.TiAs *$s ffltim othn if '%>-%,Q I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.! [FORCE COLLECTION. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ul!nmw WITH THE HISTORICAL DISCOURSES HON. E N. SILL, AND REV. L. BACON, AND Biographical Sketches of the Early Settlers of the Township, by Amos Seward, Esq.; together with addresses, Correspondence, etc. .♦■•-. AKRON, 0: BEEBE& ELKINS, PRINTERS. 1857. A PROCEEDINGS AT PRELIMINARY MEETINGS. The following named persons, viz: Amos Sewakd, Warren Sturte- vant, Daniel Upson. Samuel M. Bronson, Clark Sacket, Sylvester Barnes, William Wells and N. B. Stone, having been appointed a committee to take into consideration the propriety of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the settlement of Tallmadge Township, agreeable to notice made report on the 29th day of Oct;, 1850, a3 follows: The committee to whom was referred the subject of noticing the 50th ^anniversary of the settlement of the Township of Tallmadge having had under eOBsidaration the propriety of thus commemorating the epoch would respect I'ully report, that,— History sacred and profane, records the observance of important events, and we believe that the settlement of the place now nearly fifty years since, should be suitably observed. In so doing we pay a tribute of respect to the memory of those who laid the foundation of our prosperity and enjoyment, and leave an ex- ample for those to follow, who may fill our places in the coming half century. We therefore recommend that early measures be taken to suitably ob- serve the event sometime within the coming year A. D. 1857. Amos Seward, Chairman. Which report was accepted by the citizens present and the Town Clerk, L. C. Walton, Esq., was requested to give notice that on Thursday the 8th day of January, A. D. 1857, at 2 o'clock P. M. a meeting would be held in the Town Hall, to further take into consid- eration the subject matter above referred to. Pursuant to notice the citizens of Tallmadge met at the Town Hall at 2 o'clock P. M. of January 8th 1857, to further take into consider- ation the propriety of commemorating the 50th anniversary of the set- tlement of the Township. The meeting was organized by calling Mr. IV Lucius W. Hitchcock to the chair, and appointing N. B. Stone Sec- retary. On motion of Rev. C. Smith h was resolved that measures be taken to appropriately celebrate the 50th anniversary of the settlement of this Township. On motion a committee of seven was appointed to make necessary arrangements for the celebration, consisting of the following named per- sons: Amos Seward, Dr. Dan'l. Upson, Chas. C. Bronson, Sylvester Barnes, ErisiiA N. Sill, RoswellKent, and Nelson B. Stone; Resolved, That a majority of the committee shall form a quorum to transact business. Resolved, That discretion be given to the committee in determining the time when the celebration shall occur, whether in the month of June or September"next. It was resolved that a general invitation be given to the former res- idents of the township, to join us in the celebration, — and that the com- mittee extend special invitations to such persons as they may deem it desirable to have attend. And on further motion it was resolved that the adjoining Townships be invited to attend. Resolved, That the committee of arrangements be authorized to col- lect information, and transact the business necessary to perfect the cel- ebration of the 50th anniversary of Tallmadge; and when they shal\ deem it expedient, call a meeting of its citizens to make provisions for the accomodation of strangers and former citizens who may attend. The minutes of the proceedings having been read,on motion the meet- ing adjourned. L. W. HITCHCOCK, Pre*. N. B. Stone, Sec'ry. Tallmadge, Jan. 31st, 1857. The committee of arrangements met at the call of the chairman, Imos Seward, at the house of Dr. Ufson, at 2 P. M. Present, Messrs. Seward, Upson, Barnes, Br| nson and Stone. On consultation itwas unanimously agreed to have the celebration on the 24th day of June next, and that the Rev. Dr. L. Bacon of New Haven, Connecticut, be invited to deliver an address. On motion the chairman Was selected to correspond with him on the subject. On motion N. B. Stone was appointed corresponding Secretary, and to act as Secretary for the meetings of the committee. On further motion the committee adjourned to meet at Dr. Upson's again the 7th of next March, at 2 P. M. N. B. Stone, Sec'ry. Tallmadge, March 7 th, 1857. The committee met at Dr. Upson's, at 2 o'clock P. M. pursuant to adjournment. Present, Messrs. Seward, Upson, Barnes, Bronson and Stone. The chairman reported that in compliance with the resolution of the previous meeting, he had corresponded with Dr. Bacon, who had con- sented to be present at the coming celebration, and deliver an address. The following order of exercise is agreed upon: First, Prayer, 2nd, Vocal Music, 3d, Historical Address, 4th, Music by the Band, 5th, Address of Dr. L. Bacon, and then adjourn for re- freshments until afternoon. Afternoon exercise to consist of volunteer speeches interspersed with vocal and instrumental music. The chairman, Dr. Upson was appointed a committee to wait upon Hon. E. X. Sill, of Cuyahoga Falls, and inform him that he was se- lected by the committee of arrangements to deliver the Historical ad- dress. The Secretary was directed to address the leader of the Tall- raadge Band choir, on the subject of preparing music for the celebra- tion. Thereupon the meeting adjourned. N. B. Stone, Sec'ry. Tallmadge, April 18th, 1857. The committee of arrangements met at the call of the chairman, Amos Seward, at Dr. Upson's at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Pres- ent, Messrs. Seward, Barnes, Bronson and Stone. On motion of Dr. Upson, Ira P. Sperr y was elected to act as Marshall at the coming celebration, with power to call to his aid such persons as he may deem necessary to enable him properly to discharge his duty. On motion it was resolved that a meeting of .the citizens be called on Saturday the 30th day of May, at 1 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of making such fur- ther arrangements as may be thought expedient for the celebration, — and that the meeting be announced from the pulpits of the respective churches of the place, on the Sabbath next preceding, the time above mentioned. On motion the committee adjourned to met at the Congre- gational church on the first Sabbath in May, at 4 o'clock P. M. X. B. Stone, Sec'ry.' Tallmadge, May 2nd, 1857. Committee of arrangements met pursuant to adjournment, at the Congregational church. Present, Messrs. Seward, Upson, Barnes, Bronson and Stone; after general consultation in regard to various matters connected with tho celebration, without definite action, Rev 8 The Rev. Carlos Smith, of Tallmadge, called the assem- bly to order ; the CXVth Psalm was read by the Rev. Wm, Monks, of Tallmadge ; Prayer was offered by Rev. William Hanford, one of the oldest Clergymen of the Reserve ; the following Psalm was then sung by the Choir, to the tune of "Denmark:" 100 PSALM— 2n VERSION. L. M. 1. Before Jehovah's awful throne, Ye nations how with sacred joy; Know that the Lord is God alone. He can create, and he destroy. 2. His sovereign power, without our aid, Made us of clay, and formed us men; And when, like wandering sheep, we strayed, He brought us to his fold again. 3. We are his people, we his care, Our souls, and all our mortal frame; What lasting honors shall we rear, Almighty Maker, to thy name ! 4. We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs ; High as the Heavens our voice rises; And earth, with her ten thousand tongues, Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise. 5. Wide as the world is thy command, Vast as eternity thy love ; Firm as a rock thy truth must stand, When rolling years shall cease to move. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, BY HON. ELISHA N. SILL. It is a rational curiosity that prompts us to study the records of the past. The universal laws of human sympathy bind us to man and his history. The impassive savage does not pass the burial mound of antiquity without stopping to add one more stone to the memorial pile. A prosperous and grateful people will, in thank- fulness, spontaneously and often call to mind the events of its history. Invaluable lessons for the future are found in its pages. Few communities can review their history with more satisfaction and advantage, few in such review can find greater cause for gratitude than can the cit- izens of this Township. There is therefore a special fitness in this semi-cen- tennial festival celebration of the settlement of Tall- madge, and review of its history. 10 The briefest possible sketch of a few leading points of the history of our country, will present the history of Tallin adge as it truly is — a part of the history of our country itself. It is now three and a half centuries since this conti- nent was discovered by Columbus. The first permanent settlements in North America by Europeans were made by the French,who in 1604 and 1608, established colonies in Nova Scotia, upon the St. Lawrence. The settlement of New England was commenced at Plymouth, in 1620. The first recorded exploration of the valley of the Mississippi, was made in 1673, by Marquette, a French Missionary, who went from Mackinaw across Lake Michigan to Green Bay,and thence by theFox and Wisconsin Rivers to the Mississippi, which river he descended 1000 miles to the mouth of the Arkansas. Returning to Canada^ he strongly urged an imme- diate occupation of this vast and fertile valley. In 1679, (178 years since) La Salle, the French commandant of a fort on the North shore of Lake Erie, launched a vessel of 60 tons on this Lake, and proceeded by the Lakes to the South-western shore of Lake Michigan, and thence across the country to the Illinois River, and erected a fort on Lake Peoria, near the center of what is now the State of Illinois. This was the first civilized occupation of what has been usually termed the North-west territory of the United States. 11 The French had previously occupied Canada, and upon the reports of these early explorers, determin- ed to possess the whole country west of the English settlements, from the Gulf of Mexico to their own possessions north of the great lakes. As a result down to 1825, various settlements were made and forts erected upon the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and upon the Lakes. In 1748 the Ohio Company was formed for the pur- pose of securing the trade of the Indian tribes. And in 1749 a trading house was built upon the great Mi- ami. This Avas the first English settlement in the State of Ohio. It was, however, broken up by the French in 1753. The first' permanent settlement in Ohio was made on the Ohio River, at the mouth of the Muskingum, in 1788, by Gen. Rufus Putnam. The State of Connecticut, by the charter granted by King Charles II (in 1662) extended between the 14th and 42d parallels of North latitude to the Pacific Ocean — excepting such lands as were then held by prior grants. As a final adjustment of its claims un- der its charter, the State of Connecticut, in 1786, ceded to the U. S. all the land within these chartered limits, west of the State of Pennsylvania, excepting or reserving a tract about 120 miles in length, consti- tuting what has since been known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. This reserved territory (with the exception of half a million acres on the West side) was sold by the State in 1795, to the Connecticut Land Company. [2 The first settlements of the Western Reserve were made in 1796, at Conneaut,AshtabulaCo.,Youngstown, Mahoning Co., and at Cleveland and Bedford in Cuy- ahoga Co. In 1790 but one white person lived within the limits of Portage and Summit Counties. But in this year set- tlements were commenced at Atwater, Deerfield,Hud- son, Mantua, Palmyra and Ravenna. At this time the entire white population of the Reserve did not probably exceed 200. Trumbull Co. originally comprising within its lim- its the whole of the Reserve, was formed in 1800, at which time the town of Warren contained two log c abins with 16 white inhabitants. Portage Co., was formed from Trumbull, in 1807. It contained perhaps 1000 inhabitants, located at the few points named, but was otherwise an unbroken forest. It was in this year — now just half a century since, that a single family was making its difficult way to this Township, then without white inhabitant. This was the family of the Rev. David Bacon; con- sisting of himself and wife Mrs. Alice Bacon, and three children, a son and two daughters. And it is certainly not the least interesting circumstance of this occasion, that three of this pioneer family should be present at this festival ; — the son, now the Rev. