OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: Tidbits of Ohio -- Part 52A ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 June 1, 2005 ************************************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio. And Then They Went West Know Your Ohio Tid Bits - Part 52 A by Darlene E. Kelley Notes by S. Kelly - Series of articles. Willowby Independant. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tid Bits - part 52 A. Christopher G. Crary Reminiscences. My friends from the "Willowby Independant " sent me the articles that was reproduced in their newspapers. These articles show some of the insights of the founding and development of Kirtland Townships in Geauga County, ( Lake County ), Ohio. The articles were writen by Christopher G. Crary and was reproduced in 1890. I find them very interesting and informative, especially since they include some of my distant relatives, and a deep history insight of the early years of Kirtland and neighboring communities. +++++++++++++++++ Reminiscences I am requested to give some reminiscences of the early settlement of Kirtland and the neighboring townships. I am not very well prepared for the task, having no records to refer to, and considering the fact that I was but little over five years old, when I came to Kirtland, and that over seventy-eight years have lapsed since that time, some allowance must be made for the frailty of human memory. My father had traded his farm in Massachusetts with Joshua Stow, of Middleton, Connecticut, for 680 acres of land in New Connecticut, or the Connecticut Western Reserve, and now known generally as the Reserve. I have often been asked why Northeastern Ohio is called the Reserve. The answer in brief is, that the charters of the original colonies from the English crown clashed and overlapped each other. Virginia's charter covered nearly half the North American continent; Connecticut's charter extended to the Pacific ocean, covering a large part of New York, Pensylvania, and the northern part of Ohio. After the revolution the colonies, then states in the Union, ceded to the general government all their western lands, except that Virginia reserved a portion of land in southern Ohio, which she had promised to her soldiers as a bounty. These lands are known as the Virginia military lands, and Connecticut reserved a portion of her lands in Ohio-- beginning at a point where latitude 42nd north crosses the west line of Pennsylvania to Lake Erie, and west 120 miles, containing beween three and four million acres. A half million acres of these lands from the west end of the Reserve were given to the city of New London, on account of the burning of that city by the British, lead by the traitor Arnold. These were called the " Fire Lands" in an early day, but the name has become obsolete and forgotten. The balance of the Reserve was sold to the Connecticut Land Company for one million two hundred thousand dollars, which went into the common school fund of Connecticut. But to return from this digression to pioneer times. My father arrived in Unionville late in May; left is family with Deacn Martin ( an old neighbor of his in Massachusetts), while he selected his lands. He had his choice of the south tract in Madison, the south tract in Kirtland, and the township of Stow in Portage county. He selected lots 88, 89, 90 and parts of lots 82 and 87, in Kirtland. Some two hundred acres of these lands were for John Morse, father of the later Col. John F. Morse, who was to have joined us in the spring. He then moved his family to Mentor and put up with Judge Clapp while he built a cabin on his selection at what is now known as Peck's Corners, seven miles distant by the Chillicothe road. This road was cut out by General Paine at government expense, the only road then from Northeastern Ohio to Chillicothe, the capital of Ohio at the time. It left the ridge road at Judge Clapps, running into a southernwesterly direction at the Martindale farm at Kirtland: thence in a southeast to a point east of the Holbrook farm, now owned by George Sleemin, thence southwest to intersect the present road a little south of the north line of Chester township. My father in after years got an alteration of this road, running it from Chester down to Peck's Corners to Kirtland Flats; thence in a northeasterly direction to intersect the ridge road at the Sawyer farm in Mentor, a little west of the site of the old Avenue House--- thereby shortening the distance and getting better ground for a road. While in Mentor at Judge Clapp's, many Indians passed going west. They seemed to understand that war was impending with Geat Britain long before we did, and did not mean to be caught in Eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania with an American force between them and other western tribes and British allies. After we moved into Kirtland there was a camp of Indians about two miles from us, just over the line in Chester, on land now owned by Hezekiah Bassett, but they soon left. In the future number I will give what I know about the early settlement and pioneer life in Kirtland and neghboring townships, which is probably about as much as Horace Greeley knew about farming, but I have not the faculty that he had of telling what I don't know or do know and making it interesting. ++++++++++++++ The war of 1812 nearly put a stop to farther settlement of what is now Lake county. Madison I think was more thickly settled at that time than any other township of the county, and Unionville as large as Painesville. The names I recollect were Nathan Warner, Sr., and Nathan, Jr., Judge Tappan, Potter, and the old gentleman Cunningham, his sons Amos, Artemas and Cyrus, and their cousin Cush Cunningham, Ladd, Brewster, Turney, Wheeler ( who afterwards represented Geagua County in the Legislature ), and Mixer. Perry was then an almost unbroken wilderness. Although one of the best townships of land on the lake shore, for some reason it did not settle as early as the other townships. I remember