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Gc 977.101 C99e v.4,no.1 1746542
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02410 3449
ANNALS
OF THE
Early Settlers' Association
OF
CUYAHOGA COUNTY,
OHIO.
VOLUME IV. No. I.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
CLEVELAND, OHIO: J. B. SAVAGE PRINT. 1899.
1746542
OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
1898
HON. EDWIN T. HAMILTON, President.
MRS. JOSIAH A. HARRIS,
Vice-Presidents.
GEORGE F. MARSHALL,
HENRY C. HAWKINS, Secretary.
WILSON S. DODGE, Treasurer.
REV. J. D. JONES, Chaplain.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
HON. ANDREW J. WILLIAMS.
RICHARD T. LYON.
JOHN WALWORTH.
WILSON S. DODGE.
W. S. KERRUISH.
BOLIVAR BUTTS.
WILLIAM BOWLER.
COL. W. H. HAYWARD.
EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. JULY 22, 1898.
The annual meeting of the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County was held at Army and Navy Hall July 22nd, 1898. At the opening of the session the commodious and beau- tifully decorated hall was well filled with the pioneers, and all were cheerful and extended to each other hearty greetings. The presence of the venerable and beloved vice-president, Mrs. J. A. Harris, added cheer to all. But it was sad to note the absence of the late marshal of the association, H. M. Addison.
The meeting was called to order by Hon. Edwin T. Ham- ilton.
The chaplain, Rev. J. D. Jones, offered the following prayer :
OPENING PRAYER BY CHAPLAIN JONES.
Our Heavenly Father, we come to thee in the name of thy dear Son, the blessed Christ. We thank thee for thy many bless- ings that thou art bestowing upon us as a nation, as a state, as a city, and as an organization. We thank thee, O God, for thy won- drous love to us, the children of men, and we pray thee at this time that thou wilt incline our hearts unto thee so that in spirit and in truth we may honor thee with our supplications.
We thank thee, O God, for thy blessings upon us in time of peace and for thy favor shown to us in this the time of war.
We thank thee for the great victories that have come to our army and our navy, and we pray, thee that thou wilt grant us still thy divine favor. We pray thee, Lord, that thou wilt be with us
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ANNALS OF THE
and see by thy presence and power that the right shall prevail, that the cause of righteousness may be advanced.
We ask thy blessing upon those who are in the front today, and especially, our God, remember the sick and the wounded and the dying. Be thou with them. Reveal to them thy love and thy mercy. Cause thy spirit to rest upon them, opening their blind eyes that they may see the truth as it is in Jesus Christ.
We thank thee for those that love thee among the leaders of our nation. We thank thee for the President of the United States and his cabinet, and we pray thee that they may be led of thy spirit, and in these trying hours and time of war that they may rest mightily upon the eternal arm of God.
We thank thee, Lord, when the battle is thine, the victory is thy people's, and we pray thee that thy people may so trust thee that victory shall always come to them.
We ask thee that thou wilt remember this organization ; bless its officers and every member ; and especially, our Father, remen- ber those who have lately been bereaved of their companions. Remember those, Father, today, who are so near advanced to the River of Death. O, be thou with them for many years, though there is but a step between them and death. Grant, our Father, that they may take that step in the love and fear of Jesus Christ.
We pray that thou wilt be with us in all the exercises and services of this day, and we ask thee that we may be made better because of our association and of our meeting here at this time.
Our Father, we pray thee that thou wilt grant to bless all of our rulers, and grant that we may have rulers over us that shall honor and fear and serve thee, the God of peace and the God of war.
We ask thee in a special manner to comfort the aged here today by thy spirit ; grant that benedictions of love may be show- ered down upon them and that they may so walk that their last walk shall be the walk of the righteous, and their path be the path of peace. Grant that they may learn to know more and more of thy love so that their last days may be their best.
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
We ask thy blessings and thy benediction, thy mercy and thy pardon, in the name of the crucified and risen Son of God. Amen.
"Auld Lang Syne" was then beautifully rendered by the male quartet, selected for the occasion.
President Hamilton then delivered his annual address, as follows :
ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT HAMILTON.
My Friends :- Once again we meet to honor the day on which Moses Cleaveland and his companion voyagers first landed at the mouth of the Cuyahoga and the incipient foundations of our city and county were laid ; and I greet you on the auspicious return of the anniversary of that eventful day and bid you all a cordial welcome.