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, Connecticut, to be, as most fitting, the orator of the da} 7 ; — one of the two daughters, now Mrs. Julia Bacon Woodruff, of Cu- ba, N. Y., who, but a child of six months at her fath- 13 ers arrival in the Township,who now revisits the place of her earliest recollections— and a younger daugh- ter, Mrs. Alice Bacon Peck, of Rochester, N. Y., one of the first native citizens of Tallin adge, who comes, with her brother and sister,to unite in this celebration of the settlement of the place of her nativity. In the distribution of their lands, by the Connec- ticut Land Company— Township No. 2 in Range 10, was drawn by the Brace Company, consisting of Jon- athan Brace, Justin Ely, Roger Newberry, Elijah White and Enoch Perkins, and by Azariah Rockwell, Abram Root, Oliver Dickinson and Stephen W. James, — which last parties assigned their interest to^Ben- jamin Tallmadge of Litchfield, Conn., and Ephraim Starr, of Goshen, Conn. Mr. i>ACON who was a missionary from Connecti- cut, to the Western settlements, had conceived, the idea of anticipating missionary efforts, by establish- ing a colony in which the religious element should be incorporated in its foundation, as well as the control- ling principle of its future growth. In the prose- cution of his plans, Mr. Bacon, on the 12th of July, 1806, contracted with Mr. Starr, and soon afterwards with Mr, Tallmadge, for the purchase of their entire interest in the Township, and with the Brace Co. for a part of their interest— in all for about 12,000 acres, at the price of one dollar and fifty cents per acre. — At this time Mr. Bacon gave the name of Tall- madge to the Township, after the name of its largest proprietor — who had owned and from whom he had purchased 6245 acres. 14 It was the intention of Mr. Bacon to secure colo- nists of a religious character, and of a common relig- ious sentiment. The boundary lines of theTownship were probably surveyed in 1797, and within a few years afterwards, probably before 1805, the Township was laid out, un- der the direction of Gen. Simon Perkins, into twenty^ five sections of one mile square, by Caleb Palmer, Sur- veyor. In November, 1806, Mr. Bacon had anew sub-di- vision of the Township made by Seth L. Ensign, Sur- veyor, into sixteen large lots of one and a quarter miles square, and containing one thousand acres each. This last survey has been recognized in all subse- quent sales and sub-divisions. Roads were established on each interior line of the large lots, and from each corner of the Township, to a Public Square of 7? acres at the center. Thegreat lots were generally sub-divided into six smaller lots — excepting those at the center, which were divided into lots of a few acres each, for the accommodation of mechanics and professional men, who were expected to locate here. Slight as the relation may appear to a hasty ob- rsever, his plan of the Township, which may well be termed a model, has undoubtedly produced a marked, abiding and beneficial effect upon the character of its inhabitants, and furnishes evidences of the absorb- ing idea and sagacity of its author. 15 The greatest possible facility for intercommunica- tion being, by this plan, furnished to all sections of the Township — the unity of sentiment and purpose of its citizens, otherwise so carefully sought after, has been secured as it scarcely could have been under oth- er conditions. On his arrival, Mr. Bacon erected his dwelling, a log cabin, on the south line of the Township, one half mile west of the north and south center road. In the fall of this same year, George Boosinger built a cabin and put in a piece of wheat at the south- east corner of the Township. He did not, however, remain in the Township during the following winter. Mr. Bacon was therefore not only the founder of the Township, but actually the pioneer of his own en- terprize. During the following year A. D. 1808, Dr. A. C. Wright, Jos. Hart, Aaron Norton, Chas. Chittenden, Jonathan Sprague, Nathaniel Chapman and his father and sons,Wm. Niel, Moses Bradford, Ephraim Clark, Jr., Geo. Kilbourn, Capt. John Wright, Alpha Wright, and Eli Hill, came into the Township. During the year 1809, there arrived Jotham Blakes- lee and his uncle of the same name, Conrad Boosinger, Edmund Strong, John Wright Jr., Stephen Upson, Theron Bradley, and Peter Norton. And during the year 1810, Elizur Wright, Justus Barnes, Shubael H. Lowrey, David Preston Sen., John Preston and three sons, Drake Fellows ,Sam'l. McCoy, Luther Chamber- lain, Rial McArthur and* John Bradley. In 1811 Deacon S. Sacket and sons. Dan'l. Beach, John Car- 1G ruthers and Asa Gillett, and perhaps some others, coii s stituting some thirty families ; which located, three North of the center, five South-east of the center, thir- teen South, and ten South-west of the center. Of these colonists, with two exceptions, all were of New England origin — not only resolute men, for that is the ordinary characteristic of pioneers, but men of resolute piety — descendents of the puritans. One of the first acts of these colonists was the or- ganization of a church. This was done on the 21st of January, 1809, when Geo. and Alice Kilbourn, Justin E. Frink, Alice Bacon, wife of the Rev. Mr. Bacon, Hepzibah Chapman, Amos and Lydia Wright, and Ephraim and Ada Clark associated themselves as the " church of Christ, in Tallmadge." Nathaniel Chapman, Jonathan Sprague, Aaron Norton and John Jr., and Salome Wright were added to their number in June of the same year. The church, thus early established, though not in- cluding the entire colony, was really the basis of the colony, giving it its true character from the beginning. Individuals not connected with the church, were yet actively united with it in sustaining the institu- tions of religion, and a regular mode of contributing to its support, was adopted by the formation of a society under the name of the Congregational Society of Tallmadge, — with a voluntary system of taxation upon persons and property, and raising from two to four hundred dollars per annum. The value affixed to property for the purpose of assessing this tax is found in the records of the Soci- etvofl819: 17 Cleared land, ' - - .- - ^15,00 per acre. Land girdled and underbrusbed, - 10,00 " " Timber land, - 4,00 " < ; Horses 3 years old and upward, - 30,00 eacb, Oxen 4 " - - - - - 20,00 •' Steers and Cows of 3 " - - 15,00 " Buildings to be valued by listers. Lucrative employments, other than farming, to be listed by their profits as compared with those of far- ming. The Rev. Simeon - Woodruff, was the first settled minister in Tallmadge. He was installed as the Pas- tor of the Congregational Church, in May 1814, at the barn of Ephraim Clark Jr., then being on the parson- age lot one-third of a mile South of the center. That to this early and earnest recognition of relig- ious obligations by these pioneers, is to be attributed the present elevated religious and moral character and position of the Township, there exists no question. Religious meetings were regularly held in houses and barns in various parts of the town, until the com- pletion in 1815, of an Academy building, erected upon the ground now occupied by the Congregational Church. A log Meeting House was commenced in 1814, locat- ed about one-fourth of a mile west of the first south four corners. This location being central to the population at that period. It was never finished nor occupied. Other churches have been organized within the Township at various subsequent dates. A Methodist Church, in March 1827; a Methodist at Middlebury, date unknown ; a Presbyterian at Middlebury, Dec. 15th 1831 ; a Congregational at 18 Cuyahoga Falls, Feb. 14th, 1834 ; a Congregational, at Midcllebury, Dec. 25th, 1845. All of these Churches have commodious houses of worship, and maintain regular religious services. Two Welch Churches, a Baptist and a Presbyterian, have at times maintained separate religious meetings. The Welch Presbyterians have now a meeting house at the North-west six corners, and sustain preaching in the Welch language. The subject of education held only a second place with these pioneers. In the spring of 1810, a log school house was put up on ground in the present door yard of Mr. John Randall, near the first South four corners; and the first public school was commenc- ed. It was taught by Miss Lucy Foster, now Mrs. Alpha Wright. In the same season another school house was built and occupied, on the hill, near the south-west four cor- ners. Since which time, as the wants of the inhab- itants have demanded, school houses and teachers have been provided for every section of the Town- ship. The academy, as already incidentally mentioned, was commenced in 1814, and under the care of Sal- mon Sacket and Martin Camp, the building commit- tee, it was finished in 1815. It was designed and ar- ranged for two schools, of different grades, and for a temporary place of holding religious meetings. The Academy school w r as successively and ably taught, by Rev. Simeon Woodruff and Deacon Elizuk Wright. 