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3471
. REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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COPYRIGHT, 1891, BY WALTER P. RICE
All Rights Reserved
THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND AND OTHER SKETCHES
TYPOGRAPHY AND ELECTROTYPING BY C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON
NOTE
THE sketches contained in the following pages relate to subjects which have but little, if any, connection. In submitting them to the public, the writer trusts that they may be found to possess a sufficient degree of interest to justify their publication. -
The volume closes with a brief review of the glacial theory - a theory which, though generally accepted by modern geologists, is still regarded by many of our intelli- gent men as not only questionable, but inconsistent with the stability of all known physical laws.
CLEVELAND, June 11, 1801.
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CONTENTS
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
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THE CUYAHOGA RIVER AND VALLEY
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HOMES IN THE WILDERNESS .
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FIRST SHIP ON LAKE ERIE
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WENT WEST. .
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FOOTPRINTS OF PURITANISM
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THE SHAKER VILLAGE .
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WESTERN RESERVE JURISTS .
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VISIT TO SALT LAKE CITY
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THE CAREER OF DE SOTO
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MAJOR LORENZO CARTER.
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THE GLACIAL THEORY
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
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CITY OF CLEVELAND
THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
G Y ENERAL MOSES CLEAVELAND was the founder of the city of Cleveland - the Beautiful City - that not only inherits his name, but cherishes his memory with a sincere feeling of pride and reverence.
His ancestry is of historical interest, and has been traced to a remote period. The name "Cleaveland " is shown to be of Saxon origin, and was the name of a distinguished family in Yorkshire, England, before the Norman con- quest. This family originally occupied an extensive landed estate whose soil - hard clay - was singularly marked by open fissures, known to the Saxons as "clefts " or "eleves." This peculiarity of the estate induced the rural population of the vicinity to speak of its occu- pants as the "Clefflands," a nanie which the family accepted. This name, like many others, as time elapsed, came to be spelled in a vari-
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ety of ways - Cleffland, Clifland, Cleveland, Cleaveland, Cleveland. An antiquarian of . repute states that William Cleaveland of York, England, who died at Hinckley, in Leicester- shire, in 1630, was the remote ancestor of the American Cleavelands. It is also shown that a lineal descendant of his, whose name was Moses, and who was a housewright or builder by trade, emigrated from England and landed at Boston in the year 1635, where he remained for several years. He then, in connection with Edward Winn and others, founded the town of Woburn, Mass., where both he and Winn per- manently settled.
This Moses Cleaveland was a man of intelli- gence and enterprise. He aspired to full citi- zenship, and became, in 1643, what was then called a "freeman." The qualifications of a freeman required that he should be of "godly walk and conversation, at least twenty-one years of age, take an oath of allegiance to the government of Massachusetts Bay. colony, be worth £200, and consent to hold office if elected, or pay a fine of forty shillings, and vote at all elections or pay the same fine." The restrictions and conditions were so onerous that many who were eligible preferred not to become freemen, being more free as they were. But this Moses, who had now become a free-
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
man, feeling that he had ancestral blood in his veins of a superior quality, thought that it ought to be transmitted, and after a brief courtship married, in 1648, Anne Winn, the daughter of his friend Edward Winn of Woburn. In taking this step "Moses " did not make a "mistake." The result was that he became the accredited progenitor of all the Cleavelands born in the United States - a raee. not only numerous, but noted for great moral worth and many noble traits of character.
General Moses Cleaveland, the subject of this sketch, was born January 29, 1754, in the town of Canterbury, Windham County, and State of Connecticut. He was the second son of Colonel Aaron Cleaveland, who married Thankful Paine. Both his father and mother were persons of culture. They saw promising traits of character in their son Moses when he was but a child, and resolved to give him a liberal education. At the proper age they sent him to Yale College, where he graduated in 1777. He then adopted the legal profession, and commenced the practice of law in his native town with marked success. The abili- ties of the young lawyer soon attracted public attention, and induced Congress to recognize his merits by appointing him, in 1779. captain of a company of sappers and miners in the army
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of the United States. The following is the commission he received :
The United States of America in Congress assembled. To Moses Cleaveland, Esquire, Greeting :
We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your pat- riotisin, valor, conduct, and fidelity, do by these presents constitute and appoint you to be a captain in the companies of sappers and miners in the Army of the United States, to take rank as such from the second day of August, 1779. You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of a captain, by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command to be obedient to your commands as captain. And you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as you shall receive from this or a future Congress of the United States, or for the time being of the Army of the United States, or any other superior officer, according to the rules and discipline of war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This commission to continue in force until revoked by this or a future Congress, the committee of Congress before mentioned, or a committee of the States.
