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Gc 977.102 N428p 1657268
M. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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GC
L ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02280 2554
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/condensedhistory00phil
CONDENSED
HISTORY
OF 44
NEW LYME,
ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
Compiled from Early Records and verbal accounts of old residents of the town.
B. F. Fhi Wot .
JEFFERSON, O., J. A. HOWELLS & CO .. 1877 ..
1657268
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The following History is made up from written records, and accounts given by some of the oldest persons now living in the township. It was originally printed in the ASHTABULA SENTINEL The issuing of it in this more convenient form was done at the wish of Jeremiah Dodge, Esq., who has always taken an active part in the welfare of the township, and wishes its history carried down to its future inhabitants,
THE WRITER'S NOTE.
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T HE present descendants of the first settlers of this town- ship can have but faint conceptions of the sufferings and hardships which were endured by their fathers and n.others while they were laying the foundation for the future welfare of their children. As nearly all of the first settlers have gone to their long homes, a few only still linger who are able to give in- formation as to their sufferings while journeying to this, then vast, wild, and almost impenetrable wilderness, inhabited only by the wild Indians and wild beasts, such as the bear, panther, wolf, and every other species of wild animals then so common in the wilds bordering upon our lakes, with herds of the mild- er animals, such as the elk, deer, and many of the lesser ani- mals, all of which had for years been permitted to roam at large unmolested by the hand of man.
Thus it seems to us highly proper that the wishes of this little band of pioncers yet left. should, as far as possible, be complied with; that the scenes of their hardships and suffering may be read and reflected upon long after they have gone home to the haven of rest. One of the last requests of our old
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
and warm friend, that veteran pioneer of this town, Vinton B. Way, as he took, for the last time, the hand of his venerable friend, and companion of his youthful days, Jeremiah Dodge, Esq., to bid him an affectionate and last farewell. was to en- join upon him to continue to impress upon the minds of the children and youth of the rising generation, the great suffering and privations which they had endured to build up for them homes for their future enjoyment.
None can more deeply regret than ourselves, that it is the special desire of this little band that the writing up of this his- tory should fall upon our shoulders; an undertaking which we feel wholly incompetent to perform, and it is only in consider- ation of the warm friendship that has existed between us for more than fifty years, that we have at last consented to attempt the task, B. F. PHILLIPS.
Maple Grove, New Lyme. O., July 1, 1876,
HISTORY OF NEW LYME.
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TN 1795 the present township of New Lyme was pur- chased of the State of Connecticut, by the Connecticut Land Company, for the sum of $2,400, or 15 cents an acre;
1795 quite a contrast between that and the present prices of $100, and many cases more than that, per acre. It was next sold by that Company to Elisha Tracy and Tudge Gilbert, of East Haddam, Connecticut. The first white settler of this township, was Mr. Joel Owen, from Nelson, Tolland county, Connecticut. Mr. Owen, after having devoted thirty. three years of the prime of his life to public and private busi- ness, purchased of Mr. Tracy, one thousand acres of land in this township; this purchase included what is known as the Bovee farm, and other farms adjoining the same. It lies about one mile north-east .of the present village of Brownsville. Leb- anon Creek passes directly through the tract.
