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Nº HH10. 81
OMNIVM
OF THE CITY OF
,-BOSTON
4
ASHTABULA COUNTY COURT HOUSE, JEFFERSON, OHIO
Tiền/
1798.
HISTORY OF
ASHTABULA COUNTY 1
)
OHIO,
WITH
Illustrations and Biographical Shetches
OF ITS
PIONEERS AND MOST PROMINENT MEN.
PHILADELPHIA:
WILLIAMS BROTHERS.
1878. .. ..
PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIA.
cui / 141
13.06
1
PREFACE
FOR many months the author has given his diligent attention and study to the compilation of this volume. A great mass of material, sufficient perhaps to fill a book twice the size of this, was at hand, and, through the friendly offices of the county historical society, placed before him. It needed sifting; the facts obtained in many instances needed verification; important data not given had to be gathered. The problem was: a given amount of matter to be published and a safe limit prescribed, what should be taken and what rejected? An error of the author's judgment may be frequently and palpably mani- fest to some, but his honest endeavor has been to inelude those facts and topies which seemed to him most pertinent and important ; his aim has been the attainment of relevancy and accuracy. If he and his associates eould place in the hands of the patrons of this work a book absolutely free from inexact and irrelevant matter, he and they would deem their success a marvel. This is not to be expected. It would be unreasonable. The hope is that these defeets will be few and of trifling character.
The biographical department will be found to be an attractive feature of the history. A variety of excellent literary talent has contributed to the production of this portion of the work. The author believes the public will appreciate the publishers' success in securing the sketches of Joshua R. Giddings and Edward Wade, from the pen of Hon. A. G. Riddle. The biographies of other prominent persons have been prepared by writers of acknowledged ability.
The treatment which the author and the publishers have received at the hands of the people of Ashtabula County has been so uniformly kind and courteous that they feel incompetent to make fitting acknowl-
edgment. Several leading citizens from the first have shown a personal interest in the publication of this history. This fact has served to greatly facilitate the author's and the publishers' labors, and to render certain their success in producing a work that should be satisfactory to their patrons. The historical and philosophical society, in the appointment of committees in each township for the careful revision of the work, did the people and the publishers a great kindness. Each department of the history, save the biographical, has been submitted to these committees for their revision, and their certificates of attesta- tion to its correctness obtained.
The author's and the publishers' thanks are in a special manner due to the society's president, Hon. O. H. Fitch, and to the secretary, Hon. Henry Fassctt, to A. C. Hubbard, Esq., and to Dr. J. C. Hubbard, to Hon. Abner Kellogg (whose unexpected death at the moment of going to press we are called upon to deplore), to C. S. Simonds, Esq., to Hon. Edward H. Fitch, to all the county officers, including the county commissioners, and to the several township revisory com- mittees.
Others are entitled to mention ; but, if we were to begin, with whose name would propriety and justice permit us to stop? The author's and publishers' gratitude can in no other way be so fittingly shown as in the inspiration which the people of Ashtabula County have given to them to labor elsewhere with inereasing fidelity and earnestness. This they will do.
With these words they place the book in the hands of its patrons, trusting that it will fill the measure of their just expectations.
WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS, The Author.
WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS, THEODORE F. WILLIAMS, The Publishers. LOUIS A. WILLIAMS,
3
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Boston Public Library
https://archive.org/details/historyofashtabu00will
CONTENTS.
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
HISTORY OF ASIITABULA COUNTY.
CHAPTER
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY
7
I .- The Progress of Discovery
8
Roster of Soldiers from Ashtabula County : War of 1812 57
Monroe
200
III .- The Connecticut Land Company
10
Roster of Soldiers from Ashtabula County : War of the Rebellion
58
New Lyme
225
IV .- The Geography of the County .
14
Orwell
231
VII .- The Indians
20
HISTORIES OF THE TOWNSHIPS.
Plymouth .
221
VIII .- The Parent State
24
Andover .
215
Ashtabula
130
Austinburg
185
Sheffield
238
XI .- Civil Organization
Cherry Valley
236
XII .- Social Life in Early Times
31
Colebrook
211
XIII .- Ashtabula's connection with the Anti-Slavery Movement
33
Denmark .
213
XIV .- Religious and Educational
35
Dorset 209
Geneva 173
169
XVII .- The Ashtabula Railway Disaster
45
Hartsgrove
254
ERRATA .
256
BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.
PAGE
PAGE
Allen, Hon. D. C.
166
Fobes, Henry C.
180
Parker, Luther .
