perhaps the most extensive pursuit ever in the village, is the one conducted at present by J. R. Hol- comb & Co. A brief description of the charac- ter and scope of the work in which these gen- tlemen are engaged will be found in the biographical department of this volume. Mr. Holcomb is the proprietor of an educational journal, which is highlj^ regarded as a teacher's assistant, as is shown bj' its flattering circula- tion, not only in Ohio, but in neighboring, and even in distant, States. York Center compares very favorably with other township centers in the county. No other portion of the county has better schools than York. Good average wages are paid teachers, and the impulse given to educa- tional topics and interests by the presence of a live school journal, is shown in the substantial schoolhouses filled with bright scholars. It is always more or less difficult to ascertain the circumstances connected with the first school taught in a township, or rather, it is difficult to satisfy everybody that the correct facts have been discovered and given. However, the eflFort will now be made. The first school taught in the township was held during the winter of 1831, in one room of the residence of Levi Branch, the teacher being Theodore Branch, son of Levi. One room of the house, or a por- tion of one room, was furnished with a few rude seats and desks, and in this rustic place the ed- ucational history of York may be said to have begun. The teacher was a young man, and the school was his first, or among his first, efforts ; but the ordeal was safely passed, with mutual benefit to teacher and scholars. The former received his pay b};^ subscription, but the rates seem to have been forgotten. The first school- house was a log structure, erected during the fall of 1832, on the farm now owned by Prank Burt. It was built by every man's turning out ^ ^^ HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. 533 on a given day and assisting until the work was finished. Theodore Branch was employed to teach the first term held in this house, and was paid bj- the month ; but how much he received, or how the money was raised, are unmentioned or forgotten items. It is stated, upon the au- thority of Mr. Levi Gardner, that the first frame schoolhouse in the township was built at Abbej'- ville. Mr. Janes was the prime mover in its erection, although all in that neighborhood assisted. Miss Martha Branch was the first teacher in this house. In 18.37 or thereabouts. Abbey ville " had reached the highest point in all its greatness." The village gave great prom- ise at that day, as much so, perhaps, as any other village in the county, five years after its origin. It was in the last-mentioned j'ear that an eflTort was made, mainly through the influ- ence of Solomon P. Holcomb, to institute at Abbeyville either a branch of Oberlin College or an educational enterprise of a similar char- acter. Prof Amos Dresser, of Oberlin, came to Abbeyville for the purpose of taking the initiatory steps looking to the founding of a college. Quite a large class was obtained, and for a number of months the future of the little village was cloudless and serene. The principal object, or one of them, upon which the institu- tion was founded, was a scheme to promote manual labor. The education to be furnished was industrial in its nature, a scheme, which, since that day, has developed the Industrial Universities and Agricultural Colleges scattered throughout the United States. But alas for Abbeyville ! the attempt proved abortive, and the good-looking professor took his departure. It is probable that in 1840 every school district was supplied with a schoolhouse of some kind. The following facts regarding the organiza- tion of the Methodist Church have been kind- ly handed us : " As regards the organization of the Method- ist Protestant Church at York Center, both the exact time of the formation of the society and the name of the minister by whom the class was organized are not certainly known. A class was organized under the discipline of the Methodist Protestants in an old log school- house which stood somewhere near the resi- dence of Reuben Gardner. It is believed that the officiating minister was Rev. Samuel Claw- sip, and that the society was organized about the year 1841. During a part of the time that elapsed from 1841 to 1844, the society held prayer-meetings in a private house which is now the property of Marj^ Ford, and is located northwest from the center of the town. The society needing a house of worship, Richard Lampson, one of the charter members, donat- ed a plot of ground ; and the deed specified that, when the ground ceased to be used for the purposes of the Methodist Protestant