About the first of November, IS03, Mr. Owen started from 1803 Connecticut with his family, consisting of his wife and two children, in a wagon drawn by a pair of heavy ox- en, to move onto his lard in this town, a distance of about six
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
hundred miles. The season was so far advanced and the roads so bad to travel, that when they arrived at Amsterdam, on the Mohawk River, Mr. Owen concluded to let his family remain there until the next spring, while he went on to spend the win- ter on his land in Ohio, which, as yet, he had not seen. On arriving at his new home, he went to work and built a log cabin 8x12 feet, using split oak shingles for the roof, and split timbers for a floor. In the spring he returned for his family but having learned the difficulty of getting through to Ohio, with his team and wagon, he disposed of them. He left Am- sterdam with his family, by water, on the 22d of June. ISo4; he rowed up the Mohawk River, and reached Buffalo by way of Lake Ontario, in company with his brother, who was coming as far as Chatauqua county, New York. They lay at Buffalo one week on accoun: of the roughness of Lake Erie. Row- ing out of Buffalo Creek, they proceeded up the Lake in a small open boat; they sailed through the day and all night. During the night there arose a terrible thunder-storm, and not being sure of their course, Mr. Owen labored hard at the oar until daybreak. While in the midst of this storm, surrounded by darkness, their little craft struck a rock and sprung aleak. In a few hours they got her off the rock and run her into Eighteen Mile Creek, where they staid about two weeks, without a house or shelter of any kind, while their little boat was being repaired, after which they again put to sea, but were soon driven into Silver Creek, where they were again exposed to the open weather for twenty-four hours. At Cattaraigus Greck they again went ashore, the Lake being so rough that the boat filled with water) At this place Mrs. Owen was obliged to wade ashore In the midst of a heavy thunder-shower. and being nearly exhaust- ed, she laid down on the beach and sunk to sleep, while the rain poured down upon them in torrents. The next day they went aboard again; their next stopping place was Twen- ty-Mile Creek. At this place they were compelled to stay
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
one week longer. From this point to the mouth of Ashta- bula Creek they had a good passage. About a mile up the Creek they found and put up in a deserted house, built by George Beckwith, who perished in the woods in Saybrook, in the previous January, At this place they staid three days to rest, while Mr. Owen went to Austinburg, to obtain the services of Deacon Mills Case, to move them onto his land. The first night they camped out in the woods, being unable to reach Judge Austin's, in Austinburg. The next night they arrived at Edmond Strong's, in Morgan; it being the place where Mr. Henry Clark now resides. And the next day, Au- gust 13th, 1804, nearly seventy-two years ago, they reached their long sought 8x12 log cabin, it being nine months and thirteen days after they left their home in Connecticut. They were seven miles from any white inhabitants. Edmond Strong, in Morgan, and Joshua Fobes, in Wayne, were their nearest neighbors.
On the arrival of Mr. Owen and his family at their new home, they found about sixty Indians, male and female, en- camped on their land at a short distance from their cabin, with whom they managed to live in peace. As soon as prac- ticable Mr. Owen built another log house, twenty feet square, which he made as comfortable as he could without the use of sawed lumber of any kind. It was about seven years after the arrival of Mr. Owen before another white settler arrived in this town. As an evidence of the great perseverance of Mr. Owen, it is sufficient to say, that during the seven years that he was almost entirely shut out from civilization, he so ' managed that his family never suffered during that long period, for want of provisions. A pioncer blazed road was finally opened through the wilderness from Timothy R. Hawley's. in Morgan, south-easterly by the Edmond Strong place, thence seven miles to Joel Owen's, from thence to Joshua Fobes'. in Wayne, and from thence to Poland, through Kinsman, Vernon, and Hartford.
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
In 1816, Mr. Owen sold his farm in this town. and moved to Saybrook, then Wrightsburg, where he had the misfortune 1816 to lose his property by the failure of Wright the pre- tended owner of the township. Mr. Owen was often heard to say that he never enjoyed life better than he did the seven years he lived in this town, seven miles from neighbors. He was always fond of company, and fully appreciated the com- pany of the pioneer travelers who never passed by without stopping with him, and generally staid with him over night, whether they come from the North or South. He was open- hearted, and could always find plenty for his guests to eat, and a place for them to sleep. He also managed to keep on friend- ly terms with his Indian neighbors, who kept him supplied with elk, deer, and bear meat, and turkeys, as well as sugar and fish in their season, in return for which they would take almost anything in the produce line that he had to spare. Mrs. Owen, also, dealt with the squaws without much trouble, al- though they would not deal as honestly as the Indians; they would insist in helping her measure potatoes in the half bushel, at the same time slipping about as many under their blankets as they put in the measure.
Mr. Owen, his wife, and children were all down with the fever and ague, the first winter after coming to this town, which was a great drawback to them. They had five children, all daughters; three of them married and settled in Colebrook, one in Saybrook, and one in Gustavus. Sally, who married Gilbert Coles, of Colebrook, was the first white child born in this town. Three of these children are still supposed to be living, one of whom is Mrs. Polly Barber, of Colebrook. Mr. Owen and his wife spent the last years of their eventful life with their children in Colebrook, where they lived to a good old age, loved and respected by all who had the pleasure of their acquaintance.