Entered in the war office, and examined by the board. Attest :
Witness : His Excellency Samuel Huntington, Esq., Presi- dent of the Congress of the United States of America, at Philadelphia. the fourteenth day of February, 1780, and in the fourth year of our independence.
SAM. HUNTINGTON, President. BEN. STODDERT, Secretary of the Board of War.
Captain Cleaveland is hereby, at his own request, dis- charged from the services of the United States.
By His Excellency's command. TEUCH TILGHMAN, Aid-de-Camp. NEW WINDSOR, June 7, 14 1.
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
He accepted the commission, but in the course of a few months, as appears, resigned the office. No reason is given. He doubtless preferred the practice of law, to which he returned. He was not an office-seeker in a political sense, yet he was a member of the Masonic fraternity and held the position of grand marshal of the Grand Lodge of Connec- ticut. He was several times elected a member of the State legislature, and in this capacity acquired an enviable reputation as a statesman. In 1794 he married Esther Champion, a young lady of rare accomplishments, and the daughter of Henry Champion. Early in 1790, 'after having risen rapidly through the subordinate military grades, he was advanced to the gen- eralship of the Fifth Brigade of the State militia.
In regard to the subsequent career of Gen- eral Cleaveland, it should be remembered that Connecticut, when a colony, acquired by grant of King Charles II. of England, in 1662, a vast tract of territory lying between the same parallels with the colony, and extending west from "sea to sea," or from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. When Connecticut was ad- mitted into the Union as a State, she claimed this territory as her rightful domain. In ad- justing the claim, Congress allowed her to
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retain only that part of the territory now known as the "Western Reserve." This she accepted in full discharge of her claim.
The Western Reserve embraces the north- eastern pait of Ohio, and contains three mil- lions and eight hundred thousand acres. In 1792 the State of Connecticut donated five hun- dred thousand acres of this land, since known as the "Firelands," to citizens who had suffered by fire in the Revolution; and in 1795 author- ized a sale of the remaining part of the Reserve, and appointed a committee to effect the sale. This remainder was sold within a few months for $1,200,000, which the State appropriated as a permanent fund for the support of her com- mon schools. The purchasers of the land were sundry wealthy citizens known as the "Con- necticut Land Company." The individuals comprising the company held different shares, and with a view to convenience in the transac- tion of business, conveyed their respective interests to three trustees, John Cadwell, John Morgan, and Jonathan Brace. In accordance with articles of agreement entered into by the land company, the general management of its affairs was confided to a board of seven direct- ors, - Oliver Phelps, Henry Champion. Moses Cleaveland, Samuel W. Jolison, Ephraim Kirby, Samuel Mather, Jr., and Roger New-
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
bury. On the twelfth day of May, 1796, the following commission was issued by the board of directors to Moses Cleaveland, who was a shareholder in the land company: --
To Moses Cleaveland, Esq., of the County of Windham and State of Connecticut, one of the directors of the Connec- ticut Land Company, Greeting :
We, the board of directors of said company, having appointed you to go on to said land as superintendent over the agents and men sent to survey and make locations on said land, and to make and enter into friendly negotiations with the natives who are on said land, or contiguous thereto, and may have any pretended claim to the same, and secure such friendly intercourse amongst them as will establish peace, quiet, and safety to the survey and settlement of said lands not ceded by the natives under the authority of the United States.