Church, it should revert to the Laippson heirs. This plot of ground was located on the south- west corner of the center square. The deed was given in the year 1844, and a frame house was erected and dedicated to the worship of God about the same date. The following is a list of some who were what we may denomi- nate " the first members " of this church (we have not sufficient knowledge to be able to distinguish the original or charter members from those who were not such) ; Richard and Sarah Lampson, Rufus and Anna Oliver, Samuel and Electa Smith, John A. and Marga- ret Hood, John and Albert Thomas, Amasa Taylor and wife, John Dunshee and wife, and Catharine Salmon. In the j'car 1877, the house of worship was regarded uncomfortable, and, as the class had increased in membership and wealth, an efibrt was made to erect a new house of worship. As the result of this suc- cessful efibrt, the present brick edifice was erected, at a cost of $5,000. The principal donor was Mary Ford, and, in her honor, there is placed above the entrance the name by which the church is known — Mary's Chapel. The amount which this ladj' gave was $3,000, i) ""V t^ 534 HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. without which the house could not have been built at that time. The following persons entered into a partnership in 1865 for the purpose of buj'ing a house and lot for a par- sonage : Samuel Hale, Ansel Holcomb, Alvin Ford, C. C. Burt, L. R Chamberlain and J. B. Knapp. These men paid $1,000 for a house and lot located in the village. Alvin Ford finally became sole owner of this parsonage, and, after his death, the property was donated to the church. The class pays its Pastor $500 per annum. The present membership is about seventy. The old house of worship is now used as a dwelling-house in the village. The following is a list of itinerant ministers and the date of their serving : John Barnet, 1855 ; without a pastor, 1856 ; G. W. McCuen, 1857- 58 ; G. W. Bowman, 1859-60 ; James Will- iams, 1861-62 ; John McFarland, D. D., 1863- 64 ; G. W. Hissey, 1865-66 ; James Williams, 1867-68 ; J. M. Langley, 1868-69-70 ; T. H. Scott, 1871-72 ; Joseph Hastings, 1873 ; J. D. Downey, 1874; Walter Moore, 1875-76-77; Mrs. E. S. Oliver, 1878; J. M. Woodward, 1879 ; William H. Guy, present Pastor." On Saturday, the 27th of April, 1833, the Congregationalists met at the residence of R. M. Lampson, in York Center, for the purpose of organizing a church society. Twenty-six persons presented their names for membership, as follows : Ezra Brown, Esther Landers, Ben- jamin Landers, Lucy J. Landers, A. Stone, Levi Stone, Lucinda Bruce, Sarepta Hubbard, Polly Branch, Theodore Branch, Eunice Rowe, L. M. Janes, A. Landers, senior and junior, Esther M. Landers, Elizabeth Stone, William B. Stone, Amelia Stone, Keziah Gardner, Levi Branch, Cordelia Branch, Abial G. Rowe, Jlary B. Landers and Abbey P. Janes. The minis- ters in charge of the occasion were Revs. Barnes, of Medina, and Noyes, of Seville. On the 12th of February, 1839, arrangements were made to build a church. The funds were raised by subscription, one- half to be paid on or before the 1st of November, 1839, and the balance by six months later. The Trustees were authorized to begin the church as soon as $300 was raised. The building was soon completed, and lasted many years. In April, 1 834, at the first annual meeting of the society, the following church officers were elected : Levi Branch, E.J). Brown and Thomas Brintnall, Trustees ; Hiram Lamp- son, Treasurer. By special act of the Ohio Legislature, the society was incorporated as follows : " Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Thomas E. Millard, Levi Branch, Aseph Landers, together with such as are, or may hereafter be, associated with them, be, and the same are hereby, created a body corporate and politic by the name of the First Congregational Society of York Township, Medina County, Ohio.'' The first church has been replaced by another and a better one. These are the only church societies in York Township, and it seems better thus to have fewer, and consequently larger, societies, than to have the church-going people parceled ofl", as it were, into classes that are too small to be self-sustaining, or, what is even worse, to struggle on against financial disasters through a sickly and uncomfortable life. As it is, the two churches are strong, well attended, not only bj^ members, but by outsiders, who are called out by the zeal displayed and the interest surround- ing the occasion. And then, again, people pre- fer joining a society that does not appear to be ready to die, if the term may be indulged in ; but which seems to possess all the vigor of earl}' years. ~B \