Lake County Ohio GenWeb
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The Reserve has furnished one President, six
Governors, five Lieutenant Governors, sixteen
Judges of the Supreme bench of the State, four
United States Senators, one, however, never taking
his seat, and forty-five members of the House of
Representatives. The complete list is as follows:--
PRESIDENT – James A. Garfield
GOVERNORS – Samuel Huntington, Seabury
Ford, Reuben Wood, David Tod, John Brough, and
William McKinley, only by birth.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS – Jacob Mueller, H.
W. Curtis, Jaboz Fitch, E.L. Lampson and A.W. Jones.
SUPREME JUDGES – Samuel Huntington, George
Tod, Calvin Pease, Peter Hitchcok, Reuben Wood,
Matthew Birchard, Ebenezer Lane, Rufus P. Ranney,
Rufus P. Spaulding, W.W. Boynton, Milton Sutliff,
Horace Wilder, Luther Day, Walter F. Stone, W.
H. Upson and J.F. Dickman.
UNITED STATES SENATORS – Stanley Griswold,
H.B. Payne, B.F. Wade and James A. Garfield,
who was elected President before taking his place
in the Senate.
REPRESENTATIVES – J.W. Allen, S.J. Andrews,
C.B. Beach, H.G. Blake, Geo. Bliss, Phil. Bliss,
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H. Brinkerhoff, T.E. Burton, D. Clendenin, E. Cook,
G.W. Crouse, J. Crowell, S. Edgerton, J.S. Edwards,
M.A. Foran, J.A. Garfield, J.R. Giddings, E.S.
Hamlin, P. Hitchcock, W.H. Hunter, J. Hutchins,
T.L. Johnson, W.D. Lindsley, J. Monroe, E.
Newton, S.A. Northway, D.R. Paige, R.C. Parsons,
H.B Payne, A.G. Riddle, J.M. Root, J. Sloane,
R.P. Spaulding, E.B. Taylor, V.A. Taylor, D.R.
Tilden, A. Townsend, N.S. Townsend, W.H.
Upson, E. Wade, E. Whittlesey, C.P. Wickham,
L.D. Woodworth, S.T. Worcester, W.J. White.
Of these, Giddings served eleven terms; Garfield,
nine; Whittlesey, eight; E.B. Taylor, six; Monroe,
five; Wade, four; and Foran, Root, Spaulding and
A. Townsend, three each.
The combined time of Whittlesey, Giddings,
Garfield and Taylor, representing the “Nineteenth
District,” is sixty-eight years, being, I believe, with-
out a parallel in any other district of the country.
In March, 1842, a vote of censure was passed upon
Mr. Giddings, by Congress. He immediately re-
signed and appealed to his district, and was reelected
at once by a large majority.
C.S.-5
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Probably the first burial on the Reserve, of a
white person, was that of Col. Alex. Harper, in what
is now the cemetery of Unionville, lying along the
old Ridge Road on the line between Ashtabula and
Lake Counties.
Colonel Harper’s and two other families, number-
ing twenty-five persons in all, landed at what is known as
“Madison Dock,” June 28th, 1798, and immedi-
ately began arranging for their homes. But a few
days after their arrival, as the men were walking
days after their arrival, as the men were walking
over the Ridge, the colonel thrust a stick into the
loose soil and remarked, “Here will be a good place
for a burying ground.” At this identical spot, on
the 10th of September following, he was laid to
rest. This extract, copied from Mrs. Sherwood’s
“Tales of Our Grandmother,” will give a clear idea
of the difference between a burial among the Pio-
neers and one of to-day: “The funeral obsequies
were prepared by his sorrowing friends; a coffin of
plank, hewn from one of the forest trees, was the
best that could be procured, and the war-worn sol-
dier was borne to his long home. His was a pioneer
grave of the forest. * * * Imagination can scarcely
conceive the dread solemnity of this burial. No
sable hearse or nodding plume decked this funeral
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array; no minister of God pronounced the solemn
ritual for the dead; all was dreary, all was desolate,
and only the fading leaves of autumn strewed the
solitary mound.”