18
Andrews, Benoni
16
Fobes, O. P.
249
Peck, E. O.
228
Atkins, Josiah .
225
Fobes, Simon
249
Peck, S. W.
179
Atkins, Hon. Q. F. .
113
Follett, N.
235
Pinney, W. K. .
203
Austin, IIon. Eliphalet
114
Gaylord, Harvey R. .
Poole, Calvin, Jr.
16
Badger, Rev. Joseph H.
86
Gaylord, Maj. Levi .
Randall, B. C. .
facing
199
Bartholomew, Rev. J. B. .
193
Gibson, Thomas
Ranney, Hon. Rufus P.
85
Bedell, Henry
Giddings, William
242
Raymond, D. W., M.D.
166
Betts, Hon. E. J.
125
Gist, D. D., M.D.
between 148, 149
Reed, James
122
Blakeslee, Joel .
facing 212
Hall, Rev. Johu
128
Rieg, J. P.
123
Booth, Charles .
92
Hammond, Edward .
Robertson, J. P.
146
Booth, Philo
143
Hardy, H. F.
203
Salisbury, Capt. O.
166
Brown, John
230
Harmon, Austin
217
Sehramling, Alvin
235
Buringtou, N. .
167
Ifarmon, Edward
218
SeCheverell, Col. G. H.
172
Burrows, S. S., M.D.
120
Ifart, Elijah
180
SeCheverell, Dr. J. H.
172
Cadwell, Hon. Darius
93
Holbrook, S. G., M.D.
126
105
Castle, Amasa, Jr.
143
Howard, A. W.
193
Simonds, W. T.
185
Caswell, N. S.
182
HIowells, J. A. .
121
Smith, Hall
145
Churchill, John
Howells, Hon. W. C.
103
Smith, L. W.
145
Clark, Wesley .
Howland, Hon. W. P.
91
Smith, Plin
168
Coleman, Elijah, M.D.
119
Hubbard, Henry
Spelman, Dr. Lutber
246
Coleman, Natbaniel .
218
Hubbard, J. C., M.D.
Spencer, II. A. .
110
Cook, S. II.
126
Ifubbard, Hon. Matthew
123
11
Cowles, Alfred .
103
Hubbard, William
124
110
Cowles, Miss Betsey M.
100
Ilurlburt, E. G.
256
Spencer, Platt Rogers
10
Cowles, Miss Cornelia R.
101
Jones, Linus H.
246
Spencer, Platt R., Jr.
110
Cowles, Edwin
97
Jones, Samuel, Sr.
246
Spencer, R. C. .
111
Cowles, E. W., M.D ..
Joues, Samuel, Jr.
246
Spencer, W. P. .
122
Spring, R.
between 176, 177
Stiles, Captain A. W.
126
Stone, James
199
Cowles, Capt. Lysander M.
193
Kellogg, Martin
115
Taleott, Charles
180
Cowles, Hon. Samuel
102
Kellogg, Pauliua
116
Taleott, Heury .
153
Crosby, D. L. .
126
Kellogg, IIon. William
107
Thorp, Hon. Freeman
119
Crosby, Elijah
220
Kelley, Dr. D. E.
168
Wade, Hon. B. F.
67
Crowell, W. H. .
125
Kiddle, John
Wade, Edward .
S4
Crowell, William, Sr.
King, Mrs. Lydia
167
Warner, Ilon. Jonathan
115
Curtiss, C. E.
208
Kingsley, M., M.D.
facing 208
Watrous, Jolın B.
144
Dibble, A. C.
167
Latimer, V. D.
Webster, E. M., M.D.
127
Farnham, Elisha
167
Lee, Ferdinand
Webster, II. II., M.D.
12'
Farrington, S. H., M.D.
120
Leonard, Hou. E. B.
Wilder, Hon. Horace
89
Fassett, Hon. Henry
104
Lindsley, H.
237
Willard, George
144
Fifield, A. K., M.D.
121
Maltby, Nelson
181
Woodbury, Hon. H. B.
91
Fifield, Greenleaf, M.D.
127
Mason, E. F.
125
208
Fitch, E. H.
92
Mills, Deacon Joseph 194
Wyman, Rev. O. T. .
169
Fitch, Hon. O. H.
90
Morse, Rev. Elias
242
Young, Thaddeus S. .
125
Fobes, Ferdinand
249
Northway, IIon. S. A.
92
Jefferson .