19 At the period of its establishment and for some years it was perhaps the best school upon the Reserve. At various times it received pupils from Cleveland, Warren, Medina and other places. This building was burned down in 1820; but, im- mediately rebuilt; it has ever been maintained, con- tributing equally to the advantage and reputation of its founders. A Township Library was established Sept. 2G, 1813, containing about 70 volumnsof standard works. The books were drawn and returned quarterly. Soon after a Ladies' Library was formed. These Libraries being united, constituted the present public Library of the Township. Shortly after the establishment of this Library, a Lyceum or Debating Society was formed. Its meet- ings were held regularly during the winter months. For civil purposes, Tallmadge was at first included in the organization of Hudson, then extending over nearly the whole of the territory within the subse- quent limits of Portage County — afterwards in that of Randolph, which included Brimfield, Suffield, Springfield and Tallmadge. And again Springfield and Tallmadge together had a common organization. The separate civil organization of Tallmadge, was effected Nov. 11th, 1813. An independent Rifle Company, of which Rial Mc Arthur was Capt., was formed at an early date. A Post Office was established at the center, in April, 1814. Mr. Asaph Whittlesey was appointed Post Master, and held the office until his death in 1842. ■20 Thus early, so complete was the settlement of the Township established — with its churches^ and a reg- ular system for the support of religious institutions ; its public schools of two grades; its libraries and lit- erary society; and with its civil and military organ- izations. Of the aboriginal inhabitants few probably had ev- er inhabited this part of the country even prior to the surrender of their title to the whites. There are in- deed evidences that, at some remote period, this coun- try was occupied by a people more numerous and of a higher type of civilization — but this is true of Indi- ans who occupied the country at the time of its set- tlement by the whites. This had been the border ground of different tribes, and was otherwise an unfa- vorable location for a large people depending mainly upon hunting for a subsistence. Wild game, though seemingly abundant to the whites, was yet too limit- ed for the wants of a larger population. Living partly by a rude cultivation of the soil and by fishing, as well as by hunting, the Indians pre- fered the open and fertile bottom land of rivers and lakes. There were indeed some small and scattered vil- lages or encampments of Indians in this vicinity. A small number of Senecas lived near the junction of the main and little Cuyahoga, at or near the place somewhat widely know in modern times as the Chuck- ery. An anecdote of Stickinish the chief of these Indians has been related to me, which seems to furnish evi- 21 dence of somewhat higher moral perceptions than has always been ascribed to untaught Indians: Stickinish was friendly to the whites, and often visited the settlement at Hudson. It was at just about the time of the first settlement of Tallmadge, that this chief was at the house of a Mr. Pease in Hudson, and to persuade a son of Mr. Pease, a child of some 4 or 5 j^ears of age, to come and sit up- on his lap, he offered to give him his pipe hatchet. — The offer proved sufficient to overcome the repug- nance of the child, to the swarthy face of the Indian. As the chief was about to leave, the return of the hatchet was proffered but resolutely refused — Stickin- ish saying 'miusn't lie to children — no good." This native chief had scarcely learned this precept from the whites, however frequently in his intercourse with them he might have had illustrations of its truth — and he who so carefuly obeyed it could scarcely have been a savage. Mr. 8. Pease of Cuyahoga Falls, was the recipient of the chief's hatchet. Two well worn trails, or Indian roads passed thro' this Township. One entered near its North-east cor- ner, upon the South bank of the Cuyahoga river, fol- lowing it to the head of canal navigation and the great Portage Path, between the Cuyahoga and the Muskingum rivers. The other trail having a similar relation to the lit- tle Cuyahoga river, but leaving it to avoid a bend of that stream to the South, entered the Township on its South line west of the center, and running to the i>2 north-west, united with the other path upon the main Cuyahoga. With the Indians occupying this region, no diffi- culties of a general character ever occurred, and the friendly intercourse subsisting between them and the whites — secured and maintained by the general good faith of the early settlers, and their careful obser- vance of treaty stipulations, — was seldom interrupt- ed even by difficulties between individuals of the two races. Indeed, everything had conspired to favor the set- tlement, not merely of this Township but of this whole region — nothing interrupting its rapid and peaceful progress until the occurrence of the war be- tAveen England and the United States, in 1812. The title of the six nations, relinquished to the Ohio Land Company, by treaty at Buffalo, in 1796, extended Westward only to the Cuyahoga and Mus- kingum rivers. These rivers, with the Portage path, being the original boundary line between these tribes and the Wyandots, and their allies., and a neutral high- way for these nations in their passage between the Lake and the interior of the State and the Ohio river. This boundary line necessarily limited the early settlement by the whites — and although the Wyandot title had been surrendered to the country West of this line, few settlements had been extended beyond it. A few remote points had been occupied between Cleveland and Detroit. Judge Harris had erected a house, and commenced a clearing at Harrisville, now 25 In Medina County. A. M. Van Hining had located on Wolf Creek — and a family of hunters between that point and Middlebury. With that exception an un- broken forest extended to the far West. On the surrender of the American army, by Gen. Hull, at Detroit, in Aug. 1812, the western Indians generally attached themselves to the British cause, and uniting with their force, became the most dreaded ene- mies of the pioneer white settlers. Immediate measures for defence were adopted. — Maj. Gen. Wadsworth, commanding the fourth Di- vision of Ohio Militia, was ordered to protect the Frontiers, and for that purpose to organize a Brigade of fifteen hundred men. Drafts were made and Vol- unteers called for, to meet this service. The Independent Rifle Company of Tallmadge, volunteered in a body, and were ordered, first to Cleve- land, and afterwards to Old Portage, the head quar- ters of Gen. Wadsworth ; and finally to the camp of Gen. Simon Perkins, a temporary post upon the Hu- ron River. This Company set out for the Perkins' Camp on the first of October, and remained there until winter. A short tour of duty in the following spring completed their bloodless, but arduous services in the field. The following persons belonged to this Tallmadge Rifle Company : Rial McArthur, Capt., Chas. Powers Lieut., and Privates Almon Norton, Alpha Wright, Justin Barnes, Justin E. Frink, Shubael H. Lowrey, Titus Chapman, Sam'l. and Lot Preston, Liberton Dickson, Joseph Tousley, Edmund Strong and Sam'l. 24 Fogger, and some others from adjacent settlements. Among those drafted from the general Militia, and who served at Old Portage and elsewhere were Reuben Upson, John Caruthers, Norman Sackett, Moses Brad- ford, Asa Gillet, and Jotham Blakeslee. An event occurred, soon after Hull's traitorous sur- render, which well illustrates the prompt, energetic and fearless character of the fathers of Tallmadge. The American prisoners, released on parole, were sent from Detroit to Cleveland by the Lake. As the ves- sels conveying these soldiers were seen approaching Cleveland, its inhabitants supposing them to be ves- sels of the enemy contemplating an attack upon- that place, immediatly dispatched expresses to the nearest interior settlements appraising of their supposed dan- ger and soliciting aid. The Messenger reached Tall- madge on the Sabbath, and while the citizens were engaged in religious worship in the barn of Deacon Elizur Wright. The services were concluded, and the men of the colony immediately made preparation with such weapons as they could command, to march to the defence of Cleveland. A second despatch advising the citizens of the facts, removed the necessity for the march, for which they had so thoroughly prepared. The following correspondence between the citizens of Tallmadge and Gen. Wadsworth, is doubly inter- esting, as showing the exposed situation of the Tall- madge settlement at the commencement of the war, and because, through the polite attention of Mr. Fredk. Wadsworth, we have the original letters from the citizens, and the autographs of the signers : 2o To the Honorable Major General Elijah Wadsworth, Esq.: Sir : — We your petitioners humbly Pray you that you will take into your consideration the defenceless situation We are in, therefore We pray your Honor to issue orders for Capt. Rial McArthur's Independent Company, and the 4th Company of the Independent Battalion,4th Brigade and 4th Division of Ohio Militia Commanded by Capt. Samuel Hale to be retained for Public safety as We are the frontiers, that said Companies be drilled one day in each week, and hold themselves in constant readiness in case of an attack to March at a Moments warning. Those families that were to the West of Us have moved into the settlement and we have become the Frontiers Therefore We your Petitioners wish you to take it into consideration and act as in your Wisdom You shal see fit Petitioners Names Springfield, 13th July 1812. NATH'L CHAPMAN AARON NORTON DAVID PRESTON AMOS SPICER HOSE A WILCOX JONATHAN SPRAGUE PETER NORTON PHILANDER ADAMS JESSE NEAL CHS. CHITTENDEN HENRY CHITTENDEN ELIZUR WRIGHT JOHN WRIGHT Cap'x. Rial Mc Arthur, — Siu : — You doubtless are sensible of the critical situation of our country at this time. War being declared by the United States, against Great Britain, it becomes necessary, as we have become the frontier, for the whole body of the Militia to be in per- fect readiness to meet the enemy, and Sir, Your being an independent Company, I place great confidence in your ability and activity in being perfectly, with your Company, ready to march and meet the enemy of your Country, at a moments warning. You will therefore please to order your Company to meet at any place you may think proper and convenient, one day in every week, and in the most perfect manner possible. See that every man furnishes himself with arms and ammuni- tion and other necessary accoutrements for actual service. You will please to inform me, after the first meeting of your Company, their actu- al situation. ropy. ELIJAH WADSWORTH, Maj'r Gen'l 4th Division Ohio Mili tia. 26 Tallmadge, July 13th, 1812. Dear Sir : — In addition to the information contained in the Peti- tion which accompanies this, I have to inform you that if so large a por- tion as one whole Company is called away it will leave us quite in a defenceless situation both on account of men and more particularly on account of arms. Capt. McArthur's Company are but in part furnished with arms — if he should be ordered to march and be furnished with guns from this place it will take about all that we have. We are now the frontier, it seems highly requisite that we should be furnished with the means of defence. If you know where any gnus can be procured be pleased to give us information. With sentiments of respect I am, Sir, your friend and humble Serv't, ELIZUK WRIGHT, Gen'l. Elijah Wadsworth. Canfield, 13th July, 1812, Esqr. Wright, Sir — I have this evening ree'd a line from you, also a petition from sundry of the good people of Tallmadge, I have consid- ered their situation, and believe it like critical with this section of the Union. Sir I have the greatest confidence in the whole body of the Militia of our Country, and of their being able and willing to defend their just rights, with this confidence Sir you will ever find me uniting all my efforts in defending the just rights of our Country and give every protection in my power. By the bearer I send a order to Cap'n Mc Ar- thur to put his Company in perfect order for an immediate march. You wish to be informed if I know of any arms that can be procured, — I