The first sermon preached was by Rev. Joseph
Badger, at Austinburg, August 1800. On the 24th
of October, of the year following, he organized the
first church, Congregational, consisting of sixteen
members, ten men and six women. In 1810 this
society erected its first house of worship, a log struc-
ture, covered with long oak shingles, held down by
weight-poles; a “puncheon” floor, a stick and mud
chimney, and doors with wooden hinges and latches,
the strings always out. The puncheons were split
logs. This structure was superseded in 1824 by the
first frame church ever built upon the Reserve. The
raising of this occupied from Monday morning until
late Saturday afternoon. The last act was the
mounting of an “old salt” to the top of the steeple,
105 feet, from which, when three cheers had been
given for the new church, he threw a bottle of
whiskey as far as he could.
To Poland, is undoubtedly to be accorded the
first wedding, school, store, debating society and
blast furnace.
The wedding was somewhat on this wise. In
1800 John Blackburn and Nancy Bryan having
agreed to get married, four written notices were
posted, one on each side of the Blackburn cabin.
For want of a clergyman, Judge Kirtland, who had
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had authority in Connecticut for that purpose, was
selected to perform the ceremony. To fortify him-
self, the judge hunted up his Episcopal prayer book
and laid it on a small stand in front of the young
couple, when the appointed time arrived. Just as
he was about beginning, some one proposed a drink
of whiskey all round, to which the seventy guests
unanimously assented. Whilst the gourd and tin
cup were going the rounds, some one contrived to
steal the prayer book. Thus deprived of his prop,
the judge said if the couple were agreed it was all
right, and pronounced them man and wife without
further formula.
A school taught probably by one Perly Brush,
was opened in a small log house, about 1801. If
there are any reasonable competitors for this first
honor, they are, in order, Vernon, Warren, and
Youngstown, all of which established schools about
the same time.
A debating society met at the house of John
Struthers, as early as 1803. This, and similar ones,
were kept up for many years.
The first store was opened by one Foster or
Montgomery, in 1802. Prior to and after this, Jas.
E. Caldwell supplied the people along the Mahon-
ing with goods dispensed from a canoe.
A blast furnace was established by Daniel Eaton,
in 1803.
The first gristmill, a sawmill connected, was built
in the spring of 1799 by W.W. Williams and
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Major Wyatt, near where the Asylum stands at
Newburg.
The first regular celebration of the Fourth of
July, was at Warren in 1800. The village was then
the capital, as it was for twenty-five years after the
principal town of the Reserve, and the celebration
was participated in by citizens of Youngstown,
Painesville, and other points. A section of a hollow
Pepperidge was extemporized for a drum barrel, and
a fawn skin furnished the heads. A fife was manu-
factured from an elder. Music, firing, fun, whiskey
and speeches were abundant, and it is questionable
if Warren ever had a more patriotic celebration.
To Cleveland belongs the honor of the first ball.
It took place July 4th, 1801, in the log cabin of one
Major Carter, and was attended by about thirty
persons. How evenly the sexes were divided,
history does not record. John and Benj. Wood and
R.H. Blinn were managers, and “Sam” Jones,
musician. Though they scamper-downed, double
shuffled and half-mooned on a puncheon floor, and
regaled themselves on whiskey sweetened with maple
sugar, it is doubtful if Forest Citiers ever entered
into a more enjoyable dance.
The first mail route of the Reserve was established
in 1803. Beginning at Warren it ran, by way of
Mesopotamia, Windsor, Rock Creek, Austinburg,
Harpersfield, and Painesville, to Cleveland, and
thence back, by way of settlements farther south, to
Warren. Over this, about once a week the mail was
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carried by a man on foot. Later, the line was extended
from Cleveland to Detroit, the mail being carried on
horseback. In 1808 a route was established from Erie,
Pennsylvania, to Cleveland, over which one John
Metcalf carried the mail on foot, until 1811. For
some years after that, it was carried from Ashtabula
to Buffalo on horseback, from twelve to fourteen
days being allowed for the trip.