146
Kingsville
204
Lenox
222
II .- The Connecticut Western Reserve
0
Morgan
194
V .- The Geology and Topography of the County . VI .- The Mouud-Builders
15
Pierpont
234
Richmond
227
Rome
218
IX .- Pioneer Settlements .
24
Saybrook .
183
X .- Means of Communication
27
28
Trumbull .
228
Conneaut .
Wayne 154
243
Williamsfield
241
Windsor
250
XV .- The Press .
38
XVI .- Societies
41
CHAPTER
PAGE
PAGE
XVIII .- Statisties . 48
XIX .- The Military History of the County 49
16
Beals, A. E.
238
Giddings, Hon. Joshua R.
72
Ransom, Miss C. L. .
111
Simonds, C. S. .
Spencer, L. P. .
Cowles, G. II., D.D. .
93
Kellogg, HIon. Abner
106
Cowles, Giles H.
192
Kellogg, Amos
115
Cowles, Joseph B.
192
Kellogg, L. D., M.D.
120
Tinker, Charles
between 176, 177
Crosby, Levi
220
Keyes, Gen. Henry
249
220
198
123
125
230
238
124
119
Spencer, II. C. .
99
118
116
167
181
208
PAGE
5
Harpersfield
Wright, M. W ..
145
6
CONTENTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Carriage-Works of Thorp & Pfaff facing 138
Flouring-Mills of Seymour & Son 13S
AUSTINBURG.
Portrait of Deacon Joseph Mills
facing
188
Residence of the late Rev. G. Il. Cowles .
:
1SS
188
CHERRY VALLEY.
COLEBROOK.
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Blakeslee facing 212
CONNEAUT.
Portrait of Hon. D. C. Allen between 166, 167
General Henry Keyes 166, 167
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Plin Smith 166, 167
Portrait of Dr. D. W. Raymoud
64
166, 167
Nelson Burington .
166, 167
= A. C. Dibble . 1GG, 167
Aunt Lydia King . 166, 167
Portraits of )Ir. and Mrs. Benoni Andrews 166, 167
Christian Church, with portraits of Rev. O. T. and Mrs. O. T. Wyman facing 162
Town Hall
P.esidence of Thomas Gibson, with portraits . 44 160
Captain Salisbury, between 158, 159
Calvin Poole, 158, 159
Mill Property of Benton, Ayers & Cushing
165
Portrait of E. Farnham .
facing 203
DENMARK.
Residence of J. C. Andrews facing 213
GENEVA.
Portrait of R. Spring between 176, 177
Charles Tinker 176, 177
Residence of Charles Talcott, and exterior and
interior Views of Store 44 178, 179
Residenee of S. Il. Munger
N. S. Caswell, with portraits facing 182
N. H. Dickerman 172
R. Spring . between 176, 177
H. W. Forman facing 178
Henry C. Fobes between 180, 181
Portraits of H. C. Fobes, Electa Fobes, Sanford L. Fobes, Flora H. Fobes, David A. and Fanny C. Fish 180, 181
Public School Building 174, 175
Hotel of Thomas B. Tuller facing 173
Residence of Luther Parker = 176
Henry Bedell, with portraits between 180. 1s1
= Nelson Maltby, 180, 181
Samuel W. Peck, faeing 179
44 Robert Woodruff, : 177
Cynthia HIart, 175
Geneva Congregational Church 183
HARPERSFIELD.
Portraits of Dr. J. H. SeCheverell and wife facing 170
Col. G. H. 171
Residence of JI. Wharram 172
JEFFERSON.
PAGE
Portrait of Dr. D. D. Gist
between 148, 149
Residence of II. P. Wade .
facing 146
Property of Henry Taleott, with portraits
153
Jefferson Educational Institute
.6 150
Residenee of A. W. Iloward, with portraits
19
Residence of E. L. Mullen
between 148, 149
John Watters
148, 149
KINGSVILLE.
Portrait of Dr. M. Kingsley . facing 20S
Portrait of Joel Riee (Williamsfield Group) facing 242 Residence of Dr. E. M. Webster (Frontispiece) 204
Residence of Wesley Clark, with portraits 236 Kingsville Cemetery between 206, 207
235
Residence of John Holmes
faeing 20G
H. P. Newton between 204, 205
Stephen Sabin 204. 205
J. F. Blair .
facing 207
Charles H. Cratar
20S
MONROE.
Portrait of H. F. Hardy .
facing
203
William K. Pinney
203
Residence of Hiram Griggs
162
MORGAN.
Portrait of B. C. Randall
44
Alonzo Moses .
