[Florence Twp., Erie County, Ohio]
PIONEER WOMEN OF FLORENCE [TWP.], ERIE COUNTY, 1809-1845.
from "Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve", 1896

   Forty miles west of Cleveland is the town of
Florence, in the days of the stagecoach, a thriving
business center, left by the railroads. The distant
west and neighboring cities have attracted many of the
descendants of the pioneers, till the greater number of
the homes and farms are in possession of those who lay
no claim to New England ancestry.  To the women, as
well as to the men, the Western Reserve is indebted for
its proud reputation.  These pioneer women were true
daughters of New England, and we gladly give their
names a place on the pages of Western Reserve history.
    The first white woman in the township of Florence
was the wife of Ezra Sprague, Harriet Abia Griswold,
born in Hartford, Conn., in 1782. Her father, Solomon
Griswold, was one of the Connecticut Land Company - 
the original purchasers of the Western Reserve.  Her
education was good, and her social life and
surroundings had been pleasant. Business reverses
induced her father to bring his motherless daughters to
Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio.  Soon after, Ezra
Sprague, coming from the Berkshire Hills of
Massachusetts, took this daughter to share his pioneer
life.
  In the spring of 1809 Mrs. Sprague, with her son,
Simon, then about a year old, came by boat to the mouth
of the Huron River, ten miles from where her husband
had located his farm.  Mr. Sprague borrowed two horses
from the Indians and went to meet them, loading the
wife and child with all their belongings on the two
horses, and in that way they reached the first cabin
home of Florence.  For the sake of the baby they had
brought a cow with them with much difficulty, but soon
after a bear attacked her in the little clearing, and
tearing off her bag, made her useless. 
  They purchased flour from a French trader, at the
mouth of the Huron River -- the nearest mill was in
Newburgh -- and when this supply was exhausted, corn
had to be grated for their bread. Mrs. Sprague said
that when she grated the corn they had an abundant
supply, but when her husband, in the kindness of his
heart, did the grating for her, it was apt to be a
scant meal. In the fall of that year Mr. Sprague,
leaving her alone, started with an ox team and load of
corn for the mill. It took a week to make the trip, and
on the return he lost his way, was attacked with ague,
and with a high fever was obliged to camp out in the
rain. Mrs. Sprague often told of the long, lonely week
and her great relief when her husband returned.
  Mrs. Sprague was a brave helpmate, making the
deerskin clothes with the poorest tools. At one time,
entering the door of her log house, she saw a large
rattlesnake drinking from an iron kettle. It must have
crawled over the sleeping child on its pathway from the
open door. Without a sound she snatched the child and
left the snake in possession of the premises.
  Mrs. Sprague was an excellent businesswoman and of
great assistance to her husband in making out papers,
etc., in the different offices he afterwards held. She
was hospitable to all the newcomers with what she had
to offer.
    Soon after the next family arrived -- there were
twelve in the family. Mrs. Sprague invited them all to
her house. Mrs. Squires, the newcomer, carried her own
supply of tea, which was all there was in the
settlement, for the afternoon brewing. The next
question was what to drink it from. The scant supply of
crockery had nearly all been broken. Some kind of cup
at last was found for all, of tin, pewter or wood, Mrs.
Squires drinking hers from the teakettle lid.  When the
roads were opened to Milan and Norwalk, Mrs. Sprague
had plenty of company, and when the large new house was
built one could hardly realize the poverty of kitchen
and table equipment of that first tea party.
   Mrs. Sprague had two sons and four daughters.  The
sons were Simon and Soloman, who settled on farms
adjoining their father's.  Simon married Rebecka
Sprague, from Cooperstown, N.Y.  Soloman married Mary
Collins, who came with her mother from Lenox, Mass. She
still lives with her two sons on the Sprague farm, and
has given most efficient help in collecting material
for this township sketch.   Of the daughters, Caroline
was born May 13, 1810, the first white child born in
the county.  She married Henry Merry, and lived in
Sandusky till her death June, 1896. Her daughter, Emma
(Mrs. Nason), died a few years ago, leaving one son.
Harriet and Levisa Sprague died in 1847 and 1849. Laura
still lives in the homestead, now in her 85th year.
Always a genial, generous neighbor and friend.