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
In the fall of 1810, the spirit of Western enterprise op- erating in the breasts of Connecticut Yankees, two hardy sons 1810 of New England, fathers of families, viz., Samuel G. Peck and Duren Way, of Lyme, New London County, Connecticut, were sent forward to inspect the lands in this township, with a view, if they returned with a favorable re- port, of making a large accession to the settlement of this town, then only composed of one family. Their report having proved highly satisfactory to all concerned, the following named persons exchanged their farms, and otherwise contracted for lands in this township with a view of making a permanent, settlement here, namely: Samuel G. Peck, and his brother, Dan Peck, Esubius Dodge, Zopher Gee. Sanford Miner, Charles Knowles, Vinton B. Way, Lemuel Lee, Joseph Miller, Peter Chapman, Dan Huntley, Joshua Strickland, and Perly G. Beckwith.
In January 1811, Samuel G. Peck and his two sons, Wil- ham and Josiah Peck, with Daniel Peck and his son Ansel. 1811 Vinton B. Way, John and Salmon Gee, and Joshua Strickland, nine in all, came on from Connecticut to this township. They selected a piece of land in the Pigeon Roost for the purpose of raising a piece of corn." They erected a small log cabin, with a split timber roof, and wide enough for a mar to lie at full length crosswise of the cabin, and long enough so that when all lay down to sleep they filled the floor from one end to the other. Thus they lived, ate, slept, and worked.
The field was cleared off, and corn put in as joint stock, or in other words, it was a joint stock company. This fertile spct of land belonged at that time to Zopher Gee and Dan Peck. The land was manured to a great depth by pigeons having rcosted on this second growth of timber for many years. We regre: that we have not been able to get at the number of acres cleared off that season; but we have clearly ascer- tained that they harvested in the fall six hundred bushels of
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
corn in the ear. They also raised some fine vegetables. The same company raised eleven acres of corn in Kinsman, twen- ty miles distant; this was raised on shares, and was said to be a good crop.
We should think it quite a hardship, at the present day, to travel twenty miles through a dense forest, followed, and often surrounded by large droves of wolves, with no line to follow but blazed trees, but such was the fate of our fathers' and was but one of the many hardships which they had to endure. Indeed, the nearest point where provisions could be procured was of Judge Kinsman, then twenty miles distant, through the solid woods. The Judge was kind and accom no. dating to the emigrants generally. We have often heard the first settlers of this town speak of going down to help the Judge do his haying and harvesting. He had large meadows on the Pymatuning bottoms, where the grass, though coarse, was monstrous stout. Here, also, the Judge had a large stock of the old-fashioned yellow rattlesnakes, from six to nine feet long; and before attempting to mow those meadows, he would turn in from fifty to one hundred hogs, who would pick up the snakes as greedily as they would an ear of corn. After the hogs had done the .. part, the men would first muffle their legs by wrapping the long coarse grass around them, and then proceed to business. The hands were in the field at early dawn and worked until dark. What would our young Amer- icans say at the present day if they were required to work in this way, and that for 37 to 50 cents a dar, and take their pay in provisions at that, as money was entirely out of the question? . That is just what our fathers had to do, and then bring the pav home on their backs to keep you nibbling through the week.
In the month of June, Ist. Dan Huntley, Joseph Miller, Peter Chapman, and Perry G. Beckwith, set out from Connecti. cut, with their families, in wagons drawn by horses, making this town their point of destination. They were accompanied by Dan Chapman, then a single man. They arrivel in the
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
month of July, and were the first white families who settled in this town after Mr. Owen's.
In the month of August, following, Samuel G. Peck, Dan Peck, and Vinton B. Way, returned to Connecticut for the pur- pose of moving their families to this township. On the 20th day of September, ISII, Eusebius Dodge, Samuel G. Peck, Dan Peck, Vinton B. Way, Zopher Gee, Charles Knowles, and San- ford Miner, with their families, accompanied by three young men, Lemuel Lee, Robert Jones, and Henry Brown, arrived; the latter was in stature a perfect giant, and brought with him that renowned (all killing) long gun. It was with this gun that "Uncle Henry," as he was always caller shot the old posle one Sunday when coming to Lebanon to preach to us.