199
Residence of the late James Stone, with portraits, facing
19-
E. O. Miller 196
Stores of Latimer & Thompson
196
PIERPONT.
Residence of Alvin Schramling, with portraits . facing 234
ROME.
44 Residenees of L. and G. H. Crosby, with portraits, facing 218 Residence of Elijah Crosby . 220
SAYBROOK.
Residence of Isaac Brooks
facing
183
O. H. Calloway
46
183
D. H. Kelley 184
TRUMBULL.
Residence of John and Eleanor Churchill
facing
196
= John Brown, with portrait . 998
WAYNE.
Portrait of Rev. E. T. Woodruff between 248, 249
Dr. Spelman .
facing 245
Nathaniel Colemau 245 =
Mrs. N. Coleman
245
Samuel Jones, Sr. between 246, 247
Linus H. Joncs
246, 247
Samuel Jones, Jr.
246, 247
Anson Jones =
246, 247
Residenee of O. P. Fobes, with portraits of Simon and Ferdinand 24S. 249
Residence of Rollin L. Jones, with portraits
246, 247
14
W'm. Kiddle facing 243
WILLIAMSFIELD.
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. William Giddings . facing 242
Rev. Elias and Mrs. Abiah Morse 242
WINDSOR.
Residence of F. R. Smith facing 250
S. C. Wilson
.
251
44 Prof. E. Hamilton
between 252, 253
= Thompson Higley 252, 253
..
44 Horaee Wilder
Abner Kellogg 100
Portraits of Group of Attorneys : Hon. W. P. Howland, Hon. 11. B. Woodbury, Ilon. Edward HI. Fitch, Ilon. S. A. Northway, and Charles Booth . facing
91
Portrait of Hon. Darins Cadwell C. S. Simouds 10
Edwin Cowles steel) facing 99
E. W. Cowles, M.D. (steel) 99
44 Miss Betsey Cowles (steel) = 101
Miss Cornelia Cowles (steel) 101
Portraits of Physicians' Group : Dr. John C. Hubbard, Dr. A. K. Fifield, Dr. L. D. Kellogg, Dr. S. S. Bur- rows, Dr. Elijah Coleman, and Dr. S. H. Farring- ton facing 121
Portrait of IIon. William Kellogg
10
.. W. C. Howells
103
llenry Fassett 104
Portraits of Editors' Group : J. A. Howells, James Rced, Warren P. Spencer, J. P. Rieg, and Ferdinand Lee facing
123
113 Portrait of Hon. Q. F. Atkins . Harvey R. Gaylord 118
Portraits of Physicians' Group : Dr. S. G. Holbrook, Dr. H. Il. Webster. Dr. Greenleaf Fifield, Dr. E. M. Web- ster facing 127
Portrait of Hon. Freeman Thorp 119
Portraits of Speneer Group : Prof. Platt R. Spencer, R. C. Speneer, Il. C. Spencer, H. A. Spencer, Lyman P. Spencer, and Platt R. Spencer, Jr. . . facing 108 Portraits of the Hubbard Group : Hon. Matthew Hubbard,
William Hubbard, and Henry Hubbard . facing 124
Portraits of the County Officers' Group : Hon. E. J. Betts, W. H. Crowell, E. F. Mason, Hon. E. B. Leonard, D. L. Crosby, A. W. Stiles, T. S. Young, and S. H. Cook . facing 125
ANDOVER.
Residence of Austin Ilarmon .
('. Stillman, with portraits .
215
and mills of C. H. Fitts 210
ASHTABULA.
Portrait of Philo Booth
143
Dr. D. E. Kelley
145
Residence of George Willard, and interior and exterior
Views of Store, with portraits . between 144. 145
Residenee of John P. Robertson facing 138
46 M. G. Diek . 130
.. Win. M. Eames 44 130
James P. Jennings 135
Phoenix Iron-Works 140 =
Exterior Views of Store and Opera- House of L. W. Smith & Son
facing 142
Interior View of Webb & Sou's Store 142
Carriage-Works of F. D. Fickinger, with portrait between 140, 141
PAGE
Court-House Frontispiece) facing title-page
Map of Ashtabula County . faeing
County Jail and Recorder's Office, with portraits of E. O.
31
Peck. E. G. Ilurlburt, and W. T. Simonds facing County Infirmary Buildings, with portraits of Edward Hammond. C. E. Curtiss, and M. W. Follett facing
Ashtabula Disaster-Ruins of the Bridge
45
Residence of llon. B. F. Wade 70 =
Portrait of Hon. B. F. Wade (steel 67
Joshua R. Gillings 72
Edward Wade
.. Rufus P. Ranney
of Rev. Joseph Badger 56
of líou. O. H. Fitch . 90
89
44 H. Lindsley, =
937
S. J. Smith .
156
Residence of J. P. Rieg .