Before these provisions, and even after their
establishment, people often waited weeks, and some-
times traveled many miles to get an opportunity to
send letters to or receive missives from their friends
in the East, money being scarce and postage twenty-
five cents per letter. No such things as envelopes
were known. The letter being written, the sheet
was then folded, tucked and sealed with wax or
“wafer.”
The first training of which any account is obtain-
able, was a drill of about fifty privates and a few
officers at Doan’s corners, now within the limits of
Cleveland. There was a large crowd of lookers-on,
as the “troops” went through their evolutions to
the airs of “Yankee Doodle,” “Hail Columbia,”
and “Who’s Afeared,” discoursed by Joseph Burke
and Lewis Dill.
Triump of Fame, the first newspaper, was issued
at Warren, June 16th, 1812. It ran under this pre-
tentious name until October 4th, 1816 when it was
changed to Western Reserve Chronicle. Files of
it are still in existence, and it contrasts strongly
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with the papers of to-day. It is a folio sheet, the
pages being about four times the size of one in this
book, and is made up mainly of extracts from other
papers, those from Washington being at least a
week on the road.
The change of name was brought about in this
wise: “Uncle Ben” Stevens, having recently set-
tled in Warren, from Vermont, and meeting the
editor one day in the post office, casually remarked:
“I think a less high-sounding name would be more
appropriate for a paper in a new country, say West-
ern Reserve Chronicle or Gazette.” The editor, Mr.
Bissell, though repudiating the suggestion at the
time, seems to have profited by the idea, for in about
four weeks the change was made as above, and with
it quite an improvement in the paper. For eighty
years the Chronicle has not failed to pay its wel-
come weekly visits to hundreds of homes in “Old
Trumbull,” and it is to be hoped it will not fail to
do the same for a thousand years to come.
The Mormon Church, first founded in New York
State, April 6th, 1830, was transferred to Kirtland,
Lake County, in 1832, where the Temple, still stand-
ing was completed in 1835.
The first open discussion of the propriety of
gathering the public schools of a township to some
central point for instruction, was in a letter from the
clerk of the Board of School Examiners of Ashta-
bula County to the School Commissioner, about 1870,
and the first “Public School Sunday,” for instruct-
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ing the children in manners, morals and the duties of
citizenship, was held in the M.E. Church, Orwell,
the last Sunday in October, 1894.
The founding and locating of the Soldiers’ Wid-
ows’ Home, at North Madison, Lake County, had its
origin in a conversation between one of the trustees
of the old seminary standing there and the writer, in
the spring of 1887. A correspondence was kept up
for nearly two years between the latter and presi-
dents of the State and National Corps, before the
idea began to materialize.
DAVID TOD, the illustrious “war governor” of
Ohio, was the first to suggest the inalienable right of
the soldiers in the field to the privilege of voting, a
suggestion hailed by all patriotic men as eminently
just and proper.
The following telegrams show the governor’s in-
terest in the boys. A requisition for tents and other
equipments for Ohio troops in Kentucky being de-
layed, he angrily telegraphed: “It is well I don’t
know whose fault it is, or I would whip the fellow,
if he were as strong as Sampson.” Again: “For
God’s sake send our troops in Kentucky, canteens.”
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Illustrative of Western Reserve Life
TYPICAL PIONEERING. – Ira Tuttle came to
the south part of Austinburg, Ashtabula County, in
1810; made a small clearing, the first, on the bank
of Mills Creek; built him a cabin; and then walked
back to Connecticut. The following spring there
were seen gathered about a huge covered wagon, to
which were attached six yoke of oxen, fourteen per-
sons, four families in all. To the rear end of this
ancient “schooner” were tethered several cows,
whilst a “dasher” churn could be seen standing in
the box. Around this group were assembled a large
number of friends and neighbors. The church
pastor came forward and read a portion of Scripture,
a hymn was sung, prayer offered, and then, amid
final good-byes and tears, the little band of emigrants
took up their western march, one of the mothers
bearing in her arms for the entire journey a delicate
infant.