none of its inhabitants at that early day. In Painesville there were General Paine, General King, Eli Seeley, Sessions, Captain Skinner, Hall, Sam Butler, Williams, Frank Paine, Mr. Pepoon and sons. In Concord there were Benai Jones, father of Mrs. Jonathan Goldsmith ( who died a few years ago at over 100 years of age). Goldsmith and family came from Berkshire county, Mass., in company with us, both with ox and teams, thirty two days on the road. There were Nye and Blish, father of Benjamin and Zenas Blish. Zenas enlisted in the war of 1812, and was supposed to have been killed, and was not heard from for several years after the close of the war. In the meantime the old gentleman died, leaving the farm to Benjamin. I recollect Benjamin coming to our house to get father to survey out the farm and divide it. He said that Zenas had come home-- that Zenas wanted a farm just as much as he did. Father went and divided the farm, one-half being deede to Zenas-- showing that the almighty dollar did not then estrange brethern and friends as it does now, although the mighty dollar was painfully scarce in those days. Probably the first settler in Mentor were Charles Parker and Ebenezer Merry. They began the ridge road and the lake. Merry's opening was known as the Merry lot for years afterwards. Parker was one of the assistants in surveying the Reserve. They were not permanent residents, but left in 1811 or 1812, and went farther west. Truman Griswold came at an early day. He was quite a hunter and trapper, and did much to rid this section of wolves, which were very dangerous and troublesme at that time. A man by the name of Fobes lived on the farm now owned by John Warren. He had several girls which I thought were vry handsome. Judge Clapp had a large farm. Charles Prentiss now owns the party lying north of the road. On the site of the old log house south of the road now stands a fine framed house. I do not know the present owner's name. I think Warren Corning was the next settler west. He was a man of much enterprise and public spirit. He had been there some years--- kept tavern, and I suppose dispensed good liquors. He built and operated a distillery on his own premises, also one in Kirtland a few years later. He did not mean that the early settlers should suffer for the want of spirituous comforts, which were then considered a part of the necessaries of life. There was a distillery operated by a Mr. Fox between Corning's and Chagrin, now Willoughby, and a brewry a little west of Willoughby, and a peach brandy still in the village. As there was no foreign demand for whiskey, these establishments gave our sparse settlers a good supply -- perhaps fout times as much per capita as consumed now. There were several other settlers in West Mentor. I recollect only a Mr. Bacon. Abell Russell and several boys, nearly young men, and Mr. Jonathan Russell. It is related of him that he took a bushel of wheat on his horse to pay his bill, mounted his horse, took his girl on behind and went to Painesville to a dance. There were three ways of attending dance and merry-making parties -- go on horseback with the girl behind, or with a yoke of cattle and a sled, summer or winter, or go on foot. The first was most genteel, and a horse that would carry double was invaluable. My father had one that would not carry double, and it detracted very much from its value. In my next I will tell you what little I know about Chagrin. +++++++++++++++ At Willoughby ( then Chagrin ) there was a settlement, and had been for several years. Christopher Colson, Lewis Abbott, Humphrey and Wirt, Samuel and Noah Wirt and their mother. I do not recollect the old gentleman, and think he was not living at the time. They had been there for some years and had quite a large peach orchard in bearing. In 1813 or 1814 I went with my brother, then about 14/15 years old, for a load of peaches. We went with an ox team and sled, the only vehicle our roads were fitted for. I think we got them for the picking up. I recollect the old lady's going out to show us where we could find the best. The next year the peaches were made into brandy. Noah Worden settled on the farm now occupied by his sons, down the river from the village. Holly Tanner lived a mile or so above the village and still further up the river was a Mr. Judd, Lowell Eames and a Mr. Freer. Mr. Judd and Eames were great hunters, often killing deer or elk in our neighborhood, taking the hides and what meat they could carry home and giving us the balance, which was a great help to us, as none of our folks were hunters, and too poor to even own a gun. Charles Parker had built a house and made some improvements at the mouth of the river. I think he was in the employ of the Connecticut Land Company. He did some work in Kirtland on the farm now owned by Guy Smith, but built no house on it. A man by the name of Cook, I think, owned property at the mouth of the river and at the village, but died, leaving it to his relatives. There were but a few families in the west part of Willoughby; name not recollected. In the southeast corner of Chester there was a settlement made as early as 1802 by Justus Minor, his brother John, his sons Philo and Origen, his sons-in-law Harvey and John Sheffield, a Mr. Nettleton and a Mr. Baird. Dr. William N. Hudson settled at what is now known as Chester X Roads. These I believe are all that settled in Chester previous the war of 1812. Dr Hudson, some years before the war of the rebellion, moved to southern Ohio and was killed by Morgan's Raiders as they passed through Ohio. Some years previous to 1811, a tornado passed over the cabin of John Minor, killing him instantly. He had placed the children under sleepers, their being no floor, and they were uninjured. The summer of 1816 was very cold and but little corn ripened. I recollect Harvey Sheffield being at our house and saying that he had not hoed his corn, he " Scrupled " its getting ripe. The word " Scruple " was new to me,and caused considerable study and inquiry to ascertain