can answer that I do not at this time, but believe they can be procured at Pittsburgh. Yours, &c. copy. E. W. The accession of new settlers was ordinarily quite uniform, •''until the years 1819-20, when twenty-three families arrived, almost in a body — ten families com- ing from Middlebuiy and vicinity, and thirteen from Old Milford, C't. Those from Micldlebury locating in the N. E "quarter, and those from Milford in the S. W. "quarter of the township. The population had become so large by 1819, that the Academy no longer furnished sufficient room for 27 the congregation worshiping in it on the Sabbath, and measures were commenced for erecting a church buil- ding. On the last Sabbath in that year, the Pastor of the Church, Rev. Simeon Woodruff, preached upon the subject— his text was Isaiah IX, 20, " The place is too straight." A public meeting followed ; a commit- tee, consisting of Salmon Sackett, Peck Fenn, Lemu- el Porter, Asaph Whittlesey, Reuben Beach, Amos C. Wright and Amos Seward, was appointed to select a location and adopt a design for the house, and a plan of proceedings to secure its erection. Of this committee, the only living member is Amos Seward. The location selected, was on the east side of the public square, north of the E. and W. centre road, afterward changed to the north side, where the Con- gregational Church now stands — the Academy build- ing previously occupying that location, having been burned on the morning after the first location for the church, had been selected. A subscription of $3500, was obtained for the buil- ding, payable in labor, lumber and wheat — viz : $500 in 1820; $800 in 1821; $1500 in 1822; and the balance in 1823. At this time, wheat, the standard of values, could not be converted into cash, at more than 25 cents per bushel. This was a very large sum to be raised, and furnishes a good indication of the char- acter of the inhabitants of that period. The fathers had not then fallen asleep, and the new generation coming into place, were then as they ever have been, emulous of their virtues and their example. These preliminaries being arranged, a building com- niittee was appointed, consisting of Reuben Beach, Peck Fenn, Lemuel Porter, Asaph Whittlesey, Aaron Hine, Richard Fenn and Amos Seward; and the work was immediately commenced. Of this committee Mr. Seward and Ricriard Fenn, are the only living representatives. Samuel Porter, Lebbius Saxton, Joseph Richard- son and Wyllis Fenn, were builders of the house. The work commenced in April, 1822, and was fin- ished in August, 1825. It was dedicated September 8, 1825. The Rev. John" Keys, was then Pastor of the Church. The Church was re-modeled in 1849. Some incidents connected with the erection of this house, are worthy of being narrated, as illustrative of the character of the inhabitants, and of the times in which they lived. Timber for the Church having been selected in the forest and marked, Monday, the 24th day of Decem- ber 1821, was appointed for a volunteer gathering, or " bee," to cut and draw the timber to the site selected for the house. The point of honor was to have the first stick of timber upon the ground. Before 1 o'clock in the morning, timber had been brought upon the site, from each of the eight roads coming into the public square. Amadeus N. Sperry, winning the honors of the occasion. Before sunset, timber enough, was upon the site of the house. It was designed to have the siding for the house, made from a single tree ; and a noble white-wood was selected upon the farm of Deac. Sackett, (now own- 29 ed by Mr. Andrew Treat,) having ample material for this purpose. The waste, however, occasioned by cut- ting down the logs to the capacity of the saw mill, unadapted to such giants of the forest, prevented the entire accomplishment of this design. This tree, at that time still in a green and vigorous age, must have been a lofty tree when Columbus was searching for the shores of our Continent, having its birth, perhaps, centuries before, and had brought down to these later times, its silent, but sure record, of all those passing years. And, although the wealth treas- ured up in these noble trees, during the slow progress of centuries, could have no more appropriate applica- tion, than to the temples of the God who planted and reared them, yet it awakens emotions of sadness to see these monuments of the great past, these connect- ing links of succeeding centuries, hewn down and des- troyed; During the progress of the work upon the house there was a " strike" among the workmen — not for higher wages but for wool. This not being produced in sufficient quantity to supply the domestic demand, could scarcely be bought for money, and not at all for less valuable articles of exchange. This was felt, however, to be a case demanding sacrifices, and the building committee, with much effort, obtained enough to relieve the absolute wants of the men, and the work progressed. The number of sheep in Tallmadge, in 1856, was over six thousand. The wild game of the country, though a source of so some convenience to the inhabitants, by contributing to their supply of animal food, was yet a source of material damage, and sometimes of danger. Wild turkeys were sufficiently abundant at times to destroy the newly planted fields of grain. Deer were also abundant. As late as 1829, a single hunter in North- ampton, during one winter, killed fifty deer. At that date a saddle of venison commanded a less price than mutton, and to the fore quarter there was no market value. Wolves fortunately were not very numerous, though sometimes seen in the neighborhood of the settlements in pursuit of mutton, which they seemed to prefer to venison, or what is more probable, because sheep were more easily caught and therefore a prey better suited to the lazy, prodigal habits of all wolfish oppressors of the weak and defenceless. Mr. Martin Camp, had, in one night, twelve of his sheep killed by these marauders, and others suffered losses of the same kind. Bears were more common, and though perhaps not known to make unprovoked attacks upon man, had the highest relish for his pork, and made themselves ample amends for the breaking up of their old haunts and hunting grounds, by levying frequent contributions upon the hog pens of these new disturbers of their ancient quiet. It is wholly incredible, except for the most reliable testimony, that a bear could carry off, and through a forest, a hog equaling himself in weight, faster than a man on foot could follow — vet such are the uncon- 51 tradicted statements of our pioneer settlers, and we are not disposed to question them. It may, perhaps, be allowable to question whether even a courageous man, wholly unarmed, could follow into the forest an animal of such ferocity and strength, quite as fast as he might some more agreeable objects of pursuit. Many exciting adventures are related of the early settlers, and chiefly those which occurred in their con- flicts with these animals. The inhabitants of the township, though not en- tirely exempt from the diseases of a new country, have enjoyed more than usual health and longevity, and with few exceptions, have escaped fatal epidem- ics. Down to 1816, none of the first male settlers had died from ordinary disease. It is known that there have been sixteen males and probably a greater number of females, who have lived to be more than 80 years of age. Mr. Mills Bettis died at the age of 94 ; Mrs. Fel- lows at the age of 93. The first death in the township was that of Mr. Titus Chapman, Nov. 4, 1808. He was buried at Middlebury. The first interments in the center burying ground, then located on the S. W. diagonal road, west of its present location, were two infant children of Dr. A. C Wright ; who died, one in October, and the other in November, 1812. The early settlers were fortunate in having a skil- ful physician in one of their own number ;— Div Amos C. Wright. This advantage cannot be better 82 illustrated than by an extract from reminiscences of the early settlers of Cleveland, which I find in a re- cent number of the iV. Y. Tribune ; " In passing from New York to this place, either by the Erie or the Central road, making the distance in less than thirty hours, the travel- er recalls the tedious journeys of the pioneers over the same route. The first family that settled at Cleveland took ninety-two days in their journey from Chatham, Conn., to Cleveland. At a later day the father of Leonard Bacon, D. D., who was one of the pioneer clergymen on the Western Reserve, had a very long and tedious journey from Con- necticut to the field of his labor. I have somewhere seen a detailed account of that journey. In those days ox teams were thought to be the best adapted, all things considered, to this journey. It makes one nervous to think of crawling at such a snail's pace through unbroken wildernesses to so distant a termkius as was Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus. The hardships of the early settlers of the Western Reserve were very great. At that time the chills and fever were regardad as the lightest of calamities, when contrasted with the bilious fever which prevailed extensively. These diseases run their course in most cases without medical aid, because it was impossible to get that aid. The food was of the coarsest kind, so much so that " hog and hominy" be- came a proverb. Our families in this day would consider themselves hardly dealt by to be compelled to live on corn meal made in a hand- mill, especially if compelled to go miles to procure this corn, making the trips between the daily fits of the ague. Yet, to such extremes were the early settlers of Cleveland reduced. They had no physicians. For calomel they used an extract of butternut bark, and for quinine they used a bitter made of dogwood and cherry bark. And now that I am speaking of the medical comforts of the Ohio pioneers, I may say that as late as 1820, Dr. Hildreth, of Marietta, has frequently rode twenty and thirty miles to attend the sick, and in some cases to camp out over night. When a physician was not more than ten miles away the settler thought himself well off in case of sickness." John Barr, Esq., of Cleveland, in his collection of facts concerning the early settlement of the Western Reserve, says, " during the period of 12 years from the first settlement of Cleveland, in 179G, the nearest settled physicians were at Hudson, twenty-four miles, 33 and at Austinburgh, about fifty miles distant." The first marriage in the township was that of John Collins and Sally Chapman. They were mar- ried before a Mr. Harris, a magistrate of Randolph. It is well worthy of being mentioned that the first school in this State, for the education of deaf-mutes, was established in this township. At a meeting held in the spring of 1827, a committee, consisting of the Rev. John Keys, Dea. Elizur Wright, Dr. Amos C. Wright, Alpha Wright and Garry Treat, was appoint- ed to secure to this class of unfortunates the benefits of instruction. Under their management a school was established with twelve scholars, under the care of Mr. C. Smith, an educated deaf-mute. It was kept one season at the house of Alpha Wright, and one at the house of Dr. A. C. Wright. In the year 1828, the legislature ap- propriated $100 towards its support. Upon the es- tablishment of the State Institution the pupils were transferred to Columbus. The first newspaper published in this County was printed at Middlebury, in this