     In July, 1810, Rachel Barnum came with her
brother, Eli S. Barnum, from Danbury, Conn. He was the
agent for the sale of the township land. She began
keeping house for her brother in the log cabin before
the door was hung, a blanket serving for a door. One
night when her brother was absent, she felt very lonely
and kept a fire burning on the hearth. After nightfall
she heard the wolves howling, and soon a large grey
wolf put his head in beside the blanket door. She
screamed, of course. That and the sight of the fire
caused the wolf to retreat, and she was not molested
again. They had a cow, and the ambitious girl carried
home from a neighbor's, ten miles on horseback, a hen
that was given her. It seemed quite at home and began
laying. Rachel carefully saved the eggs, and in due
time had a fine brood of chickens. But this first
poultry venture in Florence was soon a failure, for,
having fed them with salted buttermilk, they all died.
  There is a romance connected with Rachel Barnum. An
admirer followed her from Connecticut to the
wilderness: Charles Betts was of good family and well
educated.  His affection was not reciprocated, though
for seven year he was persistent in his suit -- till
she married another.  Then the disappointed man, always
eccentric, became more so, and lived a hermit life for
over forty years.  He seldom left his farm, and on such
rare occasions attracting much attention by his quaint
dress -- his long hair tied in a que, a fur cap, and a
blanket over his shoulders, Indian fashion if it was
cold, riding his horse, leading another, with two or
three following -- it made an odd procession.  Once a
year he attended the service of Episcopal church, of
which he was a communicant, at Norwalk.  Kind to
everyone, without an enemy, he was finally murdered by
an ungrateful brother he had sheltered.   Does not this
story of unrequited love for a pioneer woman belong on
these pages?    
  Rachel Barnum married, in 1818, Joseph Brooks, the
son of another pioneer.  Cupid was busy in this forest
primeval. There was a double wedding on that day; John
Brooks, a brother of Joseph, married Adaline Squire.
Here also is a romance.   
     Captain Joab Squire, who came his wife and family
of nine children in 1815, had been a sailor all his
life, knew nothing about making his life in the forest.
This whole family nearly starved the first winter. The
Brooks family were famous hunters, and John, hearing
the Squire family were in sore need of provisions, shot
a deer and carried it on his back to the hungry family,
teaching the best way to cook and care for the meat.
The daughter, Adeline, admired the stalwart hunter, and
the girl in turn captured his heart. We can well
believe she was, as tradition says, beautiful, an
inheritance from her mother, for some of her
granddaughters can, without doubt, claim that gift.
The name of Captain Squire's wife, who came with him
from Southport Conn., was Mary Bulkley. Their nine
children were: Ruth, who married Erastus French;
Adaline, who married John Brooks, Jr.; Munson, who
married Betsey Bentley; George, who married Fanny
French; William, who married Permilia Grey; Virgil, who
married Rebecca Peck; Mary, who married David Hinman;
Eliza, who married William Tillinghast. These all came
from Connecticut. Charles was born in Florence and
rocked in a sap-trough cradle. He married Susan
Cogswell.
  After the death of his first wife, Capt. Squire
married a widow Lampson, whose maiden name was Harriet
Bentley. She had two children, a son, William, and a
daughter, Betsey. The children of the second marriage
were Julia and Julius (twins), Joab, Benjamin and
Harriet. These younger ones belonged to and associated
with a younger generation, their nephews and nieces.
Julia is the wife of Edwin Denton, and lives on the old
homestead.
    The children of Adaline Squire Brooks were Alvin
Edward, who married Jemima Bates; Amanda married John
Carhart and lives in Grinnelle, Ia.; Marinda, who
married D. N. Hine; Homer, who married Mary Kellogg;
Caroline. who married H. H. Winans, lives in Topeka,
Kans.; Ann, who married Jerome Pierce, lives in
Springfield, Vt.; and Emeline, who married E.P. Pepoon.
    The children of Rachel Barnum Brooks were Mary Ann,
who married Winslow Fay in 1839, and lived in Florence
until her death, in 1878. Her two sons, Lamertine and
Willis Fay, are lawyers in Elyria. Maria married Herman
Adams, of Sandusky, and died of cholera in 1853, having
come from Sandusky to Florence the day before. She was
a rare woman, greatly lamented.
    John Brooks, Sr., who came with his wife and family
in 1810, was a Revolutionary soldier, and was wounded
in the battle of White Plains and Monmouth. The first
wife, the mother of his children, was Rachel Blizzard.