162
Business Block of S. J. Smith .
150
154
93
44 A. E. Beals,
facing 217
174, 175
facing
199
Church at Austiuburg
ASHTABULA CO Scale 25 Miles to the Inch.
E
I
R
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Commeaut
K E
Harbor
Ashtabula
outil Ridge PO.
L
..
Kingskilles
R
2
T
13
T
13
R-3-T
Reeds Cor.
MonroeCentoy
Centers
L
MON ROE
GENEVA
PLYMOUTH SHEFFIELD
Geneva
T
12
R 4
T 12
R 3
₸ 12
2
T
12
R
T
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Thionville
Austinburg
HARPERSFIELD
Center
STINBURG
PIERPONT :
JEFFERSON DENMARK
Center
Jefferson
Eagle vále TII
R
T
R
T
11
R
1
T
TRUMBULL
Center
MORGAN
EN OX
TCenter
Rock Creek
E. Trumbul
Footville
R
5
T 10
R 4
0
R
3
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1
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CHERRY VALLEY
HARTS GROVE; R O MKE
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West
Center
Rome Sta
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Dodgeville
New Lyme Sta!
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Brownville
3
R 2
T
9
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ORWELL COLEBROOK
WAYNE
WILLIAMS WWEST
Corners
Orivell
Center
Lindenvinter
Center IELL
1
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R
3
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R 5
T 8
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INVATASNN HO
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Rays Corners
ASHTABULA & JAMESTOWN Center DORSET T_ 10
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Center
VIS
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ASHTABULA
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#
HISTORY
, OF
ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO. .
INTRODUCTORY.
Two pictures in American history are significant. They are the pictures of two vessels. The one is the Mayflower, the other the Griffin. They represent the nationalities of two powers that contended long and fiercely for the ascend- ancy in the right to American soil. In the one picture is presented a vessel nearing the American coast. On board is a small band of refugees who had fled from oppression in the Old World to find liberty in the New. The whole number of them is one hundred and two, sixty of whom are women and children. They are all earnest, brave, and prayerful. They are gathered in a group with upturned faces, all engaged in earnest devotion, the skylight streaming down upon them. One of them holds a piece of parchment bearing the signature of every man on board. It contains the compact which gave birth to popular constitutional liberty. The features of the picture arc distinct. A sense of the grandeur of their enterprise, a sublime faith in its success, a trust in the Divine Protector and Guide, resolute determination,-all these are strikingly depicted in the counte- nances of the group. The vessel is the Mayflower ; the group the Pilgrim Fathers. In religion they are Protestants ; in nationality they are English.
The time was in the latter part of the year 1620.
In the other picture may be seen a vessel upon the placid waters of our own Lake Erie. It had just been launched on the Niagara river, almost within sound of the mighty cataract. It was built after the fashion of its time. Its stern rose high above the deck. The curved and carved sides formed a singularly antique appearance. On its prow was the form of a griffin. Its portentous form and hideous face constituted the figure-head of this strange vessel. Amidships on the castle was perched the gilt figure of a massive eagle. The vessel is a French craft of forty-five tons' burden. On the deck is gathered a group of thirty-four men. They are clothed in various costumes. Their leader is clad in a cavalier's dress. By his side are three monks,-their long black robes and shaven crowns contrasting strangely with the military costume of their leader. Their cloaks arc embellished with the various symbols of their order. Around them are gathered the swarthy faces of their fellow-voyagers. They are chanting the Te Deum. The ship is the Griffin, and the men are the explorers of the great west. The commander is Robert Cavelier de la Salle. His companions are Tonty, his lieutenant, an Italian veteran, Father Louis Hennepin, Zenobe Membre, and Gabriel Ribourde, three Fleming friars, and about thirty followers. Theirs is the first vessel that ever plowed the virgin waters of Lake Erie. The date is 1679. The nationality is French. The members of the group are all Roman Catholics. Their object is the exploration, the conquest through right of discovery, and the ultimate colonization of the great west.
Had the vast schemes of these heroic explorers been successful, the entire valley of the Mississippi would have been peopled to-day by the descendants of the French instead of by those of the English. The language would have been Gaelic instead of Anglo-Saxon ; the dominant religion of the people would have been Roman Catholic instead of Protestant.