I also congratulate you that this Society has reached the 19th year of its successful life.
During the past year we have again been reminded of the ever present fact that the young may die, but the old must do so. Those of us who were present at our last annual meeting will not soon forget the patriarchal appearance on this platform of our then eld- est member, the venerable Zenas L. Bennett, of this County, who was born in New York in 1796, the same year of the first settle- ment here, and came to the Reserve in 1818.
You will also remember that on that occasion we had with us, and you were permitted to see upon this stage and look into the kind and cheerful face of another aged member of the Associa- tion, Mrs. Jane Cannell, of this city. She was born in the Isle of Man in the year 1800 and came to the Reserve in 1827, where she since resided. It was my privilege to have known her well for many years, and well I know that she merited the universal esteem in which she was held as wife, mother, friend and neighbor.
Each of these aged members were presented to you last year by the ever active Father Addison, who never lost an opportunity to faithfully serve the Old Settlers' Association. But all these
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ANNALS OF THE
three have, since our last annual meeting, passed from earth ; Bennett at the great age of 102 years, Mrs. Cannell at 98, and our Acting Marshal, H. M. Addison, at the age of 80 years.
The roll of our membership has also been depleted during the last year by the death of our esteemed members, Truman P. Handy at the age of 91, and Moses Warren at the age of 95. Our Executive Committee also reports for the year the deaths of 36 other regular members of this Society, and one honorary member, making a total of 37 deaths for the year out of a living member- ship of 740, as reported at our last annual meeting ; and in this day's report of that committee will be found the names of all our individual and lamented dead for the year.
During the past year the ever recurring seasons have brought to this people the appropriate seed-time and an abundant harvest ; pestilence and famine have not been known in the land; but while agricultural and a fair degree of commercial prosperity has been ours, yet in the early spring of the present year peace be- tween this and a sister nation has taken its flight, and the grim visaged and awful front of war has arrayed the United States and Spain in the deadly conflict of arms. In the common cause with others from the North, South, East and West, many of our imine- diate neighbors and friends have promptly and patriotically responded to the call of the government at Washington and are now upon the battlefields and seas of the Eastern Hemisphere and in and about the gem of the Antilles doing grand deeds of heroism and working out, as we trust, a glorious future for humanity and for Cuban liberty, disenthralled and forever free from that cruel system of tyranny and barbarity which has outraged justice and humanity for the last four hundred years.
Many philanthropists for many years have vainly hoped that the civilization of the age might abolish war as the final arbiter of disputes, at least among Christian nations, by the arbitration of an International Court of the Powers of Christendom, through which perpetual peace should bless all nations. But the trend of history and the stubborn facts of current events do not warrant
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
the speedy fruition of that philanthropic hope. The millennial period has not yet arrived for individuals or nations, and the sword, and not civil law, however it may be dignified, still con- tinues to be, and must, we fear, for an indefinite period, remain the ultimate arbiter of the destinies of all peoples.
War is always to be regretted. When accepting an invitation to review the German army, General Grant said to Chancellor Bismarck, "The truth is, I am more of a farmer than a soldier. I take little or no interest in military affairs, and although I entered the army 35 years ago and have been in two wars,-in Mexico as a young lieutenant, and later-I never went into the army with- out regret, and never retired without pleasure."
Yet war is not an unmixed evil. In the life of nations have and will come periods when war's arbitrament must and of right ought to be accepted fearlessly and without hesitation. Fortune, life, liberty and sacred honor have been and will yet again be justly placed as a sacrificial offering on the altars of theinalienable rights of men. Who does not now honor and justify the American revolutionists for their grand struggle in maintenance of their declaration of rights, and for the blessings conferred by them through eight years of war in the creation of the wisest constitu- tion and the best government the world ever saw?
The war of 1812-15 again crystallized and enforced the rights of freedom, and the assumed right of search and seizure of alleged British seamen on the decks of American vessels has been for- ever abandoned, and again the world approves and justifies.
By far the greatest and most destructive struggle for many decades in the world's history, and that too between brethren of a common country and a common ancestry, finally led through a baptism of blood for four years, to the annihilation of the great crime of American slavery, and to the full and complete restoration of the authority of the national government, and the emblem of its sovereignty, the Stars and Stripes, with no star lost, proudly waves over a country one and undivided, and as we fondly hope,
10
ANNALS OF THE
in a bond of union indissoluble forever ; and again the world ap- proves and justifies.