Their children were John, Jr., and Joseph, of whom we
have written; George, who married a daughter of the
widow Clark, and Oliver, who never married. After the
death of his first wife. John Brooks, Sr., married a
second wife, whose name seems to be lost, and after her
death he married a widow Barnes, who is remembered by
his children as an "excellent woman."  After her death,
a widow Hancock, maiden name Ovilla Hocum, became the
fourth wife. This was not a happy marriage, and she was
bought off, went to Michigan, afterward to Missouri,
and twenty years after the death of Mr. Brooks, which
occurred in 1846, at the age of 91, she applied for and
obtained a pension as the widow of a Revolutionary
soldier. She certainly was a businesswoman.
     A  Mrs. Clark came in 1811 from Onandaga County,
N. Y., with her oldest son, Town Clark, a man grown,
and a family of younger children. They settIed on the
farm now occupied by the sons of Soloman Sprague. There
the son, with the help of the other settlers, built a
block house, where the family lived, and which was used
as a place of refuge in times of alarm from the
Indians.  One night, when they were all gathered there
for safety, a young man, sent out to reconnoiter, came
running back, saying he had been shot at by a company
of Indians, showing bullet holes in his coat. All night
they watched anxiously, expecting an attack, the large
logs of the floor in front of the door were lifted, and
water kept boiling in the large iron kettles, that in
case of attack, the women, with domestic weapons, might
help the men with their scant ammunition.  In the night
they saw in the little clearing below the hills, where
there were logs burning. dark forms that appeared to
snatch fire brands, and, swinging them in the air,
approach the block fortress. A sleepless night was
passed by all, except the youth who had brought the
alarm.  Daylight showed the dark forms they had taken
for Indians to be a few cattle of the settlers gathered
around the smoldering fire, and the wind the carrier of
the fire brands.
    The first marriage in the township was the daughter
of Mrs. Clark, Clementine, to Thomas Starr, in 1814.
This took place in the blockhouse. It is said everybody
in the township was invited, and still the house was
not crowded.  The widow Clark, seven years later,
married a Mr. Downing, and removed to Michigan.  One
daughter married, first Henry Bishop, afterwards John
Hill. and lived in Florence until her death a few years
ago.
     Charles Peck and Mary Barnum, his wife, a sister
of Eli and Rachel Barnum, came from Danbury, Conn., in
1810. They first went to the Peninsula, as it was
called, the extreme western limit of the Reserve. They
brought one child, a daughter; another daughter was
born soon after they came. Mrs. Peck was only seventeen
and had left a home of more than usual comfort. She was
high spirited. The Indians frequently came to the house
to trade, and one day a squaw and three big Indians
came in and bartered with her a string of fish for a
Johnny cake she had just baked. The squaw snatched both
cake and fish and started to run. Mrs. Peck fearlessly
caught her, gave her a good shaking, and made her lay
them both down. The Indians laughed and said "Brave
white women." The summer of 1812 the Indians became
bold and troublesome. Mrs. Peck said many days, while
her husband was at work, she had hidden with her little
children and a faithful dog, in the fields of wild
mustard that were around her cabin.  Finally they dared
remain no longer, and with her husband, two children
and a Frenchman, who had taken refuge with them, they
came in a row-boat to Cleveland, where they remained in
the blockhouse until peace was declared; then they came
to Florence, settling near the western line of the
town.
  Their oldest daughter, Mary, married I.T. Norton.
Rachel married Samuel Ingham, and lived between
Florence and Birmingham.  Sarah married Nathan Daniels.
Barnum, the son, married Eliza Redding, a half-sister
of John Sherman, of Wakeman.  They lived on the same
farm and raised a large family. The daughter of Mrs.
Norton, Ammoret, is the wife of Hiram Star, of
Birmingham.
  Rachel Ingham had two daughters, Eliza, who married
Samuel Davenport, of Beloit, Wis.; Sarah married Eugene
Bentley, of Birmingham. The daughter of Mrs. Daniels,
Mary Dimmis Daniels, married George Lewis, and now
lives in Cleveland.  