township. It was ed- ited and published by Ozias Bowen, since Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and Elijah Mason, under the title of the " Portage Journal." This pa- per was continued for several years. At subsequent periods other papers have been published at Cuyahoga Falls, then a part of Tallmadge. In all benevolent enterprises the citizens of Tall- madge have ever been generous, prompt, and self-reli- ant. Not moved spasmodically, but from the begining 3 34 having self-moving associations, without reference to denominational preferences, for the support of mis- sions, the distribution of bibles and tracts, and other similar objects. These associations, since 1834, have been consolidated in the " Tallmadge Benevolent Association," — embracing the whole township, but di- vided into four collection districts, in which are col- lected, in every alternate month, contributions for the "American Bible Society," " Home and Foreign Missions," " The Education and Tract Society," and the " Seaman's Friend Society." The contributions for these purposes, in 1835, the first year after the formation of this consolidated Association, amounted to five hundred and thirty-six dollars and twenty-nine cents. Of which sum about one-third was contributed by Ladies. The township has been frequently represented in the State Legislature. During one-third of the time from its civil organization to the present date, a mem- ber of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, has been elected from Tallmadge. Aaron Norton was Senator in 1824, at the session memorable for the adoption of the system of public improvements. Gregory Powers was Senator in 1838, at which session the so called " Black Laws," which for a number of years disgraced our Statute Book, were enacted. Mr. Powers, in this matter, faithfully represented his constituents, and most cer- tainly those of his own township. He strenuously, though unsuccessfully, opposed the passage of those laws. 35 The unanimity of the inhabitants, so well illustrated in their benincent organizations, has been, perhaps, more strikingly exhibited in their political action, as it is here that we must expect the most marked ex- hibition of difference of sentiment. While the township was entire, the vote at the Gubernatorial election, in 1840, was, for Corwin 319, for Shannon 71. After Middlebury and Cuyahoga Falls were made separate election districts, the vote, in 1856 at the Presidential election, was, for Fre- mont 209, for Buchanan 25; and, at the previous State election, which probably furnishes a more cor- rect indication, the vote for Judge of the Supreme Court was, Republican 210, Democratic lo. It is believed that few election districts in the country, equally populous, have exhibited equal una- nimity of sentiment. The township has always abounded m elements ot material prosperity. The soil is well adapted to the miscellaneous and profitable New England husband- ry adopted by its inhabitants, and has been brought under general and successful cultivation. This is well indicated by the returns of the aggregate value of the property of the township, upon the last tax list of 1856, which, exclusive of that part now set off 'to the new township of Cuyahoga Falls, exhibits, at taxation values, lands worth $443,551; town lots $28,386; personal property $243,964 ; total$71o 901. . Excellent and inexhaustible quarries of stone have been worked from an early date. Beds of iron ore, though limited in extent, have 30 been wrought at Various times. A furnace was erect- ed near Middlebury as early as 1816, by Messrs. Laird & Norton, and was operated for several years. In 1817 Asaph Whittlesey, in connection with Laird & Norton, built a forge on the Little Cuyahoga one and a half miles below the furnace. The beds of mineral coal, in the township, have both directly and indirectly contributed largely to its wealth. Coal was discovered at a very early day, near the south-east corner of the township, and after- wards one mile west of the center. This last bed, belonging chiefly to Dr. Daniel Upson, is of some five hundred acres in extent and from four to five feet in thickness, and of very superior quality. It has been, and still is extensively worked. The more extensive operations in mining this coal were commenced by Dr. Upson, in 1837, and contin- ued, after 1840, by a corporate Company, named "The Tallmadge Coal Company," who have shipped large quantities by a railroad constructed from the mines to the canal, and thence by the canal to Cleveland. The Tallmadge coal was the first extensively brought into use by the steamboats upon the lakes. During the year 1841 the Western Transportation Company consumed 3,000 tons upon their steamboats. In 1855 these mines produced 23,000 tons, and since 1840 have produced a total of over 300,000 tons, from six- ty acres of this field. Upson Brothers, now owning the entire stock of the " Tallmadge Coal Company," operate these mines ; employing sixty-five men, and raising 135 tons per day. They have still one hun- dred acres of coal unworked; 37 The water power of the Cuyahoga River, upon its two branches, the main and Little Cuyahoga, is per- haps unsurpassed in extent, availability and durabili- ty, by any other power in the State. There is, within the original limits of the township, a power estimat- ed as sufficient to drive two hundred run of mill- stones, grinding each two hundred bushels per day. A power sufficient to grind nearly the entire annual wheat crop of the State of Ohio. The first improve- ment upon this power was a flouring mill erected in Middlebury, upon the Little Cuyahoga, in 1808. This power, though largely, is still but partially improved, and contains a mine of wealth yet to be developed. The gross products of the manufactures of the town- ship, at present, are estimated to exceed $450,000 per annum. There are within the original township, two paper mills; three foundries and machine shops; one flour- ing mill ; one woolen factory ; one manufactory of woolen machinery; one flax dressing and rope facto- ry ; one linseed oil mill; two very extensive carriage making establishments ; several extensive manufac- tories of stone and liverpool ware ; three saw mills ; one pail and tub factory, besides other smaller manu- facturing establishments. Several of these establishments would well deserve a particular description, for their extent and com- pleteness, and the excellence of their products. Time however permits only the briefest reference to the manufacture of pottery carried on at Middlebury, 38 which has, almost without observation, grown to an immense business. Besides the large amount disposed of through other channels, there was, during the year 1856, not less than three thousand tons of pottery and fire clay sent from these establishments by the Ohio Canal. And a large accession to this business has recently been made by the successful establishment of a manufactory of the so called Liverpool ware. The population of Tallmadge in 1850, was 2,441. Since that date the number has been stationary. A recent census exhibiting the fact that the additions to the population have only been equal to the emi- gration. The water power at the south-west and north-west corners of the township concentrated pop- ulation at these points, till their numbers were so great that Middlebury and Cuyahoga Falls were made separate election districts, and at length the north- west corner was set off to the new township of Cuyahoga Falls. Mr. Bacon did not realize the exact accomplish- ment of his plans. From the sales of land sufficient money could not be realized to meet the contracted payments, and the unsold lands necessarily reverted to the original proprietors. And perhaps his plan, in some of its details, at least, was but imperfectly adapt- ed to the character of the colonists introduced. In- deed it may be questioned whether the perfect reali- zation of the high ideal which he had conceived is possible. Mr. Bacon left the township and returned to New England in the spring of 1812. He died at Hartford, 39 Conn., in 1817. Had lie lived to the present time he would, in many respects, have realized a higher success than he could have originally hoped, for his enterprize.' The present large population of the township, so greatly distinguished for its religion, morality and in- telligence its churches and benevolent organizations; its beautiful dwellings and highly cultivated farms, and busy workshops ; and its great material prosper- ity, would have amply satisfied him that the super- structure, if not just what he hoped to erect, was yet worthy of the foundation which he laid: 40 The following hymn was then sung by the choir, to the tune of "Ocean :" 1. God of our fathers, to thy throne Our grateful songs we raise, Thou art our God, and thou alone, — Accept our humble praise. 2. Unnumbered benefits from thee Are showered upon our land ; Behold ! through all our coasts we see The bounties of thy hand. 3. Here thou wert once the pilgrims' guide ; Thou gav'st them here a place, Where freedom spreads its blessings wide, O'er all their favored race. 4. Here, Lord, thy gospel's holy light, Is shed on all our hills ; And like the rains and dews of night, Celestial grace distills. 5. Still teach us, Lord, thy name to fear, And still our guardian be ; let our children's children here Forever worship thee. ADDRESS, BY LEONARD BACON, D. D. Citizens of Tallmadge: Permit me to say that I thank you for the privilege of participating in this commemoration. I accept the privilege not the less thankfully for knowing that the kind invitation which has brought me hither, was given because I happened to be the oldest living person, and the only male survivor, of the single family whose arrival on this spot, fifty years ago, marks the beginning of your local history. I well remember, among the dim and scattered reminiscences of early childhood, the pleasant day — in the month of July, if I mistake not — when that family made its removal from the center of Hudson, to the new log house that had been prepar- ed for it, in the township which had then no other designa- tion than "Number two, Tenth range." The father and mother — poor in this world's goods, but rich in faith and in the treasure of God's promises, rich in their well tried mutual af- fection, rich in their hopes of usefulness and of the comfort and competence to be ultimately achieved by their enterprise, rich in the parental joy with which they looked upon the three little ones, that were carried in their arms or nestled among 42 their scanty household goods in the slow-moving wagon — were familiar with whatever there is in hardships and peril, and in baffling disappointment, to try the courage of the noblest manhood or the immortal strength of a true woman's love. — The little ones were natives of the wilderness; the youngest a delicate nursling of six months ; the others born in a far re- moter and far wilder west than this was even then. These fivo were the family who, on that day, removed to their new home. I remember the setting out; the halt before the door of good old Deacon Thompson to say farewell; the fording of the Cuyahoga; the slow day's journey of somewhat less than thirteen miles, along a road that had been merely cut, not made, through the unbroken forest; the little cleared spot where the journey ended; the new log house so long our home, with what seemed to me a stately hill behind it, and