By the old French and Indian war, happily closed by the Treaty of Peace signed in Paris in 1763, the Feudal doctrine of the French king who declared "I am the state," was forever anni- hilated in this country by the triumph of the Anglo Saxon over the Latin race. The historian Ridpath, in speaking of tlie bless- ings of that war, says: "By the sweeping provisions of the treaty the French king lost his entire possessions in the new world. Thus closed the French and Indian war, one of the most important in the history of mankind. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in the West, and that the powerful language, laws and liberties of the English race should be planted forever in the vast domains of the New World."
Has Spain any higher or better claims to dominion on the North American continent than had France? Has her colonial policy on this hemisphere commanded the admiration or respect of tl.e civilization of the age? Has it not rather been marked everywhere and at all times by that same avarice, cruelty and barbarity which has ever characterized her unrelenting repression of human rights, and every aspiration for liberty and knowledge among her unfortunate subjects? With base ingratitude and gross injustice she sent her great Genoese discoverer of a New World, in chains, to penury and a dungeon, and continued her exactions and oppressions over her vast territory here, until most of her pos- sessions in this hemisphere have been forever lost to her. And now, in the advancing light of the closing years of the 19th century she still clings to her ancient exactions and oppressions by the same cruel and barbarous methods. She has evidenced and em- phasized this fact by the greatest crime of the century against humanity. She deliberately planned and calmly executed, as a war measure, the concentration of all non-combatants in the Island of Cuba-men, women and children-and by hundreds of thousands tortured and starved them to death, as a means of
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
repressing Cuban patriotism and compelling those in revolt to the infamous government of Spain to lay down their arms. The enormities and horrors attending this so-called war measure far exceeded in refinement of cruelty and in the number of its helpless victims, the atrocities inflicted but a short time ago by the relent- less Turk upon his Armenian subjects, and which called forth ef- fective threats of immediate armed intervention in the cause of humanity from the powers of Europe, and which intervention was earnestly demanded by all Christian nations. On that occasion the immortal Gladstone came from his retirement, and, with flash- ing eye and resonant voice, as if addressing the Ottoman Empire, said : "Never again as the years roll in their course, so far as it is in our power to determine, never again shall the hand of violence be raised by you, never again shall the flood gate of lust be open to you, never again shall the dire refinements of cruelty be devised by you for the sake of making mankind miserable."
This great Republic, in obedience to her historic interest in the cause of universal freedom and suffering humanity, heard the cry of perishing thousands upon her immediate borders, and officially said to Spain: "Your barbarities must cease in Cuba and never again be repeated."
Our demand was practically and treacherously answered by the blowing up of the Maine, in a time of peace, and the cowardly destruction of 260 United States seamen.
Then came from an aroused and indignant nation a Declara- tion of War. Dewey was heard from at Manilla, and Sampson and Schley and Shafter from Santiago.
It is sometimes somewhat sacrilegiously said that the God of battles usually fights on the side of the strongest battalions. However that may be, He has in the present war, in a marvelous and mysterious way, protected the American army and navy. In this preservation, in our splendid victories and in the complete uni- fication of the North and South, we have already realized.blessings which demand the grateful acknowledgement of this people.
Our own historian, Bancroft, writes: "On the discovery of
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ANNALS OF THE
the New Hemisphere, the tradition was widely spread throughout the Old that it conceals a fountain whose ever flowing waters have power to reanimate age and restore its prime. The tradition was true, but the youth to be renewed was the youth of society; the life to bloom afresh was the life of the race."
If, from its flowing fountains of freedom and humanity, this invigorated, renewed and powerful American life shall now drive from this continent the last vestige of the long period of misrule and tyranny, of an effete and medieval monarchy; who shall say that, under the providence of that God who rules the destinies of all nations, justice and American duty and destiny have not been fulfilled? The United States have pledged to Cuba its freedom and an independent government .. And I have no doubt that its growth and immigration thither from these States will in the near future make self-government there entirely practical.
I hazard no opinion as to the future of the other possessions of Spain which have or may come under the domination of these States ; as to those, the exigencies and events of war will doubt- less soon determine ; and while I still believe that the farewell advice of Washington to his countrymen, viz : "that all entangling alliances with foreign countries and on distant shores, should be studiously avoided," yet no one, as I think, ought to regret it. If the alleged prophecy of Napoleon be now fulfilled, viz .: "that Spain would lose all her colonies and finally unite with Portugal in the government of the Peninsula."