On that long ago morning, most of them looked
upon the home of childhood for the last time. For
fourteen weeks they cut their way through forest,
forded streams, or wended along the beach of the
Lake before they reached Mr. Tuttle’s cabin in New
Connecticut. Nights they camped about the wagon,
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the cows supplied them with milk, daily was there
a churning of butter, and with thankful hearts and
healthy bodies they made a final unpacking amid
the flowers of May in Grand River Valley.
For thirty years the family of Mr. Tuttle was reg-
ularly represented at the old Austinburg church on
Sunday, excepting once. On that day his pious
team, “Baalam” and “Syphax,” were duly attached
to the “Old Ship of Zion,” as his family carriage was
called, and left standing at the door. There was a
moment’s delay within; not so without. The church
bell gave out its inviting peals. The team, as was
its custom, yielded at once to the call, and was off
at a brisk pace, duly halted at the church landing and,
after a moment’s waiting, quietly walked to their
shed, where they were found by those of the men-
folks able to walk
Mrs. Tuttle spun, wove and bleached the linen
for her wedding dress and household furnishings, in
1807. Mrs. C.I. PECK, Eagleville, O.
A PIONEER VISIT. –In Conneaut, many years
ago, Mrs. Daniel Hazeltine paid Mrs. Elizer Peck a
visit. The journey of two miles was made in an ox
cart in which Mrs. H. had placed her cards and
wool. The time going and coming was spent in
carding “rolls,” that her daughters might not be in
want of something to spin. During the afternoon’s
visit, the same industry was manifest. Carding,
hatcheling and knitting were regular accompani-
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ments of visiting. It is not to be inferred from this
that gossip was wanting, though the subjects were
generally quite different from those of the present
day. Telling fortunes was a regular accompaniment
of the tea table.
FROM THE FIRELANDS.—The first regular set-
tlement on these was in 1808. The few inhabitants
were isolated and suffered much for want of food
and clothing. They subsisted much of the time on
parched and pounded corn, together with wild meat.
It is recorded that once upon a time, a hunter
rapped at a cabin door, and was bidden enter by a
feeble voice from within. Doing so, he found a pale
emaciated woman sitting by the fire, holding a puny
babe. On beholding him, the women burst into
tears. Soon recovering herself, she pointed to the
bed saying, “There is my little Edward, I expect
he is dying; here is my babe so sick I cannot lay
it down. I am so feeble I can scarce remain in my
chair, and poor husband lies buried beside the cabin.
Oh, that I could fall into my mother’s arms!” It was
only one of many similar scenes incident to pioneer
life on the Reserve.
In my early boyhood I used to fish with a young
lawyer, named “Thom” Johnson, residing near Se-
ville, Medina County. On one occasion he told me,
that whilst hunting on the Fire Lands sometime in
the thirties, he, together with two or three others,
became lost in the forest and did not find a clearing
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until late in the evening. Making their way to a log
house, in the center of this, they found it occupied
by a lone woman. Stating their case, they asked
supper and lodging. The woman told them she had
nothing but a little meal and some milk. From the
meal she made a johnnycake and of this and the
milk, they partook with a relish and then retired to
bed. During the entire night, the hostess busied
herself grating the glazing corn on the bottom of a
pan punched full of holes, in order to have the
wherewith to breakfast her guests. The frugal meal
over, they asked for their bill. “O, nothing,” was
the reply. A five dollar bill was placed in her
hands, and the hunters pursued their way as well
satisfied as though they had lodged at a hotel. Those
were the days of genuine, unselfish pioneer hospi-
tality.