its meaning. The next sring the Sheffields and others went to Tuscarawas county to buy corn, their families subsisting in their absence on roots; principally on leeks or wild onions, which were very nutritious but of a very disagreeable flavor, tainting the breath and giving it to the milk of cows that foaged on them a sickening smell and unpalatable flavor. We often hear the remark that the rich are growing richer and the poor ar growing poorer, which is not true. It is true that the rich are much better off than forty, fifty, or sixty years ago; but the condition of the poor has also greatly improved, and the poor of today have more of the necessaries, comforts and luxuries of life than the rich had in the first thirty or forty years of the settlement of the Western Reserve. My father, as I stated before, moved into Kirtland early in July, 1811. There was one family in the township, John Moore,living on the farm now owned and occupied by Reuben P. Harmon. He soon left. Peter French came to Mento and settled at Kirtland Flats. John Parris settled a half mile south, on the farm now owned by George Frank. Isaac Morley and Titus Billing built their cabin on the farm of the late Hurcules Carrel, John Moore, Sr., his son Isaac, then a lad of 19, and his daughter Rebecca, built their cabin where the Baptist church now stands. I think the mother was not living. In the spring came William Griffith, his father Amasa Griffith, Barzilla Millard, Thomas Fuller and Jonathan Maynard. Mr. Fuller was a millwright, or worker of stone; he dressed out several mill-stones from granite boulders, which he found with grit suitable for that purpose. One of his makes lies by the roadside near the residence of the late Isaac Long. Mr. Fuller went to Fullertown, built mills and a carding machine, giving is name to the village. Of all the names that I mentioned as being here before the war of 1812, so far as I know, but only two remain--- August Pepoon, of Painesville, and myself. All have gone to the unknown land; their graves scattered far and wide, and their descendants of the third and fourth generation only remain. How sad the reflection; the friends of my youth and most of the friends of my riper years are gone, and I am left waiting the summons to move. +++++++++++++++++ My oldest brother was married and had two children. He left his family at Mr. Potter's in Madison, until the beginning of winter. Not getting his house ready for occupancy, he moved in with us for the winter. His oldest child, a daughter of four years of age, sickened and died during the winter, and we buried her in the woods at what is now Kirtland cemetery -- the first white person buried in Kirtland. The war of 1812 put a stop to all further immigration to the Reserve, and some that were here left. It was a time of great alarm, especially after the surrender of Detroit to Hull. There seemed to be nothing to prevent the British and Indians from coming down the lake, both by land and by water, pillaging, marauding and destroying everything on the southern shore. There was a call for all capable of bearing arms to congregate at Sandusky in order to make a stand against the expected invaders. My oldest brother and James Newton, a cousin who was stopping at our house, volunteered and went as far as Sandusky. In the meantime General Harrison with Kentucky and Indiana troops, had pushed forward, defeating an Indian attack at Tippecanoe, and scceeded in reaching Fort Meigs, were he was besieged by a greater superior force of British and Indians, but by good generalship succeeded in repulsing and scattering the Indians. Colonel Croghan also stood a seige at Fort Stephenson, near Sandusky, but repulsed the attack disastrously to the allies. The Indians were discouraged, deserted, and the British retired to safer quarters. There being no farther danger in that quarter, our volunteers returned. James Newton came home sick and afterwards died, and we burid him beside our little girl in the South Kirtland cemetery. Our next great scare was at a time of Perry's victory. We distinctly heard the cannonading. The sound seemed to be the right of Cleveland and a little farther off, and we thought it must be a navel battle. Should the British be victorous, there was nothing to prevent them from landing at Cleveland and ravageing the whole lake shore with impunity. It was several days before our fears were allayed by news of the result. Another source of perhaps greater danger to us than the British were the rattlesnakes, which were very numerous and required great cautiousness and watchfulness to avoid them and kill them when found, which we considered our bounden duty. I never know of but one to escape. My brother ( younger than myself) and I were playing out in the choppings. Two large trees had been felled and lay parallel. He mounted the top end of one and I the other, for a race to see which one could reach the butt end first. When fifteen or twenty feet from the end a large rattlesnake coiled up on the log sunning himself. I was too near and under too much headway to stop, and I gave a jump and went over him. I never did better jumping, and my first step after must have been within easy reach of his snakeship, as they will nearly spring their whole length. I think he must have been asleep, or I should have been bitten. When I stopped and looked around he was slipping off the log down among the brush and weeds. We let him go and put for the house. Some time afterwards we burned the bush, and among the brands found a hollow stick, with a rattlesnake in it burned at both ends. I hoped that it might be the one that gave me the scare. A few years later they were hunted in the sprng of the year as they come out of their dens. On the Gildersleeve mountain twenty three were killed in one day, and they soon became extinct. In 1831, one was killed in the east part of the township, which I believe was the last ever seen in this region. ++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tid Bits continued in part 52 B.