USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 1) > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
We have mentioned the first newspapers. From the early files we find much interesting data. The files of a well conducted newspaper contain a living breathing history. From a copy of the Herald of 1819 we learn that Ephraim Hubbell was putting up carding machines at the mills in Newburgh, that he would soon do carding and that his charge would be 61/4 cents per pound, that Dr. David Long was selling salt, plaster, iron, buffalo robes and many other staple articles, that E. Childs was selling fanning mills, and John Morgan making wagons, and that H. Foote was keeping a book store. One issue told the readers there was no news from Columbus as no mail had arrived since the last week's issue. Among the arrivals in Cleveland the next year were Mr. Weddell and Michael Spangler, one engaging in mercantile pursuits and the other starting the first restaurant in the town. The term restaurant was not used then and the hotel came later. Spangler kept The Commercial Coffee House where meals were served and Mr. Weddell after succeeding in business built the Weddell House on Superior Street, for years the finest hotel in Cleveland. During the time of Cleveland, the village, the religious advantages were few. Trinity Episcopal Church was organized in 1816, but with only occa- sional services by a minister. In 1820 a few residents engaged Rev. Ran- dolph Stone, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Ashtabula, to give one- third of his time to Cleveland and the First Presbyterian Church was organized with fourteen members.
By the following year the village was emerging from the pioneer stage for wolves had entirely disappeared. Hunters were still getting deer and it was the hunting of big game that called out the men and dogs with no game laws to interfere. It was a common sight to see a deer pressed by the dogs to swim out into the lake for a mile or more and then turn again to the shore and seek a safe landing place. Business rivalry was keen and in 1822 a merchant in the village advertised that all goods mentioned could be found in his little white store notwithstanding the insinuations put forth from the big brick store. This year the first bridge was built across the Cuyahoga. It was built by contributions and not by a tax. Some gave money, some wheat or rye, some lumber, some whiskey and many labor. In this year also a brick school building was put up and a school opened for higher education. It was called the Cleveland Academy and two years later Levi Johnson built the first steamboat. It was called the "Enterprise" and was a steamer of 220 tons, the most pretentious vessel yet built in Cleveland. There was a small cluster of houses on the west side called Brooklyn, but Josiah Barber and the thrifty pioneers over there were yet to become rivals of the city surveyed under the direction of Moses Cleveland. The dream city of his founding was yet a village but it looked out to the lake and dreamed of a harbor where boats laden with commerce should ride and it was not an idle dream. At this time a bar at the mouth of the river prevented large vessels from entering the river and even small ones had difficulty. Like the business rivalry between the little white store
Vol. I-11
324
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
and the big brick store in local affairs there was a rivalry between the ports along the lake. In 1825 the Sandusky Clarion indulged in ridicule of the Cleveland harbor. It said that yawls, which unloaded vessels at Cleveland stuck in the bar at the mouth of the river. The Cleveland Herald replied that canoes entering Sandusky Bay ran afoul of catfish and were detained until shaken off by ague fits of the crew. Attention was now turning more particularly to the matter of internal waterways and accompanying cheap and adequate transportation. July 4th of the year 1825, when Cleveland had a population of five hundred souls, ground was broken for the Ohio Canal, which was to traverse the state from the mouth of the Cuyahoga to the Ohio River. This was the turning point in the history of Cleveland. Twenty-five years, a quarter of a century, had elapsed since the city had been laid out and yet it was a small village. The opening of work on the canal brought an army of workers. Cleveland became in a short time a boom town and its growth was constant and rapid. In 1831 its popula- tion was 1,100, the next year 1,500, the next 1,900, the next 3,323 and in 1835, the last year of its existence as a village it had a population of 4,250. The boom was apparent on both sides of the river, Brooklyn across the river that had only 200 people in 1825, under the impetus given to it by the building of the Ohio Canal, gained in a corresponding ratio and became a rival of Cleveland, and as we have stated in a former chapter beat out Cleveland a short time in forming a city government. In this year John W. Allen came to Cleveland and was later president of the village. There is an overlapping of authority between the township and the village and the city as the township continued with full civic authority until 1850, when the aldermen of the city became trustees ex-officio of the township, the city clerk in the same way clerk of the township and the city treasurer, treasurer of the township.