The following, from Howe’s “Historical Collec-
tions of Ohio,” shows something of the early pen-
chant for visiting: “A gentlemen settled with his
family about two miles west of Vermillion River
without a neighbor near him. Soon after, a man
and wife settled on the opposite side of the river,
about three miles distant. The lady on the west
side was very anxious to meet her east-side neigh-
bor, and sent her a message stating when she would
make her a visit. At the appointed time she went
with her husband to the river but found it so swol-
len from recent rains as to render it impossible to
cross on foot. There was no canoe or horse in that
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part of the country. The obstacle was apparently
insurmountable. Fortunately, the man on the other
side was fertile in expedients; he yoked up his oxen,
anticipating the event, and arrived at the river just
as the others were about leaving. Springing upon
the back of one of the oxen, he rode him across the
river, and when he had reached the west bank, the
lady, Europa-like, fearlessly sprang upon the back
of the other, and was borne safely across the surg-
ing waters, and safely landed upon the opposite
bank. When her visit was concluded, she returned
in the same manner.”
A SUPPLY OF PORK. –In the fall of the year 1812,
Ralph Freeman, one of the early pioneers of Braceville
Township, started, rifle in hand, up the Mahoning
River, in search of his cows. The valley at this time
was a vast wilderness, and wild hogs roamed through
the woods in large numbers. In his wanderings,
Ralph came upon a large drove of these wild deni-
zens of the forest. The temptation for a fine porker
was great; the larder needed replenishing, and
now was the time to accomplish it. Selecting one
of the largest he took deliberate aim, and his trusty
rifle brought its victim to the ground. But it was
only a moment until there was a general uproar
among the infuriated herd. Soon they discovered
the cause of their trouble and rushed en mass toward
their assailant. His only refuge was tree, and he
had just succeeded in reaching the lower branches
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when it was surrounded by the bristling, angry
herd. In his haste his rifle was left at the foot of
the tree. The only question now was, which would
hold out the longer. After patiently waiting two
long hours, Ralph concluded the porkers were
stayers, and something must be done. His stentorian
voice rang through the woods until it reached the
ear of Vernon Allen, who, with his brother, Harvey,
started in the direction from which the sound came.
They soon discovered the predicament their neigh-
bor was in. A council of war was held, and it was
decided to take the enemy by storm. Sheltered by
the trees, they commenced firing into the ranks. It
was not until some twenty of the hogs were killed
and the herd scattered, that our hero deigned to set
foot again on terra firma. It is needless to say, that
there was no lack of pork and bacon among the set-
tlers during the winter following.
H.F. AUSTIN, Braceville, O.
AN EARLY INCIDENT.—About 1820, some years
before I was born, there came into Lenox, as pioneer
settlers a man and wife who were some thirty-five
years of age. The husband was, in several ways, a
character, and had many peculiarities which soon
became generally known, and rendered him an object
of dislike to all.
Among his other bad qualities was the love
strong drink; and on all occasions, when some other
party furnished the whiskey, he made freer use of it
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than any other of the men. So great was his penuri-
ousness, he was never known to treat a friend “to a
drink,” either at his own home or at the bar of the
pioneer tavern.
This stinginess was most severely criticized, and
close watch was kept for an opportunity to even up
the score of his delinquencies.
The time came. He must have a barn to house
the products of his farm. A mechanic had been em-
ployed to hew the timber and prepare the frame.
Invitations were sent in all directions, into all the
nearby towns, to the men to come to the raising on a
specified day. Along with the invitations went the
information, furnished by the mechanic, that the
owner of the barn had just bought and got home a
full barrel of whiskey.
This fact, alone, was sufficient to induce every-
body to accept the invitation, and many were on hand
who had received no bid.
In some mysterious way I shall not attempt to
explain, the agreement seemed to have been unani-
mously reached that the barn should not be erected
until the barrel of whiskey was completely exhausted.
For three days and two nights the Pioneers of sev-
eral of our now prosperous townships, wrestled with
that 30x40 foot barn and their neighbor’s whiskey,
and history declares that the whiskey was gone before
the rafters of the barn were in place. When more
whiskey was demanded, the owner of the barn is said
to have responded: “You have robbed me of my full
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year’s stock of whiskey, you have eaten the last morsel
of food my wife had cooked in the house, and now
if you will go to your several homes and leave us
alone, my wife and I will try to put the rafters on
our barn and put the building in shape to shelter our
crops. I look upon myself as the victim of a cruel
joke.”