  When Eli Barnum's sister, Rachel, married and went to
a home of her own, half a mile distant, he found
bachelor life rather lonely.  Mary Root, the daughter
of Triphena Mosely and Joseph Root, of Westfield,
Mass., came to visit her sister, Mrs. Calvin Leonard,
who was the first settler in what is now Henrietta
township.  The young man was invited to call.  Mary
Root must have been a fine looking girl, very tall,
erect and dignified, with brilliant black eyes and dark
hair, and she immediately captivated young Barnum.
Aided in his suit by the wishes of the sister, Mary
Root soon became Mrs. Barnum. They were married in
1819.  
  Mrs. Leonard was said to have a supply of younger
sisters for enquiring bachelors.  Two others were
married from her house -- Eliza to Joseph Swift, and
Rhoda to Mr. Styles.  Mrs. Barnum had been accustomed
to ease and even luxury, and was very homesick. She
often told her daughters that the happiest moments were
when she mounted her horse and rode as fast as it would
carry her to visit her sister.  Mrs. Barnum had a
reserved manner that children almost feared. Perhaps
the loneliness of those first years left their trace
upon her spirits.  She had four daughters and two sons.
Mr. Barnum built a large house near the corners, the
largest in the town. When the daughters were grown
their home was an attractive center for the young
people of adjoining towns.    Mrs. Barnum was a woman
of more than usual intelligence, retaining her
intellect and conversational powers till she was over
ninety. Mr. Barnum removed to Cleveland in 1858, buying
a place on the southwest corner of Euclid and Bolton
avenues, extending back to Cedar Avenue. Rhoda, the
eldest daughter, married James Cowles, and now lives in
Akron, Ohio, a cheerful and helpful woman under many
trials, and beloved by all from her girlhood.  Susan
married Judge Bryan, of Akron. She is a woman of
culture and rare gentleness, filling a high position in
her home and in the community. Mary married Mr. Hayes,
and resides in New York City. Isabel cared for her
mother in her last years, and now makes her home with
her sisters. Eli lived in Oregon, afterwards in Denver.
His wife was Frank[sic] Lattimer, of Norwalk. Charles
married Adaline Blanchard, of Birmingham. and lives in
Toledo.
     The first school was built on Sprague's corners,
and taught by Ruth Squire. The next was between
Florence and Birmingham, and Rhoda Root, another sister
of Mrs. Leonard, taught this. She opened her school
with prayer, greatly to the displeasure of one man, who
called a meeting of the school committee to have such a
practice stopped. To his great disappointment the
school committee upheld the teacher.  Miss Root, a girl
of rare gifts, afterwards became Mrs. Styles, of
Clarksfield.
     In 1820 Captain Jeremiah Baker, with his wife and
child, arrived in Florence. They came from Hartford,
Conn., and were forty-two days on the journey. Mr. and
Mrs. Norman Walker and children were with them. Their
outfit consisted of three yoke of oxen, one team of
horses and two wagons. Much of the way Mrs. Baker drove
the horses, carrying a child in her arms.  They passed
through Buffalo just after it was burned, and were
followed some distance and urged to turn back and
locate there. Part of the route there was on the sandy
beach of Lake Erie, it being impossible to follow the
roads or trails. Mrs. Baker was Nancy Burgess, the
daughter of Captain Benjamin and Rhoda Burgess, of
Tolland, Conn. She was born in August, 1796; married in
1815. Mrs. Rhoda Burgess followed her daughter to
Florence, and remained as long as she lived. Mr. Baker
opened the first public house in Florence, first in a
log house, then a frame building, afterwards in a
larger building that stood for over sixty years at the
corners, till it was burned.
   Mrs. Baker was a woman of quiet energy, managing the
affairs of her large household, and bringing up her
family of children in a most efficient and exemplary
manner, never murmuring, though she had some unusual
trials. Their house was a favorite resort for pleasure,
and sleighing parties from other towns, but never the
headquarters of the rough element, like so many country
taverns.   She had five daughters and two sons. The
eldest son, Jeremiah, married Rhoda Barney and always
lived in Florence. Melissa married Mr. Dealing, and
lived in Florence many years after his death;
afterwards she became the wife of Mr. Spaulding.  She
died recently in Toledo.  Marilla married Rev. Mr.
Foote, residing a long time in Cleveland, now in
Portland, Oregon. Theresa married Dr. Hinkley, of
Buffalo.  Georgianna married Alfred Babcox, of
Florence. Mary married Geo. Chandler, of Birmingham,
now of Kansas City.  George married Harriet Klady and
lives on the old farm.