The trustees of the township have been Amos Spafford, Timothy Doan, William W. Williams, James Kingsbury, Lorenzo Carter, David Dille, Augustus Gilbert, James Hamilton, Nathaniel Doan, Philemon Baldwin, Harvey Murray, Rudolphus Edwards, Theodore Miles, Daniel Warren, Samuel Williamson, George Aiken, Horace Perry, Asa Brainard, Job Doan, Isaac Hinckley, Daniel Kelley, O. Brainard, Jr., Phineas Shepherd, Seth C. Baldwin, Ahimacz Sherwin, Eleazer Waterman, James Strong, Leonard Case, Andrew Logan, Moses Jewett, Wildman White, Peter M. Weddell, Henry L. Noble, Philo Scovill, D. H. Beardsley, Andrew Cozad, Robert Cather, Rufus Dunham, Charles L. Camp, Ansel Young, Gordon Fitch, Sylvester Pease, John Barr, Silas Baldwin, H. H. Dodge, John A. Vincent, T. H. Watkins, Timothy Ingraham, Benjamin Crawford, Abijah Wheeler, George Witherell, Benjamin Rouse, Horatio Ranney, R. T. Lyon, M. M. Spangler, William T. Goodwin, Benjamin S. Decker, John Pritchard, John M. Bailey, and B. M. Spangler.
The clerks have been Nathaniel Doan, Stanley Griswold, Erastus Miles, Asa W. Walworth, Horace Perry, Daniel Kelley, Hershel Foote, S. J. Hamlin, Dudley Baldwin, Edward Baldwin, George C. Dodge, S. S. Flint, Henry Sexton, Loren Prentiss, Jesse P. Bishop, Charles L. Fish, Ellery G. Williams, George W. Lynch, D. W. Cross. As indicating the character of the men who have served the township and their standing in the community it may be noted that Stanley Griswold, the second town- ship clerk, was elected and took office immediately after serving as United States senator. Edward Tiffin resigned as senator and Stanley Griswold was appointed by Governor Huntington to fill the interim until the Legis- lature should meet to elect his successor.
The treasurers of the township have been Timothy Doan, James Kings- bury, Lorenzo Carter, Nathaniel Doan, Stanley Griswold, George Wallace,
325
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
Horace Perry, David Long, Asahel W. Walworth, Irad Kelley, Timothy Watkins, Hershel Foote, Daniel Kelley, Peter M. Weddell, Ahimaz Sher- win, Jr., Daniel Worley, Nicholas Dockstader, James H. Kelley, George B. Tibbits, Henry G. Abbey, William T. Goodwin, George F. Marshall, D. W. Cross, and S. S. Lyon. The office of justice of the peace for Cleveland Township continued for many years after the city officers assumed by vir- tue of their position the duties of other township officers. The list there- fore is very large. Among those who served as justices of the peace for the first seventy-five years of the township's existence are : Amos Spafford, Timothy Doan, Nathaniel Doan, Theodore Niles, Samuel S. Baldwin, William Coleman, James Kingsbury, Erastus Miles, George Wallace, Horace Perry, Samuel Williamson, Cyril Aikens, Job Doan, Samuel Cowles, Eleazer Waterman, Asahel W. Walworth, Harvey Rice, Gordon Fitch, Orvill B. Skinner, Varnum J. Card, Andrew Cozad, George Hoad- ley, Samuel Underhill, A. D. Smith, Isaac F. Benedict, John Day, John Gardner, J. Barr, Isaac Sherman, Edward Hessenmueller, Charles L. Fish, M. Barnett, James D. Cleveland, George W. Lund, J. T. Philpot, Almon Burgess, H. H. Holden, Isaac C. Vail, George H. Benham, Henry Chapman, John R. Fitzgerald, Madison Miller, Wells Porter, Samuel Foljambe, Julius H. Brown, Joseph S. Allen, Horace N. Bill, Perry W. Payne, John P. Green, H. P. Bates, E. A. Goddard, Charles H. Babcock, Albert H. Weed, Felix Nicola, A. J. Hamilton, Truman D. Peck, W. K. Smith and H. P. Bates.