with a limpid rivu- let winding near the door. And when, at night, the first fam- ily worship was offered in that lonely cabin — when the father and mother, having read from this 13iblc, commended to their covenant God themselves, and their children, and the work which they had that day begun — the prayer that went up from those two saintly souls, breathed the same spirit with the prayer that went up of old from the deck of the Mayflower, or from beneath the wintry sky of Plymouth. In the ear of God, it was as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." There was another member of that family — then or imme- diately afterwards — whose name and function should not bo overlooked in our attempt to recall the beginning of your his- tory. The head of the family was a clergyman — not indeed a man of the largest literary and scientific culture, for his youth had not been blessed with a college training; but a man of eminent intellectual powers and of intensely thought- ful habits. There is a place for such men in the founding of new communities. The moral and social beauty around us here to-day, overspreading the material beauty of the cultiva- 43 ted landscape, testifies that blessed is the community which has such a man for its founder. But the work of cutting down the woods and subduing with fire and plough the matted soil, — the work of driving out the bear and wolf from their old haunts — the work of building the first rude habitations and supplying them with game and skins from the forest — cannot proceed without faculties of quite another sort. There must be the strong arm of the wood-chopper lifting up his axo against the thick trees, the keen eye and steady nerve of the hunter with his rifle, the sturdy tread of the ploughman dri- ving his oxen and turning up the mold to the strange sunshine. Therefore let me name here my father's hired man, the hon- est and faithful Justin E. Frink, the wood-chopper who built, under my father's direction, and with his aid, our fir" log cabin, and cleared the little open space around it; the hunter who fed us through the first winter with his venison; tho ploughman who sowed the first wheat-field and planted tho first hills of Indian com and the first patch of potatoes. If my dim recollections do not mislead me, he was a member of our family from the day of our arrival here ; and I infer that he was the pioneer who had prepared our dwelling for us. — While wc knew him, he was blameless in his station and was free from the infirmities that arc said to have overtaken him in his later years. To my thought, as I look back to your be- ginning, he stands the representative of the laborious physical activity which wrestles with the savage force of nature, and by which, as it struggles on, the wilderness is made, at length, to blossom as the rose. Fifty years ago, the emigration westward from tho Atlantic had not become the mighty flood which wc now sec spreading over the plains of Kansas and Minnesota,and rising through the gorges and canons of the Rocky Mountains. The Stato of Connecticut had but recently perfected her title to the soil of her Western Reserve, by ceding to the United States all right of sovereignty and jurisdiction over it. Fcr moro than ono 44 hundred and thirty years that had elapsed since the charter of King Charles II was granted, she had followed, till then,undevi- atingly, her own method of extending the institutions of her Puritan civilization over the wild lands within her chartered limits. One tract after another, sufficient 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-house, the settled ministry of the Gospel, the school, the local magistracy, and the democratic town-meeting represented in the General Assembly. Under this method, self-governed towns in what is now a part of Pennsylvania, were once repre- sented in the General Assembly at Hartford and New Haven., HacLponnecticut been permitted to retain the jurisdiction as well as the ownership of the soil, this Western Reserve would have been settled under the same method; and being organized and governed in conformity with her laws, would have become in reality what it was named at first, — "New Connecticut." — As such it would have grown into a separate State. But now the old method was no longer practicable. By that cession of sovereignty which was executed in 1801, New Connecticut passed under the territorial government established for what was then called the North- Western territory; and old Connec- ticut gave up the power of colonizing her own western territory under her own laws. She had previously granted a portion of the^soil in compensation for losses sustained in the revolution- ary war ; she had sold the remainder to a company of her cit- izens for a sum which has since grown into her munificent school fund, and the whole had been surveyed and divided un- der her authority into townships, some of which were beginning to be occupied by a few adventurous inhabitants. All that re- mained for her to do in relation to the soil, after the deed of cession, was to confirm and protect the titles of the grantees by the 'added authority of the United States. Just then it was" that the Connecticut method of "missions to the new set- tlements," was completed, and became a system. At first, in - 45 dividual pastors, encouraged by their brethren, and obtaining permission from their churches, performed long and weary- journeys on horseback into Vermont and the great wilder- ness of central New York, that they might preach the Word and administer the ordinances of religion to such members of their flocks, and others, as had emigrated beyond the reach of ordinary New England privileges. By degrees the work was enlarged, and the arrangements for sustaining it were syste- matized, till in the year 1798, the same year in which the settlement of the Reserve began, the pastors of Connecticut, in their General Association, instituted the Missionary Soci- ety of Connecticut. In 1802, one year after the jurisdiction of the old State over the Reserve was formally relinquished, the Trustees of the Missionary Society were incorporated. — As early as 1800, only two years after the first few families from Connecticut had planted themselves this side of North- western Pennsylvania, the first missionary made his appear- ance among them. This was the Rev. Joseph Badger, the apostle of the Western Reserve, — a man of large and various experience, as well as of native force and of venerable sim- plicity in character and manners. In those days, the work of the "Missionary to the new settlements" was by no means the same with what is now called "Home missionary" work. Our modern Home missionary has his station and his home; his business is to gather around himself a permanent congrega- tion; 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 pastor. But the old fashioned " mission- ary to the new settlements " was an itinerant. He had no station and no settled home. If he had a family, his work was continually calling him away from them. He went from one little settlement to another — from one lonely cabin to an- other — preaching from house to house, and not often spend- ing tAvo consecutive Sabbaths in one place. The nature of the emigration to the wilderness, in those days, required such la- 46 bors. We who are living in the age of steam, can hardly re- alize the difference between what emigration was in those days and what it now is. That sudden growth of villages and com- mercial cities which is now so much a matter of course when a new territory is opened, was then not thought of. The jour- nals which Mr. Badger sent home to the Trustees of the Mis- sionary Society, show how scattered the settlements were, and how slow their growth was, in comparison with what is now seen continually in regions farther west. Thus, for ex- ample, he records that in June 1801, two years after the ar- . rival of the first settlers at Hudson, there were only ten fam- ilies in that township. It was felt that two missionaries were needed for the work among the scattered settlements. Accordingly the Rev. Ez- ekiel J. Chapman was sent. He arrived on the Reserve at tho close of the year 1801, and returned to Connecticut in April 1803. His place was soon supplied by a young man ordained expressly to the work, the Rev. Thomas Robbins, who con- tinued laboring in this field from November 1803 till April 1806. In a letter of his, dated June 8th 1805, I find tho following statement: "Since the beginning of the present year, I have been taking pains to make an actual enumera- tion of the families in this county.* The work I have just com- pleted. There arc one or more families in sixt} r -four towns. f January 1st, 1804, the number of families was about 800. — The first of last January, there were a little more than 1100, — of which 450 arc Yankees. There were twenty-four schools. There arc seven churches, with a prospect that two more will be organized soon, and more than twenty places where the worship of God is regularly maintained on the Sabbath." In the Autumn of 1804 — the year which saw the unprece- dented immigration of more than three hundred families — a third missionary arrived at these new settlements ; the Rev. *Trumbul] county then included the whole Western Reserve. fThe territory of the Reserve contains more than 200 townships. 47 David Bacon, who afterwards became the principal agent in the settlement of this town, and who was the author of those plans and arrangements which have given to this town its pe- culiar character. He had already been for four years a mis- sionary to the Indians in regions far beyond; and his desig- nation by the Trustees -to New Connecticut, wilderness as it then was, brought him back to privileges and comforts which he had once left far behind him. By natural constitution, ho was one of those men who arc called visionary and enthusi- asts by men of a more prosaic and plodding temperament. In early life — I know not at what age — he had been the subject of a deep and thorough religious experience; and through his spiritual conflicts and deliverances he had been brought into a special sympathy with the self-sacrificing spirit of Braixerd, that saintly New England missionary who wore his young life out among the Indians of New Jersey and Pennsylvania long ago, and whose biography, written by Jonathan Edwards, has wakened in later ages, and in other lands, such minds as Henry Martyn, to a holy emulation. Thus, at a period when missions to the heathen were little thought of, he cherished in his solitary bosom the fire that is now glowing, less intense- ly indeed, but with a vital warmth, in millions of Christian hearts. He longed for that self-denying service; but there were none to send him forth. Disappointments in his worldly business inflamed, instead of discouraging, his desire of a ser- vice so self-denying, and to worldly minds so uninviting. — With limited opportunities and means, he devoted himself to study in preparation for that work. At last the Trustees of the Connecticut Missionary Society, two years after the in- stitution of that Board, were persuaded to attempt, on a very small scale, a mission to the Indians; and he was commission- ed, for six months, to perform a journey of exploration and experiment among the Indian tribes in that unknown wilder- ness beyond Lake Erie. On the eighth of August, 1800, he set forth from Hartford; and the scale of liberality on which 48 that mission was