   Mrs. Baker lived to be over seventy and was
universally loved. The hardships of frontier life did
not destroy the beauty or refinement of her face and
character.
     William [note: should this be Josiah?] Blackman
came in 1815. His wife was Triphena Smith.  She was
born in 1760 in Massachusetts and died in Florence
1819. One daughter, Clarissa married Alanson Anderson,
and lived in Florence thirty years.   
  In 1818 Marinda Blackman, who came from Connecticut,
married John Denman, an Englishman.  She was the mother
of fifteen children, who grew up and were married, some
of them still remaining in Florence.
     Wealthy Tilden came from Tolland, Conn., to visit
a sister, the wife of Meverson Sherman. In 1830 she
married Joel Blackman. She was an intelligent,
energetic woman, and for over forty years she and her
family were prominent and active members of the
community, and leading supports of the Methodist
Church.
   She had two daughters and one son: Ruth Ann married
Mr. Packard, and after his death Mr. Watrous, of
Norwalk.
Maria, the wife of William Kellogg, died about 1870.
William owns the old farm but lives now in Kansas.
     Susan Cahoon, daughter of Wilber Cahoon, of Avon
Township, married Harley Mason.  He bought the mill
built by William Blackman. They had twelve children.
One daughter, Lodema, is the wife of John Poyer, and
still lives in Florence.  Another, Huldah, married John
Marsh, of Peru. Harriet married Jerome Graves, and
lived in Norwalk. Margaret died in 1845, the wife of
Dr. Willis Osborne of Florence. Dr. Osborn married for
his second wife, Mary Akers.
    The Heath family came about 1830. The mother's name
was Susanna Rittenhouse. She was born in New Jersey.
Her mother came from the north of Ireland. She was a
cousin of the Philosopher, David Rittenhouse, of
Philadelphia. No one who ever enjoyed the hospitality
of the Heath family can ever forget the old log house
with its great fireplace, where evenings around the big
table the family read or discussed the questions of the
day. They delighted in philosophic discussions and
argument. Nor was the hospitality lessened when in 1858
the family moved into the Barnum homestead. There were
nine children. Their names were Clarissa, Prudence and
Letitia, the two last living in Illinois; Harriet, the
wife of Mr. Barber, of Berlin. Sophie, who lived with
her brother until his death, was the life of all social
gatherings, bright, witty and keeping young in heart
and looks. She died in 1896. Ashur lived in Norwalk.
The wife of Ashur was Melvina Kellogg, of Genesee, N.
Y.
    Mrs. Hannah Akers, whose maiden name was Keeler,
came with her husband from Burlington, N. J. They
settled in the northeastern part of town. They had five
sons and two daughters. Mrs. Akers lived to be 100
years and two months old.
    Mrs. Roberts was Catherine Hardy, from Connecticut.
She had four daughters: Caroline (Mrs. Homer Denman);
Ella (Mrs. Knight), of Wakeman; Ida (Mrs. Smith), of
Vermillion; and Mary (Mrs. Sylvester Klady). of
Florence.
    The wife of Chester King was Jemima Smith, of Lynn,
Conn.  They lived in Florence over forty years. They
had seven children. One son, Joseph, married Melone
Masters, of Berlin, and lives on the old homestead. One
daughter, Rosanna, married John Fuller, and lives in
Norwalk.
    Mrs. Bowen Case was Ann Brumbridge, of Vermillion.
    After 1816, a number of families settled in the
eastern part of the township, where the thriving
village of Birmingham sprung up.  That year Sally
Summers, the daughter of Mark Summers and his wife
Dimiah Botsford, from Danbury, Conn., who settled in
Vermillion the year before, married Daniel Chandler,
from Orange County, N. Y. She lived on the same farm
one-half a mile west of Birmingham, till her death.
Mrs. Chardler was the mother of thirteen children. A
small woman, she was very quick and accomplished a
great amount of work. Everything in her house shone
with polished neatness.  Good housekeeping is an
inheritance of her daughters.