NON OFFENSIVE WAY TO CALL A MAN A
LIAR.—The presidential campaign of 1840 was the
most enthusiastic one that has ever occurred in our
country. For many years the Democratic party had
been in power, and the leaders of the Whig party felt
that their party ought to be placed in control of the
affairs of the government..
The administration of Martin Van Buren would
terminate in 1841, and the Whigs nominated Gen.
Wm. H. Harrison to succeed to the Presidency.
The Democrats renominated Martin Van Buren.
The Whigs charged the administration of Mr.
Van Buren with gross incompetency, dishonesty,
and great extravagance in the White House, alto-
gether unbecoming a Republican form of govern-
ment. It was charged that he had purloined from
the White House, many of the valuables belonging
thereto, and had sent them to his private home at
Kinderhook where they were used by “Prince
John,” his eldest son, in dispensing a princely hospi-
tality. It was charged, specifically, that all the best
spoons had been taken from the “White House”
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and transferred to the home of the “Sage of Kinder-
hook.”
The election occurred in November, and General
Harrison was elected, much to the gratification of the
Whigs. The bitter feeling that had been engendered
during the campaign, was not speedily allayed. For
months after the election, when Whigs and Demo-
crats came together, many of the charges of the
campaign were reviewed with more or less
earnestness.
In the north part of our town, Lenox, lived, as
adjacent neighbors, two good citizens, one a Whig,
and the other a red-hot Van Buren Democrat. The
latter had formerly lived in the State of New York,
not far from the home of Van Buren, and was a
great friend and admirer of the President, and nothing
would awaken his wrath quicker than to have the
honor of his presidential friend in any way called in
question. The former came to our town from the
State of Vermont and was a zealous a Whig as his
near neighbor was a Democrat. Personally they were
good friends but politically they were great enemies.
Along in the winter of 1840-41 there was to be
a lawsuit in the neighborhood, growing out of a
horse trade, and everybody turned out to hear and
see the fun. My father was one of the spectators,
and he allowed me, a boy just in my teens, to go
with him.
While the crowd was waiting for the lawyers to
arrive from the county seat, the above-described
C.S.—6
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Whig and Democrat got to reviewing the 1840 cam-
paign. The Whig affirmed that Van Buren stole the
White House spoons. This was denied by the
Democrat—re-affirmed and denied several times.
Finally, the Democrat, a large, portly man, straight-
ening himself in the most pompous manner, said:--
“Neighbor, either you or I lie like h—l, and I swear
I don’t.”
This closed the political debate for that time and
the disputants and spectators adjourned to listen to
the legal combat. N.E. FRENCH, Jefferson, O.
A PRACTICAL JOKE.—The practical joking pro-
clivities of the early settlers are proverbial. To play
a joke upon someone came like a second nature.
Some of them were so practical that were they per-
petrated now they would be the cause of either a
fistic encounter or a lawsuit. James King, Sr. and
Ira Case were well-to-do farmers in Vernon Town-
ship, Trumbull County, both living south of “the
center,” Mr. King about one and one-half miles
and Mr. Case about one-half mile farther. Almost
directly across the road from Mr. King’s house was
a magnificent field of clover nearly ready to be cut,
which he intended soon to have done. It was elec-
tion day, and Mr. King was one of the judges. Mr.
Case was on his way to election. When near this field
of clover, he met a drover with a large herd of cat-
tle which he wished to “bait” somewhere, at noon.
Mr. Case told him to turn them into that field of
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clover. The drover expressed surprise, but Mr.
Case assured him it made no difference as they
should “plow it under.” Accordingly the cattle
were turned into the field. Mr. Case hastened to
the center and told Mr. King he had better hurry home
as a man seemed to be taking possession down there.
Getting excused, he hastened home. Upon the road-
side he found a man watching the cattle as they were
eating. Mr. King inquired of him whose cattle
they were and how they came in that field. He
was told that the owner told him to turn them in. It
at once dawned upon Mr. King that Mr. Case was
the one to blame for his clover being trampled
down, and of course he watched his opportunity to
repay him. J.L. KING, M.D., Martel, O.
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