to be supported may be estimated from the fact that the missionary "went his way, not only alone, but on foot, and with his luggage on his back, to rejoice in whatever opportunities he might find of being helped along by any charitable traveler with a spare seat in his wagon. Having acquired such information as seemed sufficient to determine the location of the mission, he immediately returned, and on the first of January 1801, having been in the mean time sol- emnly consecrated to his work by ordination, he set his face to- wards the wilderness again, with his young wife, and her youn- ger brother, a boy of fourteen years,* to encounter the hard- ships,not of the long journey only,but of that new home to which their journey Avould conduct theim Of their perils and priva- tions there — of their disappointments and discouragements — I might speak, if the time and the occasion would permit. I will only say that as soon as the inevitable expenses of a mis- sion so far remote from all civilized communities, and involv- ing the necessity of an outlay for schools and for industrial oper- ations, began to confound the limited expectations with which the work had been attempted, the Trustees, frightened by un- expected drafts on their treasury, abandoned the enterprise; and the missionary was ordered to New Connecticut. In the month of August, he left the isle of Mackinaw, with his wife and their two children, the youngest less than six weeks old; and after a weary and dangerous voyage, some part of which was performed in an open canoe, they arrived safe on the soil of the Western Reserve. About the first of October they were at Hudson, where they found a temporary home. That place had been occasionally visited by Mr. Badger and Mr. Robbins in their missionary circuits; but now the number of families in the township, and their means of subsistence, had become so considerable, that they proposed to employ Mr. Bacon as their own minister half the time, provided the Trustees of the Mis- sionary Society would retain him in their service the remain- *Beaumont Parks, Esq., now of Springfield, Illinois. 49 der of the time. If I mistake not, this was the first arrange- ment of the kind on the Reserve;— the first time that the Gos- pel was administered in any township otherwise than by the occasional visits of itinerant missionaries. Just at the commencement of my father's connection with the history of the Western Reserve, there came a trial of his quality and temper, which I may be allowed to narrate, that you who have a local interest in his name and memory, may know what sort of a man he was. The order for his removal from the Indian mission to these new settlements was voted in January, but the letters in which that order was sent nev- er reached him — such was the difficulty and uncertainty of communication with so remote a point as the extremity of Lake Huron. At last, in the month of July, he received the information in the form of a verbal message from one of the Trustees; and immediately he made haste to obey the order. Not long after his arrival at Hudson, he received letters in- forming him that his orders on the Society's Treasurer were protested; that a new and full statement of his expenses was demanded; that he was at liberty to return home; and that if he should choose to return, a gentleman at Warren was au- thorized to advance to him, on his application, such a sum as might be sufficient to defray the expenses of his journey. I need not describe the depressing effect of a communication so expressive of dissatisfaction and distrust. Here he was, pen- niless, with a helpless little family, with an implied doubt of his integrity, with protested drafts for which he might be cast into prison, with angry creditors upon his track. A filial heart bleeds, even now, to think of the complicated agony. — The way in which helmet that crisis, shows what the man was. Immediately he left his little family to the pitying hospital- ity of the friends whom he and they had already found in this wilderness. Refusing to accept the means of performing the journey on horseback, he set out for Hartford, on foot and alone, in the month of November. By the long and 4 50 dreary forest paths — through the chill November rains pour- ing pitilessly on his unsheltered head — through storms of snow — through the deep mud— now leaping over the sloughs and rivulets, and now limping with lameness caused by such exertion — often hungry and faint, as well as sad and weary — passing sometimes whole days without, a morsel of animal f 00( } — the lonely traveler pursued his way along the route where thousands are now daily flying, as it were, on wings of fire. One letter written on that journey, from Presque Isle, (now Erie,) remains in the possession of his children, describ- ing the hardships of the way, but breathing in every line a cheerful trust in God and an undaunted hope. Another let- ter written from Hartford on the 29th of December, announ- ces his safe arrival there. The records of the Missionary So- ciety show that, on the 9th of January, 1805, he presented himself at a meeting of the Trustees, and gave them "a gen- eral statement of his mission." Evidently, there w r as a long session which was adjourned to the next day. The votes re- corded on that next day show that his statements and expla- nations were satisfactory. His orders or drafts, the pay- ment of which had been suspended, were "sanctioned as hav- ing been proper;" a much larger amount than he had drawn for was granted in payment of the debts which he had con- tracted in the service of the Society; and he was honorably reappointed for the ensuing year, with the understanding that he was to serve the people of Hudson half the time. One week later he began his journey homeward; and on the 5th of March, he met his joyful family again at Hudson. Less than a year's experience, as a missionary to the new settlements, convinced him that more could be done for the establishment of Christian institutions, and for the moral and religious welfare of the Reserve as a whole, by one conspicuous example of a well organized and well christianized township, with all the best arrangements and appliances of New Eng- land civilization, than by many years of desultory effort in the 51 Tray of missionary labor. The idea was not wholly new.— Four years earlier, Mr. Badger's journal contains a record of his attending a consultation at Rootstown "on the subject of forming a settlement in some place so compact as to have schools and meetings." There must have been in many minds a longing, more or less distinct, after the old Puritan way of colonizing. Doubtless, the matter had often been talked of between Mr. Badger and his fellow missionaries. One of the three missionaries, more than the others, was a man likely to seize upon such an idea, to brood upon it in his thoughts, to shape it into a definite scheme, to picture to himself in strong colors the great good that might be done by making that Utopia a reality. While he resided at Hudson, he had the opportunity of observing what effect had been produced upon the character of that town by a few of its earliest set- tlers from Litchfield county, and especially by the strong-min- ded and great-hearted old Puritan whose name it perpetuates. He would naturally form in his thoughts the idea of what Hudson might have been in 1805, if in 1800 .the ground had been occupied by a religious colony, strong enough and com- pact enough to maintain schools and public worship, with a stated ministry of the Word, just as Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor did in 1636. Being near the western limit of the progress of settlement in this direction, he looked about him for a vacant township, in which such an experiment might be tried. His prophetic mind saw the exquisite capabilities of this township, its fertile soil, its salubrious air, its beautifully undu- lating surface, its pure and abundant water, its streams sing- ing in the grand old woods and rich with power for the ser- vice of man. He saw that the proprietorship of it was chief- ly in the hands of men, who, as his trusting and hopeful na- ture led him to believe, would enter into his views, and would even be willing to sacrifice something of their possible gains (if need should be) for so great a scheme of public usefulness as that with which his mind was laboring. Having determin- 53 ed to make the attempt, he relinquished his prior engage- ments, and went to Connecticut with his family, near the close of the year. He succeeded in making a contract with the proprietors, and in forming such arrangements for the purchase and sale of the land as seemed to him safe and suf- ficient. He went through various parts of Connecticut to make his plan known, and to procure the migration of the right sort of settlers. In the summer or early autumn of 1800, he returned to the Reserve, and again established his tempo- rary home in Hudson, till he should remove to the chosen spot where he expected to live and to die. The next thing in the progress of his undertaking was a new survey of the township, in order to lay out the ground- plan of the settlement. Thjs was done in the month of No- vember, or rather it was then begun. With what foresight it was done, you who dwell here are witnesses, to day. The lay- ing out of a town before its settlement is a matter of no slight importance to the successive generations of those who are af- terwards to be its inhabitants. A township measured off in- to quarter-sections, divided among a few land-holders, broken into scattered settlements, and with no roads but such as lead to some convenient market, can hardly grow into a town. Its population of isolated families, with no acknowledged center, cannot be made into a community with a vital organization and with common interests and sympathies. The unity of a town, as a body politic, depends on its having a center to which every neighborhood and every homestead shall be ob- viously related. In no rural township that I have ever seen, is that necessity so well provided for as here. No observing traveler can pass through this town, as it lies before us in its beauty to day, and not see that it was originally planned by a sagacious and foreseeing mind. Beautiful villages and great cities have often been delineated on paper before the first hab- itation was erected, and sometimes the aspirations of the pro- jector have been realized; but I know not where; else than m here, the same sort of forethought has been expended in plan- ning and marking out beforehand the highways that were to bind together, in ties of mutual intercourse and dependence, the farms and neighborhoods of an agricultural township. How much of the public spirit, the local pride, the friendly inter- course, the general culture and good taste, and the moral and religious steadfastness, that now characterize the town of Tall- madge, may be referred to the forethought which planned these roads, meeting and intersecting at the center, — you can best judge, who enjoy the great convenience, and who feel continually the gentle pressure of the bond of neighborhood binding every family to every other. All that we see here to- day — the meeting house at the geographical center, with the parsonage, the physicians' houses, the academy, the country inn, and the mechanics' shops and dwellings clustering around the neighborhood school houses at the corners made by the in- tersection