In this company there were ninety persons, young and old. This journey, of over six hundred miles, was performed in nine wagons, drawn by oxen and horses. They all arrived safely at Buffalo, and crossed Buffalo and Eighteen Mile Creek in scows, without any material accident having occurred. They got to Goodrich's tavern, just east of the almost impassable Four Mile woods, though the roads over which they had passed were in' most cases extremely bad. They came to these woods about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The weather was so fine that they took to the beach with their teams, to pass around the high bluffs, and thus reach Mack's tavern at Cattaraugus Creek, and avoid the Four Mile woods; the women and chil- dren pursued the land route, through the woods, on foot .- The line of march around the rocky point, or high bluff, was formed by placing Vinton B. Way, with a two-horse team, on the lead; next in rank was Lemuel Lee and Samuel G. Peck, those gentlemen having some knowledge of the route around the point of rocks. Then followed, in line, the other six wagons .. They had proceeded but a short distance when a sud- den squall struck the Lake, The thunder rolled, the lightning itshel, the waves raa highi, and the rain descended in tor- rents. They listen! and a cry is heard above the thandering
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
elements, saying that Mr. Way's wagon is afloat, and the horses under water, tangled in the harness. Mr. Dodge, who was behind with a light two-horse carriage, sprung from it into the Lake followed by Charles Knowles; they plunged for- ward through the deep water to the rescue of the apparently drowning horses; they cut the harness, and the horses being relieved from their load, plunged ahead into a little nook un- der the rocky ledge, where they stood, while Dodge and Knowles held the wagon to keep it from being washed back into deeper water, as each succeeding wave engulfed them and the wagon, and then spent their force against the rocks thirty or forty feet beyond them, after having forced Dodge and Knowles violently against the wagon and severely bruising them. Yet by the perseverance of those brave men, the wagon and its contents were finally saved.
While this scene was going on, the other eight wagons were got safely onto dry land, when all hands turned in, an ! by the use of long ropes rescued the other wagon, which Dodge and Knowles had so bravely held from the water; elements. Mr. Dodge was a heavy, thick-set man, but Knowles was directly the opposite, and would live under the water as well as a. mermaid.
All were now safely ashore except the one span of horses belonging to Messrs. Way and Lee. They were left in the water, under the rocks, to live or die, as best they could, for there was no rescuing them, by human aid, until the waves should abate.
The screams and screechings of the women and children above the direful scene, were indeed most heartrending. Los- ing-sight of their husbands and fathers below, and supposing they were all lost in the Lake, they had gone forward, some sixty or seventy in number, without guide or compass. Mi Dodge overtook them about half a mile from the scene of dan- ger, mingling their wailings with the loud roar of thunder. while the rain was still pouring down in torrents. The whole
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
company now returned to the wagons, where they all encamped through the night, which proved cold and chilly. By this time there was not a dry garment in the whole company; most of them lay or sat in the wet wagons, two of them took up lodgings in a large corn basket, sitting face to face; those, we suppose, must have been some of the younger craft.
At break of day, Dan Peck was sent forward to make discoveries. In due time he returned with the cheering news that he had found a newly built log house empty, with a roof, but no doors or floor; and what was still better, he had found Mack's tavern about two miles beyond the house, and he had purchased a bottle of whisky; not the rot-gut of the present day, which will kill a man at forty rods, but the pure old rye. This cheering news put new life into this suffering but ener- getic little band of emigrants. Mr. Peck also brought with him a brand of fire, as matches had not yet been invented.
As it was still raining, the teams were again hitched to the wagons, and after letting Robert Jones down over the rocks with a rope, with a bag of oats and two blankets, they held onto him while he held the bag for the horses to eat, and covered them with the blankets; then they hauled him to the top of the rocks, a height of forty-five feet, and then moved on to the vacant cabin, where they turned their teams, out in the woods, and built a fire and dried some of their bedding. after which they camped down, as many as could find room, while the others stood up or sat down, just as they could catch it. The next morning some of the men returned to the rocks, and again let lones down in the same manner as before, He mounted one of the horses and swam with them both to the shore, and brought them safe to camp.