My friends, if in my remarks of today I have somewhat de- parted from the old, and briefly discussed the living issue of war, it is because I remember that the distinguished Dr. Channing once said in his old age, that he was always young for freedom ; and be- cause I know that you, too, are always young and vigorous in freedom's cause, and that your hearts will ever beat responsive to a patriotic love of country and the cause of humanity, and because I also know that your ever present and paramount thought of the hour goes out in sympathy and love for our brave boys in blue, on land and sea, who are so gloriously and triumphantly sustaining the honor and majesty of our Country's cause.
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
To the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County:
A. J. Williams, Chairman of the Executive Committee, then read the following report :
Your Executive Committee respectfully reports as follows :--
Since your meeting in 1897 a severe blow has befallen the Association in the death of its Marshal, Hiram M. Addison. Mr. Addison was not only the pioneer who first suggested the organi- zation of the Association, but was foremost in effecting that organization. From that !'me to his final departure he was con- stant and efficient in his labors to carry it on and in making it a great success. By his death the Association has sustained an irreparable loss.
. At a meeting of the Executive Committee held June 18th the following preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Kerruish, were unanimously adopted :
Whercas, Since our last annual meeting there has passed from our midst over to the silent majority one of our oldest and best known members-the late H. M. Addison-one who was princi- pally concerned in the organization and establishment of this Asso- ciation, and for many years served as its Marshal, and until his death was an active and energetic promoter of its interests, there- fore
Be it Resolved, That, as expressive of our appreciation of the worth of our late Marshal, H. M. Addison, we hereby : ecord our sense of his generous nature, of his unselfish enthusiasm, of his cheerful and unfailing devotion to the objects and purposes of this Association, and we do further testify to our respect for his memory, and our sincere sorrow for his loss.
Resolved Further, That we extend to the relatives of Mr. Addison our profound condolence and sympathy.
Resolved, That the Secretary cause these resolutions to be spread upon the records of this Association, and published in the annals for the year 1898.
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ANNALS OF THE
In consequence of his inability to attend the meetings of the Executive Committee, Mr. George F. Marshall forwarded in writing his resignation as member of the committee, which was read and regretfully accepted at said committee meeting. There- upon the committee proceeded to fill the vacancy in the office of Marshall, occasioned by the death of Mr. Addison, and the vacancy in the Executive Committee occasioned by the resigna- tion of Mr. Marshall.
For Marshall Mr. L. F. Mellen was unanimously chosen, who being present, accepted.
For member of Executive Committee Mr. William Bowler was unanimously elected.
So far as your committee has been able to ascertain, the mem- bers of the Association who, since our last annual reunion, have passed from earth to join the host of early settlers who have gone before, are as follows :--
Mrs. George H. Adams .died Dec. 27, 1897.
Hiram M. Addison
died Jan. 14, 1898.
Zenas L. Bennett.
died April 17, 1898,
Mrs. George W. Berry
died July 3, 1898.
Robert Blee. died Feb. 26, 1898.
Thomas Burnham. died April 7, 1898.
Dr. George O. Butler.
died Nov. 4, 1897.
Mrs. Jane Cannell.
died Jan. 12, 1898.
Mrs. James Cannon
died April 4, 1898.
Mrs. Eliza Carlisle
died Feb. 19, 1898.
Lucian Crawford.
died April 21, 1898.
Thomas D. Crosby.
died Nov. 28, 1897.
Mrs. Ann Olivia Dille.
died Sept. 15, 1897.
Ebenezer Foster.
died July 23, 1897.
Mrs. Lucy Granger died May 29, 1898.
Samuel C. Greene died Nov. 18, 1897.
Truman P. Handy died March 25, 1898.
Arthur Hemenway died Nov. 1897.
Addison Hills. died Mav 7, 1898.
Mrs. Louisa Hubbell died Jan. 8, 1898.
Daniel D. Hudson died Aug. 11, 1897.
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
William A. Ingham died May 7, 1898.
Mrs. Abagail Janes. died April 22, 1898.
William A. Lathrop .died June 4, 1898.
Mrs. Charlotte Phillips Lyon.died March 27, 1898.