You are hereby, for the foregoing purposes, fully author- ized and empowered to act and transact all the above busi- ness in as full and ample a manner as we ourselves conld do; to make contracts on the foregoing matters in our behalf and stead, and make such drafts on our treasury as may be necessary to accomplish the foregoing object of your ap- pointment. And all agents and men by us employed and sent to survey and settle said lands, to be obedient to your orders and directions; and you are to be accountable for all moneys by you received, conforming your conduct to such orders and directions as we may from time to time give you, and to do and act in all matters according to your best skill and judgment, which may tend to the best interest, pros- perity, and success of said Connecticut Land Company, having more particularly for your guide the articles of association entered into and signed by the individuals of said company.
OLIVER PHELPS, HENRY CHAMPION, ROGER NEWBURY, SAMUEL MATHER, JR., 1 1 Directors.
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Thus commissioned, General Cleaveland led the first surveying and exploring party into the wilds of the Western Reserve, or "New Connecticut " as it was then called. The entire party consisted of General Cleaveland, agent of the land company; Augustus Porter, principal surveyor; Seth Pease, astronomer and surveyor; Moses Warren, Amos Spafford, John M. Holley, and Richard M. Stoddard, assistant surveyors; Joshua Stow, commissary ; Theodore Shepard, physician; Joseph Tinker, boatman; and Seth Hart, chaplain, accom- panied by thirty-seven employés and a few emigrants. There were but two women in the party. They were married women who came , with their husbands. The whole party num- bered just fifty. They brought with them thirteen horses and several head of cattle.
The individuals composing the expedition concentrated at Schenectady, N. Y., early in June, 1796. A few took charge of the horses and cattle, and proceeded by land through the interior wilds of the State to Buffalo, while the others procured boats and ascended the Mohawk River, and when they reached Fort Stanwix. now Rome, transferred their boats from the Mohawk over the portage to Wood Creek, passed down the creek to Oneida Lake, thence across the lake and its outlets, and
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
down the Oswego River to Lake Ontario. From this point they coasted along the south shore of Ontario to the mouth of the Niagara River, thence up that river to Queenstown, and, after erossing the "seven-mile " portage, reached Chippewa, and from thence pursued their way along the Niagara River and shore of Lake Erie to Buffalo, where they were met by the detach- ment having charge of the horses and cattle. . Here General Cleaveland found a delegation of Seneca and Mohawk Indians, headed by Brant and Red Jaeket, who had been awaiting his arrival, with a determination to oppose the further progress of the expedition to the Wes- tern Reserve, claiming that it was territory
which rightfully belonged to them. The Indians consented to hold a "talk" with the general, who succeeded in quieting the claim by making them a donation of goods, valued at twelve hundred dollars. The expedition then continued westward along the south-eastern shore of Lake Erie in two divisions, one divis- ion in boats, and the other by land, and ar- rived on the 4th of July, 1796, at the mouth of Conneaut Creek, in the Western Reserve. and on arrival gave "three deafening cheers " and christened the place "Port Independ- enee."
It was a pleasant day. The party felt patri-
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otic, and resolved to celebrate not only the day but the event. They flung the American flag to the breeze. Tables were extemporized, and made to groan under the weight of a super- abundance of baked pork and beans and other luxuries, all of which were partaken of with a keen relish. Salutes were fired by platoons of musketry, speeches were made, and several pailfuls of grog were imbibed in response to . the following toasts or sentiments: 1. "The President of the United States." 2. "The State of New Connecticut." 3. "The Connec- ticut Land Company." 4. "May the Port of Independence and the fifty sons and daughter's who have entered it this day be successful and prosperous." 5. " May these sons and daugh- ters multiply in sixteen years sixteen times fifty." 6. "May every person have his bow- sprit trimmed and ready to enter every port that opens."
The celebration was prolonged until the stars appeared. It was the first celebration of the kind that had occurred in the Western Reserve. At its close the hilarious "fifty " retired to their boats and tents in as good order as could be expected. The next day was devoted to the erection of a log structure or two, designed for the immediate accommodation of the party and their supplies. The Indians in the vicinity
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
now became inquisitive, and demanded to know why it was the white men had encroached upon their domains. A council was called, and the central seat assigned to General Cleaveland, as the great white chief. Proceedings were com- menced by gravely smoking the "pipe of peace." Cato, the son of the old Indian chief Piqua, then addressed the great white chief, who, in his reply, conciliated the Indians by giving them a few glass beads and a keg of whiskey. The surveys were then allowed to proceed. The general assigned to each detach- ment of surveyors their special work, and told them where to commence it.