  Mrs. Chandler was a beautiful singer, and a musical
talent from both father and mother has descended to
sons and daughters.   One daughter, Harriet, born in
1819, married Hobart Crane; Eliza married George Clary;
Laura (Mrs. Botsford) lives in Cleveland; Sally married
Ira Ennis; Emma married Orlando Wood [note: this should
be Orlando Minard].  Mary married Stark Adams, of
Huron;  Caroline married Mark Kyle, of Toledo. Two sons
grew up: Daniel lives in the old homestead, and George
married Mary Baker and lived in Kansas City.
     Perez Star came from Portage County to live in
Florence in 1816. His wife was Mary Randle, from
Herkomer[sic] County, N. Y.  Mrs. Star spun and wove
the clothing for her family from flax and wool they
brought with them.   She was most helpful in sickness,
often walked miles to sick neighbors, and after being
up all night, returned home and worked all day. Their
son, Hiram Star, born 1822, is the oldest resident of
that part of the town. Two daughters, Harriet and
Aurelia, lived in their home at Birmingham.  Polly
married Mr. Ott and lived in Birmingham many years.
     Hannah Ennis was the wife of James Ennis. They
came befone 1820.  She was a tall, slender, industrious
woman. She was a Clinton, of Amsterdam, N. Y., of Dutch
ancestry. Her wedding dowry was a half-bushel basket
filled with silver dollars.  Some descendants remain in
Florence. One daughter, Hannah Ennis. married Silas
Wood in 1827. Mrs. Wood's daughter, Mrs. Altheda
Arnold, lives  in Birmingham. Mrs. Hannah Kline and
Mrs. Sarah Strauss in Oberlin.  George Wood lives in
Birmingham.
    About 1816 Aaron Higgins and his wife, Ortentia
Jenne, came from Scipio, Cayuga County, N. Y., and
settled at the forks of the Vermillion River -- that is
a wild, romantic spot even now -- and the wolves
disputed possession.  The little daughter they brought
with them, Arvilla, who afterwards married Charles
Russell, said they could often hear them howling around
their house. One night a few years later she was lost,
and her parents thought she was with friends in
Birmingham, and did not send for her. Fortunately,
there were no hungry wolves around that night, and she
slept undisturbed under a stack of straw not far from
home. Mrs. Higgins was a famous cook. and when the four
stage coaches passed each way (Mr. Higgins  kept the
tavern) her mince pies were in great demand. She had
twelve children.
    Mrs. Charles Russell lived in Birmingham many
years.  Her husband was the proprietor of the hotel
there; then of the ___ House, of Sandusky, afterwards
of the Russell (now Forest City) House, of Cleveland.
She died in 1896. Her eldest daughter, Acenath, was
Mrs. Pritchard. Mary is Mrs. Charles Botsford, of
Cleveland. Bethia was Mrs. F. B. Case, of Norwalk. 
     Mrs. Nelson Bristol was the wife of one of the
first settlers on the south line of Florence, their
house being in Wakeman, but their son living on the
part of the farm in Florence. During the war in 1863,
Mr. Bristol kept his money in his house. One night a
number of men came, and pretending to be government
officers, gained access to his safe and took $16,000;
$2,000 belonging to the mother of Mr. Bristol, the
little savings of her life, from the products of farm
and dairy.
     Mrs. Kneland Tod [sic, note: Kneeland Todd] was a
faithful wife and mother, honored by her sons and
neighbors. 
  Their home was on the North Ridge. On that farm first
lived Mr. Harris, whose daughter was Mrs. Montieth, the
wife of Rev. John Montieth.  She had a school here at
one time, and afterwards in Elyria. Her daughters were
Mrs. Gates, and Mrs. Ely, of that place. Mrs. Dr.
Wheeler, of Cleveland, is a granddaughter.
     In 1836 Rev. Eldad Barber became the first pastor
of the Presbyterian Church. His wife was Hannah Ely
Osborn, of East Windsor, Conn. In 1822, when nineteen
years old, she married Henry Crosby, of Hartford, Conn.
Her wedding journey was by stage from Hartford to
Worthington, Ohio. She was tall, graceful, with fine,
regular features and beautiful hazel eyes. Bishop Chase
at that time said she was the most beautiful bride that
had crossed the Alleghenies.  In two short months her
husband died, and she nearly lost her life from a
malignant form of typhoid fever prevailing then. After
recovery she returned to her New England home. After
ten years she became the wife of Rev. Mr. Barber, a
former schoolmate, whose first wife died in Milan, 0.
He was then principal of the Huron Institute.