The next morning they hitched up all of their teams and went forward to Mack's tavern, where they remained two days. Here the women employed their time in baking, and drying their clothing and bedding. Mr. Dodge, on opening a small trunk which contained $1,000 in Bank bills, found the trunk
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
full of water. The money was dried and put in order, though one half of a ten dollar bill was nowhere to be found. But years after this, Mr. Dodge, in looking over his money. found half of a ten dollar bill adhering to the back of another bi !!. Carefully separating them, and matching it with the other half, which he had saved, he found himself ten dollars richer than he had supposed himself to be.
Starting from Mack's tavern. in process of time they ar- rived safe at Ashtabula, where they put up over night at a tavern kept by one Fobes. The next morning they had a se- rious time climbing up the steep banks of Ashtabula creek; but they succeeded in time to reach Benjamin Sweet's, in Aus- tinburg, the same day; the next night they stopped with Tim. othy R. Hawley, in Morgan. A part of the company, however, went on with their teams, about two miles further, to Strong's cabin, then vacant.
One day more, which was the Ist day of November. ISII, brought them to the log cabin of Samuel G. Peck, then in the dense forest of what is now the beautiful township of New Lyme. This cabin, which then contained a family of ninety persons, was erected on the banks of Lebanon creck, a short distance west of the present village of Dodgeville, now one of the most beautiful streets in Ashtabula county. Indeed, wc greatly question whether a more beautiful and highly orna. mented street, as the one extending west from Browersville through Dodgeville, and a mi'e or more west of that, can be found outside of our large cities, in the State of Ohio; not only for their ornamental fronts, but for the beautiful farms by which they are flanked,
Thus, after a journey of forty-three days, which was at- tended with great sufferings and privations, this heroic ban ! of emigrants had found a home, where they expected to spend the remainder of their days. The first thing to be done after their arrival, was to look about for something to eat. Although six hundred bushels of corn had been raised in the Pigeon
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
Roost, and eleven acres which was planted on shares, twenty miles away, yet not all the emigrants were sharers in the crop. But most of the emigrants were supplied with cash in sufficient quantities for present use; yet those who had cash suffered se vere privations and hardships before their wants could be sup- plied from their own farms.
Provisions of all kinds were extremely high. Salt was $25 a barrel, and wheat flour $28 a barrel, all cash at that. Sam- uel G Peck inquired of Joab Austin, of Austinburg, how much corn he should bring him for a barrel of salt. Mr. Austin's reply was, that "You (Peck) never raised, nor ever will raise. corn enough in one year to buy a barrel of salt." Many ar- ticles of merchants goods were very high, and none to be got short of twenty miles; 34 yard wide light cotton cloth, fifty cents a yard; I yard wide, seventy-five cents; sole leather fifty cents a pound; and all other goods in about the same propor- tion. Store goods could not be bought for farm produce at any price.
One of the greatest pests that our first settlers had to en- counter, by way of losses on cattle, was the bloody murrain, which made sad inroads on their stock; the loss of an ox or a cow, of that disease, was almost of daily occurrence. One spring Mr. John Gee lost his entire stock, (one cow excepted), of about nine heal; no cause or remedy was ever discovered. It was generally the worst after cattle commenced to eat herb- age in the spring of the year. A man who might have a fine stock of cattle in the morning, in apparently fine order and good health, was in no ways sure of his full number at night; when blood commenced to pass them, no earthly power could stop it until they bied to death.
The transportation of provisions seemed almost an impos- sibility for man or beast.
Soon after this last arrival of emigrants, Mr. Dodge, Sam- uel G. Peck and his son William, Joshua Strickland, Vinton R. Wav, and several others, started with ox teams for the set-
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
tlements in Eastern Pennsylvania. Taking plenty of money and a pocket compass, they proceeded by the way of Titus Hayes', in Wayne, to seek for the land of Egypt in another State. Here they found good old Joseph ready, for plenty of money, to supply their wants. Knowing full well that they had left their families on short rations, they lost no time in se- curing their supplies, which consisted of bread stuff, fresh killed pork, in the hog, potatoes, and many other articles in the line of family supplies. Their return through the woods was slow and tedious, on account of mud, extensive swamps and unbridged streams of water, so that at night they had gained but little towards their homes.
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