of the parallel roads with the diagonals — all this was in the mind of the projector when he drew the plan, and all was often on his lips, as I remember well. It was fit that he who had planned the settlement, and who had identified with it all his hopes of usefulness for the re- mainder of his life and all his hopes of a competence for his family, should be the first settler in the township. He did'not wait for hardier adventurers to encounter the first hardships, and to break the deep loneliness of the woods. Selecting a temporary location, near an old Indian trail, a few rods from the southern boundary of the township, he built the first lone cabin, and there he placed his family. Our nearest neigh- bors (who they were, I cannot remember) lived (I know not how far off, but I think it was within a mile or two) in the ad- jacent town of Springfield. One month afterwards, a^German family, named Boosinger, removed within the limits of our town; but it was not till the next February, that another fam- ily of New England origin, to whom our English language was their mother tongue, removed into the township. Well do 54 I remember the solitude of that first winter, and how beau- tiful the change was when, at last, the spring began to spread her verdure over the soil, and to hang her garlands on the trees. The next thing to be done in the'prosecution of the plan to which my father had devoted himself, was to bring in from whatever quarter, Such families as would enter into his views, and would co-operate with him in securing the early establish- ment of Christian order. It was at the expense of many along and weary journey to the older settlements that he succeeded in bringing together here from Ravenna, from Canfield, from Austinburgh, from Cleveland, and from elsewhere, the fam- ilies who, in the Spring and Summer of 1808, began to call this town their home. His repeated and protracted absences from home are fresh in my memory ; and so is the joy with which we greeted the arrival of one family after another com- ing to relieve our loneliness. Nor least among the memories of that time, is the remembrance of my mother's fear, when sometimes she was left alone with her three little children. — She had not ceased to fear the Indians; and sometimes a strag- gling savage, or a little company of them, came by our door on the old Portage path, calling perhaps to try our hospital- ity, and with signs or broken English phrases asking for whis- key. She could not feel that to "pull in the latch-string" was a sufficient exclusion of such visitors; and in my mind's eye I seem now to see her frail form tugging at a heavy chest with which to barricade the door before she dared to sleep. It was indeed a great relief and joy to feel at last that we had neigh- bors, and that our town was really beginning to have inhab- itants. At that time the Rev. Jonathan Leslie, a Pennsyl- vania^ by birth and education,was one of the missionaries of the Connecticut Society. In one of his letters to the Trustees, under the date of Oct. 14th, 1808, he says: "This summer, the Rev. Mr. Bacon has had considerable success in set- tling the town of Tallmadge." It was "considerable success." 55 At the end of the second year from the commencement of the survey, there were perhaps twelve families, and the town had received a name. That name was agreed upon among the early settlers. — Though it was my father's choice, I think he did not at first impose it on the township. I remember when the question was discussed and determined at our house, and we began to know that we were living in the town of Tallmadge. Col. Benjamin Tallmadge of Litchfield, Connecticut, was not only the largest original proprietor of this township, but one of the most honored citizens of old Connecticut. Having serv- ed his country with distinction in the army of the Revolution, he was at that time a member of Congress. It is hardly nec- cessary to say that he was a man of strong mind and of the most undoubted integrity; for that was "the good old time" when such men only were trusted to represent that State in the great council of the nation. He was a man of wealth, for he was one of those men who, though not born rich are born to become rich and to die rich. At the same time, he was a man of strict and stern religious principles — a puritan in faith and practice. When he was far advanced in life, I became somewhat acquainted with him. He was then a man of commanding and venerable presence, greatly honored in the church and among his fellow-citizens, and a liberal con- tributor to various undertakings of christian zeal, some of which he remembered with large munificence in his will. — Some of his children and descendants are now conspicuous and honored in society; but in your beautiful town, his name and memory will be perpetuated, when Litchfield and Connecticut will remember him no more. I am giving you, in this desultory way, not the history of your town, but only my own reminiscences of its beginning. During that first lonely winter, we met for united worship on the Lord's day, at a house in Springfield, with a few in- habitants of that township and of Suffield, my father offioiat- ing as a volunteer missionary in the little congregation. But as soon as a few families had removed into this township, pub- lic worship was commenced here, and, if I mistake not, the earliest meetings were at my father's house.* From that time onward, the public worship of God was maintained here, without interruption. The first settler of the town being him- self a recognized minister of the Gospel, though no longer employed as a missionary, he served the people as their min- ister. I remember no preaching here by any other minister till Mr. Leslie made a visit here, in the month of Jan- uary, 1809. At that time a church was formally gathered and instituted according to the principles and usages of the New England churches. A comparison of the church record with the missionary's brief report to his employers, enables me to identify these facts. On Friday, the 20th of January, Mr. Leslie preached one sermon in Tallmadge. On Saturday he preached again. At that meeting the preliminary arrange- ments for constituting a church were completed. On the Lord's day, the 22d of January, the missionary preached again, one sermon ; and the church was constituted with the usual solemnities, nine persons covenanting to walk together in the ordinances of Christ. Then, for the first time in the place, the death, the great self-sacrifice of the- world's Re- deemer, was solemnly commemorated — thenceforth to be com- memorated, in like manner, by Christ's disciples here, till time shall end. On the same day, two children of the church were consecrated to a covenant God, in baptism. The mis- sionary in giving his repo-t, says, concerning the number of members in the church, that " three were prevented from at- tending by high waters." He adds, " This society promises soon to be the best on the Reserve." It is worthy of notice that those two persons whose names * The venerable Mr. Kilbourn, since the delivery of this address, has assured me that for several years my father's house was the only place of meeting for worship. This coincides with my recollections. §7 stand first in the record of the baptisms in this church, are here, on this occasion, for the first time in five and forty years. And, it is still more worthy of notice that the husband and wife, whose names stand first in the catalogue of those who covenanted with each other, in the formation of this church, are also here to-day, lingering upon the shores of time, to honor this commemoration with their venerable presence, be- fore they pass away. Tell us, ye aged ones ! the faith in God and God's redeeming Son, which ye then professed and covenanted to maintain, is it not now the staff on which ye lean, as your trembling steps go downward to the grave ? Has it not been your joy in sorrow, and your strength in conflict ? Tell us, that hope which then ye cherished, for what would ye renounce it now, when life's last sands are falling ? You will allow me to say that I have narrated the particu- lars concerning the formation of the church, with this minute- ness, partly because some of them happen to be fresh in my remembrance. The " Church of Christ, in Tallmadge," was instituted under the roof of the first log cabin that was built within the limits of the township. My childish understand- ing could take in only a little of the meaning of what I saw and heard that day, but the transactions in our house on that Sabbath day — transactions so simple in their form, so naked in respect to outward show, yet so sublime in their import and relations,— are indelibly impressed upon my memory. Slowly the settlement of the town proceeded, from 1807 to 1810 — too slowly for the hopes, far too slowly for the person- al interest, and pecuniary responsibilities of the projector. During that period, emigration from Connecticut to the Re- serve was almost at a stand. The crimes of the first Bonaparte who was then ravaging Europe, had their effect even in this deep wilderness, bringing disappointment and unexpected poverty into the homes of the pioneer settlers. The embar- go and other non-intercourse measures, with which the admin- istration of President Jefferson, whether wisely or wickedly, 58 annihilated, for a time, the foreign commerce that was so rar> idly enriching our country, produced a universal stagnation of business. Property could no longer be converted into money. Those persons in Connecticut, who might have emigrated' hither, could not sell their farms, and were compelled to wait for better times. All the money that came into the Reserve in those early days, was brought on the current of emigration ; and all that came was continually returning, in payment for lands, as well as for those articles of necessity which the wilderness could not yield. There was no buying and selling but by barter. Inevitably, under the pressure of such times, the founder of this town became embarrassed in his relations to the original proprietors, in Connecticut. The strict fulfil- ment of his contract with them became impossible, for a two- fold reason ; first, because the land which he had contracted to purchase could not be sold, and, secondly, because there was no money with which to make payment for what little had been sold. I need not proceed any further in the explanation. You can see what anxieties, what fears, what depressing thoughts, were crowding upon the man who had already done so much, and borne so heavy a burthen, in the work which you this day commemorate. Once, and I believe twice, he obtain- ed from the proprietors an extension of the time for the ful- filment of his contract. In 1810, his prospects began to revive. That year was marked by the first arrival of settlers from Connecticut. In April, 1811, he left his family here and went to Connecticut, with a sanguine hope, (for sanguine hope was characteristic of his nature,) that he might not only effect some satisfactory arrangement with the proprietors, but might, also, sell the remainder of the township to persons who would immediately remove hither and establish, at once, the completed order of a New England town. And, in this place — that I may represent aright the pressure of the cares and sorrows that were crowding upon him, and upon the lov- ing and delicate one who had already been his partner in eo 59 many labors an