The contrast between the two vessels is striking, not alone in their appearance and in the character and purpose of those on board, but in the fate of each ves- sel and of the members of each group. The picture of the Griffin is that of a vessel sailing onward, carrying a company of adventurers to far-distant regions ; that of the Mayflower, of a vessel anchoring with a view to landing its inmates as a colony for settlement. On board the one vessel the family was present ; on board the other the family was lacking. Men, women, and children in the one ;
2
men alone in the other. The adventurers of the Griffin, after some years spent of brilliant exploration, became scattered. Some perished in the wilderness from cold and hunger ; others were captured, and some of them murdered by savages ; the chieftain himself was slain by his own companions ; the vessel was wrecked, and disaster came to all. The families on board the Mayflower became the fathers and mothers of a race that have helped to people a continent. All that was done by the one company was transient; all that was accomplished by the other was enduring.
The descendants of those on board the Mayflower are they, in part, the history of whose fortunes this volume is to record. From such heroes of the human race sprang the men who became the fathers of New Connecticut. The men who penetrated this region nearly a hundred years ago were no discredit to their ancestors of Plymouth Rock. They brought with them many of the sterling traits of character that distinguished so signally their illustrious forefathers. They possessed the same reverence for truth, the same love of liberty, the same hatred of oppression and wrong.
To follow the fortunes of such a people, to record their heroic deeds, their sufferings and privations, to trace their progress through many hardships along the difficult path leading to more prosperous days, is a pleasing task for the historian.
The first generation that came hither has passed away; the second is rapidly following. It is time that history should make its record; time that it should gather up and place in enduring form a memorial of the lives of these hardy pioneers ; to signalize their achievements in biographies of their representative men.
Eighty years have wrought a wondrous change. Then a dense wilderness inhabited by ferocious beasts and savage men ; now a prosperous, populous com- munity where civilization has reached its highest form. Appeared first the settlers' cabins scattered here and there, hidden by the thick foliage of a dense forest, constituting rude but cheerful woodland homes ; blazed lines for roads ; a few acres adjacent to the dwellings for farms; log houses for schools, and " God's first temples" for churches. As the years advanced farms were opened ; highways were cut through the forests; log cabins gave place to neat frame houses ; streams were bridged; the nuclei of towns were formed; neat frame school-houses and churches appcared. Then came the stage-coach with its weekly, then its tri-weekly, and at last its daily mail, until finally it too disappeared to give place to the track of steel and the iron horse. Farms multiplied ; hamlets grew to be villages ; villages to be towns; and towns to be cities.
Where once stood the lonely cabin now stands a thriving, populous city, with its busy industries, its palatial residences, and beautiful churches. Instead of the rude log dwelling, with its small patch of cleared ground, standing in utter lone- liness in the midst of a dense woodland, may now be seen the beautiful dairy- farm, with its farm-house almost deserving the name of mansion; its commodious barn, with all the conveniences skill and money may provide ; its broad fields of luxuriant pasturage; its quiet woodlands, where at eventide may be heard the lowing of many gentle kine. Where stood the log school-house, with its half- dozen pupils, stand now the normal university and the academy of learning.
The fortunes of a community are not under the guidance of a blind destiny. Its affairs are largely controlled and directed by a favoring Providence. It will be the object of the present work to follow the steps which the county has taken through different stages of its progress in order to have reached its present advanced and happy position.
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HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
CHAPTER I.
THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.
THE year 1492 signalizes the achievement of Columbus,-the greatest maritime enterprise in the history of the world. Born of a holy faith, an inflexible pur- pose, and an unfailing greatness of soul, it was the triumph of reason over super- stition ; of knowledge over the ignorance of cosmography; and, in less than fifteen years, Copernicus had made known to the world the true theory of our solar system. England, France, and Spain arc aroused and eagerly set on foot plans for exploration and discovery. In 1497, John Cabot and his son, Sebastian, discovered the western continent among the dismal cliffs of Labrador. In 1498, a year famous in the annals of the sea, Columbus set foot upon the mainland of South America, and Sebastian Cabot explored the North American coast from Newfoundland to Albemarle Sound. In 1501, Gaspar Cortereal, with two cara- vels, furnished by his sovereign, Manuel, king of Portugal, ranges the coast of North America from the Delaware Bay to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As early as 1504 the fisheries of Newfoundland are known to the hardy mariners of Brittany and Normandy, who came thus early to our shores from the northwest of France, and, in remembrance of home, gave to the island of Cape Breton the name it still retains.
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