In the course of two weeks afterward Gen- eral Cleaveland, who was familiarly called "Moses " by his associates, left Conneaut in company with a select few of his staff, and · coasted in an open boat along the south-western shore of Lake Erie until he came to the mouth of a river, which he took to be the Cuyahoga. He ascended the stream for some distance, amid many embarrassments arising from sand- bars and fallen trees, when he discovered his mistake, and found that it was a shallow river of minor importance and not noted on his map. This perplexity and delay so chagrined him and his staff that he named the river "Cha- grin," a designation by which it is still
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known, and continuing the voyage he entered the mouth of the veritable Cuyahoga on the 22d of July, in the same ever memorable year of 1796, and in attempting to land on its east- ern bank, near the foot of Union Lane, ran his boat aground. Here "Moses " found him- self cradled, like his ancient namesake, among the bulrushes. He and his party, however, soon succeeded in extricating themselves. He . then ascended the steep bank where he beheld for the first time an elevated plain of surpris- ing beauty that extended far away to the east, west, and south, and that was clad with a luxuriant growth of graceful forest trees. The scene charmed his eye, and the spot where he stood, skirted as it was by the Cuyahoga River on the west and by Lake Erie on the north, suggested to him that, with these natural advantages, the locality was destined, at no distant day, to become the site of a great commercial city.
In accordance with this impression, he directed the locality to be surveyed into city lots. It included an area of a mile square. Two surveys were made of the land, under the superintendence of Augustus Porter - one by Seth Pease, and the other by Amos Spafford. Each presented a separate map of his work. The one is known as "Pease's map," and the
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THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
other as "Spafford's map." These original maps differ somewhat in detail, yet both are accepted as authoritative. The surveys were completed early in October, 1796. The sur- veyors gave to the new-born city the name of "Cleaveland," in honor of their chief. The general, with characteristic modesty, accepted the compliment.
The city at birth contained three log cabins that had been erected by the surveyors for their own accommodation on the hillside next to the river, and near a spring that furnished an ample supply of pure water. The resident population that settled in Cleveland in 1796 was but four; in 1797 the population increased to fifteen ; in 1800 it was reduced to seven by removals elsewhere on account of the insalu- brity of locality. In 1814 Cleveland was incor- porated as a village. In 1820 the population increased to 150. In 1827 the Ohio canal, with its terminus at Cleveland, was put in success- ful operation. This improvement so enlarged the facilities of commerce as to inspire confi- dence and give assurance of the city's future prosperity. In 1830, at the taking of the United States census, it was found that the population had advanced to 1,075. It was in 1830 that a newspaper called the Cleveland Advertiser was established. In preparing to
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issue the first number the editor discovered that the "heading " was too long to fit the "form," and so, in order to adjust it, he dropped out the letter "a," in the first syllable of the word Cleaveland, and made it read "Cleveland." The publie at once accepted this change in orthography. In 1836 the village of Cleveland became an incorporated city with a population of nearly 6,000.
It is indeed somewhat marvellous that the city of Cleveland, from a sickly infancy and within less than a century, has grown to such gigantic proportions as to possess a population of three hundred thousand, with an area so enlarged as to contain twenty-six square miles. Its present rate of growth in population renders it impossible for any one, however much of a prophet he may be, to predict what will be the aggregate of its population a hundred years hence. It is said that when General Cleave- , land founded the city he predicted the time would come when it would contain a popula- tion as large as that of old Windham, in Con- neeticut, which at that time was . about 1,500. If the General could now see "what has come to pass," it would be interesting, if not amus- ing, to witness his expression of surprise.