   She entered with enthusiasm into her husband's work.
The school was filled with students, but four dollars a
term for a classical preparation for college did not
prove a financial success. Mrs. Barber freely gave the
few hundred dollars she intended for house furnishing,
for assistants' salaries. After two years her husband,
overworked and suffering from the effects of fever,
took charge, first, of the church at Vermillion, then
at Florence. Here he remained thirty-five years, until
his death.
  As a pastor's wife Mrs. Barber was quiet and
unassuming, generous, with kind excuses for all
shortcomings.  Her home was a hospitable one to their
own people and a large circle of friends in neighboring
towns. It was often a place of refuge for fugitive
slaves, being an Underground Railroad station between
Oberlin and the lake ports. For her to shelter these
fugitives was to risk not only her husband's position
but the sacrifice of her property and home, for the
political principles, if not the hearts, of most of the
men in that community demanded the return of slaves
according to law. These frequent night entertainments
were not discovered. She rode for months after her own
horse, sheared of mane and tail; her husband having
ridden it to a meeting of the Presbytery at Mt. Vernon,
Ohio, that was broken up by a mob in the excitement of
1842, his horse and some others being thus mutilated.
  Mrs. Barber accepted gracefully the "donation
parties" at her home. The amount received counted on
the $400 salary, which was supplemented by the products
of their own small farm. These donation parties became
year after year a regular social event. The older
people coming in the afternoon for a visit, and the
younger ones with their merry games enjoying the
evening. Thirty-five years made a wide acquaintance,
and many friends outside of Florence and Birmingham
took these occasions to help the church and to show
their friendship for the pastor and his wife. Mrs.
Barber died in Cleveland in 1870[?], aged 76, at the
home of her daughter, Caroline, the wife of Dr. P. H.
Sawyer.  
     From 1825 to 1850 there was a progressive and
pleasant social center in Florence, the sons and
daughters of the first pioneers enjoying the fruits of
their parents' bravery and self-denial.
  Among the women who came after 1830 was Mrs. Nathan
Sherman (Elizabeth Otis) from Berlin, a lovely woman
and a sweet singer, who afterwards removed to Norwalk.
One daughter, Mary, is the wife of Burchard Hayes, of
Fremont.
  Olive Crane, who married Dr. Baker and lived at the
corners until about 1840, afterwards removing to
Norwalk.
  Mrs. Sylvester Rolten [error: this should be Rowland]
was Fanny Chadwick, of Lyme, Conn. She came with her
husband to Florence in 1836 [should be 1845]. Their
son, James, married for his second wife Jane Andrus
[Andress] Buckley.  Juliette Rolten [Rowland] married
Isaac Klady, and came from Mt. Morris, N.Y., the year
before her parents. She died 1892.  Two sons and four
daughters grew up, married and settled in Florence.
  Mr. Christian Harley and his wife came about 1840.
They were the first Germans in the town.  They were
prosperous in all things.  Mrs. Harley was a good
woman, the mother of thirteen children, many of whom
are living in Defiance and Toledo. A brother, Mr.
Alexander Harley, came a little later.  His wife was a
widow Brobst. A grandson is Frank Brobst of the
Hollenden. A son, Orlando Harley, is the tenor of
worldwide reputation.
  Mrs. George Darling was Jane Young, whose cheerful,
cordial greeting all loved to meet.
  Mrs. Bennett Pierce, Nancy Clary, was a lovely woman.
She afterwards lived in Cleveland with her two sons.
  Mrs. Fanny Perry, whose husband was for many years
postmaster, was an earnest Christian woman, of true New
England thrift.
  There was Mrs. Tarsus Botsford, whose maiden name was
Abby Swan, from Lenox, Mass. She was a faithful wife
and mother, with a disposition of remarkable sweetness,
always giving kind words and assistance to neighbors in
sickness or trouble. No one ever heard an unkind
criticism from her lips. A sweet singer, she was for
many years the leading voice in the church song.
                          ___________  
        CAROLINE BARBER SAWYER, Chairman and Historian 
 Florence Committee: Mrs. Mary Sprague, Mrs. George
Taylor, Mrs. Homer Brooks, Mrs. Hiram Star, Mrs. George
Clary.        

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"Notice: the above material is Public Domain (no copyright)."
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Ted Reising
tedohio@yahoo.com
June 8, 1998
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