Mrs. Maria L. Medary. died March 10, 1898.
John Morris. .died Jan. 23, 1898.
Luther R. Prentiss. .died Nov. 24, 1897.
Mrs. Chauncey S. Ransom .. died Jan. 31, 1898.
Mrs. Alexander Sacket
died Oct. 6, 1897.
Robert Sanderson died Jan. 15, 1898.
John J. Shipherd. died June 2, 1898.
Mrs. Celinda C. Stewart. died Jan. 7, 1898.
Adam M. Wagar
died Aug. 1, 1897.
Moses Warren died July 14, 1898.
Mrs. Mary A. Wilson died July 6, 1898.
One honorary member, to wit: Mrs. Almira Willey died Dec. 13, 1897.
A long list, thirty-seven active members and one honorary member ; many more than, within the year, have joined the Asso- ciation. There are hundreds of good and worthy people who are eligible to membership and who would gladly join our Association if they knew its real merits. It is required that a person should have come to the Western Reserve forty years ago and be now a resident of Cuyahoga County and pay the membership fee of one dollar.
By a little exe tion on the part of members our numbers can be easily and greatly increased.
Respectfully submitted, A. J. WILLIAMS, Chairman.
On motion the foregoing report was unanimously approved.
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ANNALS OF THE
Mr. W. S. Dodge, Treasurer, then submitted the following report :-
TREASURER'S REPORT OF THE EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.
Balance July 22d, 1897. $ 85 61
Received annual dues, 228 old members. 228 00
Received annual dues, 29 new members.
29 00
Received sale extra lunches 21 00
Received sale annuals.
50
Paid use of hall
$ 25 00
Paid P. H. Tutle, services and decorations 10 00
Paid Cawood, typewriting.
3 25
Paid programs.
1 75
Paid tickets.
1 50
Paid choir.
20 00
Paid Weisgerber, 236 lunches.
118 00
Paid stenographer.
25 00
Paid Cleveland Printing Co., annuals.
138 10
Balance on hand July 22d, 1898. $ 21 51
$342 60
W. S. DODGE, Treasurer.
On motion, it was unanimously carried that the report of Treasurer be received and placed on file.
On motion, the rules were suspended and the following officers and executive committee were unanimously elected by acclamation :---
President. HON. EDWIN T. HAMILTON.
MRS. JOSIAH A. HARRIS,
Vice Presidents.
GEORGE F. MARSHALL.
Secretary.
HENRY C. HAWKINS.
Treasurer
WILSON S. DODGE.
Chaplain
REV. J. D. JONES.
HON. ANDREW J. WILLIAMS,
RICHARD T. LYON,
JOHN WALWORTH, WILSON S. DODGE,
Executive Committee,
W. S. KERRUISH,
BOLIVAR BUTTS,
COL. W. H. HAYWARD,
WILLIAM BOWLER.
$364 11
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EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION
The quartet then sang "My Old Kentucky Home."
Dr. John C. Reeve came 9th on the program, in place of Hon. Dr. H. W. Curtis, who came first in the afternoon.
Judge Hamilton introduced him at this time by explaining that on account of the distance he lives from Cleveland, and want- ing to return soon, he would take the place of Dr. Curtis of Chagrin Falls, by arrangement between them.
The Judge continued as follows :
Dr. Reeve has not been with us for many years, but he has been a resident of Dayton, Ohio, and has been for 44 years last past. He occupied a chair in the Medical College of Ohio for some years and has been noted as a literary man, distinguished in his profession for many years, so much so as to be honored with the degree of LL. D. by our university, and I take great pleasure now in introducing him to you, and he will read a paper of his early recollections of this city, for he lived here many, many years ago and for a long time.
DR. REEVE'S ADDRESS.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am down in the program for an address. What I have to present to you is by no means worthy of that designation, was not prepared with the view of being an address at all, and I trust you will not be disappointed. It is simply a few recollections of my early life in this city.
EARLY RECOLLECTIONS OF CLEVELAND.
It has been my privilege to attend but one of your annual reunions. At that meeting, now several years ago, you did me the honor of making me an honorary member of your society. Every year since that time I have made a fixed resolve to attend again, but something has always prevented. This year I determined to write out my early recollections of your city, where my boyhood and youth were passed, and send them for your perusal, in case I could not come in person. I have nothing wonderful or startling to present, nothing, I presume, to relate that will be new to any
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