. Whatever else may be said of General Cleave- land, it is evident that he led not only an
THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY
honorable life, but achieved a great work. He was a man of few words and of prompt action. His morality was an outgrowth of Puritanism and as rigid as it was pure. He was manly and dignified in his bearing, and so sedate in his looks that strangers often took him for a clergyman. In complexion he was somewhat swarthy, so much so that the Indians claimed him as akin to their own race. In personal appearance he was of medium height, ereet, thick set, and portly, had black hair, a quick, penetrating eye, muscular limbs, and a mili- tary air in his step, indicating that he was born to command. In the social circle he was pleasant and agreeable both in his style of manners and conversation. He was one of the few who have many friends and no enemies. Though sedate in appearance, he loved anec- dotes, and indulged in humor. If not a poet, he could construct rhymes with a point not less timely than felicitous.
This trait in his character was wittily illus_ trated at the Conneaut dinner, on the 4th of July, while presiding at the table on that memorable occasion. The guests had imbibed with a liberality that was somewhat alarming. Joshua Stow, the commissary and boatman, remarked in the presence of the guests, that he feared the indispensable article of whiskey
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would be exhausted before a new supply could be obtained, and proceeded without further remark to replenish the cask with several gallons of water. All saw him, and knew why he did it. At this juncture General Cleave- land was called on for a sentiment. He filled his glass with the watered whiskey, arose with a twinkle in his eye, and, looking at "Joshua," responded as follows: -
" Christ, the Divine, turned water into wine; Joshua, the boater, turned wine into water."
and then resumed his seat. The effect was electric, and produced a storm of applause.
This incident sufficiently attests his versa- tility of talent. Occur what might, he was never disconcerted, but always equal to the emergency. In all matters of grave import he was not only cautious, but judicious. In giv- ing an opinion, he was decisive and ready to assign a logical reason for it. He was also a man of true courage amid threatening dangers, and as shrewd in his tactics and management as he was courageous. In a word, his career was not only one of manly effort and high aspi- ration, but a mission that transformed a wilder- ness into a civilized land.
In the midst of his usefulness, and crowned with honors, he died at Canterbury, his native
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village, November 16, 1806, at the age of fifty- two years. He was the father of two sons and two daughters. His wife, who was an amiable and exemplary lady, passed into the better life before him. Three of his children survived him. All of them led lives worthy of their distinguished ancestry.
In the old cemetery at Canterbury may still be seen the grave of the founder of the beau- tiful city of Cleveland. The gravestone that marks the spot, though so overgrown with moss as to be hardly legible, bears the following inscription : --
Moses Cleabeland, Esq., Died November 16, 1806. Aged Fifty-two.
The lifework of General Moses Cleaveland will ever commend itself. In founding the city that bears his name, he seems to have been inspired with the gift of prophecy.
The city from her baptismal day has con- tinned to grow in strength, wealth, beauty, and population, until she has become not only the metropolis of the Western Reserve, but one of the most attractive cities in America.
The citizens of Cleveland, under the auspices of the- Early Settlers' Association, erected a monument in honor of the founder of the city
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on the Public Square, and commemorated the event, on the anniversary of the city's birth- day, July 22, 1888.
The ceremony of unveiling the statue and the presentation of the monument to the Mayor, and his acceptance of it in behalf of the city, attracted a large assemblage, who witnessed the exercises with manifest interest. The exercises closed with the following song, written for the occasion, and sung by a pro- fessional soloist in a style that was loudly applauded: -
OUR CITY'S BIRTHIDAT.
'Twas here, when Nature reigned supreme, That Moses Cleaveland trod the wild, And saw an infant in his dream, And with his name baptized the child.
An infant then, now grown a queen, Whose charms are mirrored in the wave
Of Erie's lake - the battle scene, Where victory crowned her hero brave.
On Erie's shore, from age to age, Our city still shall lift her spires,
And gem with stars her history's page, And kindle still her altar's fires.
And long may he, now gone from carth, Survive in bronze to view the land; And still proclaim our city's birth, With staff and compass in his hand.
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He was a man of heart and thought, And ever faithful as sincere, Who with high aims life's battle fought, And crowned with honor his career.
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