There were ten presidents of the Village of Cleveland before the city government was established, that is from 1815 to 1836. Their names in the order in which they served are Alfred Kelley, Daniel Kelley, Horace Perry, Leonard Case, E. Waterman, Samuel Cowles, D. Long, Richard Hilliard, John W. Allen, and Samuel Starkweather.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE COUNTY AND ITS GOVERNMENT
Having traced the townships and villages and cities up to the time when Cleveland came upon the scene as a city and the county seat, it seems appropriate here to address our attention to the county, which includes all and has at the same time an authority quite distinct from the rest. As we have said the authority of the county is much greater in Ohio than in New England, where the unit of government is the township or town, as it is more often called. It is one of the interesting features of the complex government founded by the fathers, where the people should rule, to note how it functions so smoothly like the cylinders of the auto- mobile, each seemingly independent, yet all working in harmony. The objectors to the Constitution of the United States and to the constitutions of the states could cite many instances where the machinery might fail to work, but the wisdom of the founders of the first great republic has been practically demonstrated. An instance occurred in the administration of justice in this county in the early days, which we will relate. Some property had been levied upon by a writ issued by a justice of the peace of a township and was held in the possession of a constable. Along came the sheriff of the county with a writ and the property was turned over to him without any question as to his right of possession. Then came the United States marshal with a writ from the United States court and the sheriff in turn gave possession without hesitation and all claims were finally adjusted in equity and without the slightest flurry or embarrass- ment.
In discussing the county entire it seems the proper time to add to the very early history already touched upon in the chapters on the various townships. We have given an account of the destruction of the Eries, who were the first inhabitants of which we have any knowledge. After the Eries were destroyed this county became the domain of the powerful Iroquois. Their western boundary was the Cuyahoga River. None dare dispute their sway. Their real center of authority was, however, in central New York. This region was only their hunting ground. Following the destruction of the Eries they were at the height of their power, no nation or league of nations could cope with them. They had among them no Massasoit to establish friendly relations with the whites. The feeble settlements of the white men courted their friendship and feared their enmity. They claimed no further west than the Cuyahoga River. That part of Cuyahoga County west of the river was not permanently occupied by any tribe, but was claimed by another confederation less powerful than the Iroquois composed of the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawattomies. The Shawnees, whose seat of government was in Indiana, often hunted along the shores of Lake Erie. As a matter of fact, the Indian claims were a sort of "squatter sovereignty" not clearly defined by boundary lines and varied according to the power or caprice of the various tribes.
The Iroquois had an old grudge against the French, but the French more than any other people were skillful in managing the savages. They were attempting to secure trade and a final conquest of the continent, but
326
327
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
they came largely as traders and not as settlers. Their method was to establish trading posts about large tracts, which they claimed in the name of their king, and then turn over the task of civilizing the Indians to their missionaries. The first white men to come into Cuyahoga County were the French as traders and missionaries. An anonymous writer, but one whose account seems to bear evidences of accurate information, says that La Salle came to the south shore of Lake Erie in 1669. La Salle's map, published in 1672, called the body of water north of Cuyahoga County "Lake Tejocharonting, commonly called Lake Erie." It is known that as early as 1679 Lake Erie was explored by a European vessel. This expedition was under the command of La Salle, whose full name was Robert Cavelier de la Salle. He was a Frenchman thirty-five years old, a "bold, gallant and successful explorer." This inland exploration was
FIRST COURTHOUSE
financed by the French government. La Salle was a native of Rouen and for thirteen years before coming to America had led a life of adven- ture. He was commissioned by Louis XIV to explore with a view to extending the western boundaries of New France, the region in North America including the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, claimed and partly settled by France. In the winter and spring of 1678 and '79 he built a vessel of sixty tons on the Niagara River above the falls. It was called the Griffin and was manned by thirty-four men. In August in 1678 it sailed up Lake Erie. La Salle is represented as a handsome, blue-eyed cavalier, with smooth cheeks and curly hair flowing in beautiful ringlets. He was more like a drawing room favorite than a daring, dare-devil, wildwood adventurer. From all accounts La Salle was the embodiment of both, and the dare-devils of history have often been of that make-up. His second in command was an Italian named Henry de Tontin, son of the inventor of the plan of insurance that takes his name. Tontin had served in the Sicilian wars in Italy and had been exiled from his native land by revolution. He had an unwavering contempt of danger and was devotedly loyal to his chief. A third famous voyager on the Griffin was the celebrated Father Hennepin, a Franciscan friar of Flemish birth, priest and historian of the expedition. This man came with sandaled
328
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
feet, a gray capote or cloak and a peaked hood. The cord of St. Francis was about his waist and a rosary and crucifix hung at his side. He had two attendants and they carried with them a light, portable altar, which could be strapped on the back like a knapsack or set up in the wilderness at a moment's notice. Father Hennepin displayed the same courage as the commanders and was filled with the most devoted zeal in his efforts to convert the savages to Christianity.
No one doubted at this time that France would have sway over this region undisputed by civilized man, for Charles II was at that time the mere vassal of Louis XIV. The Griffin sailed up through the lakes to Green Bay. There La Salle, Tontin and Father Hennepin remained, while the vessel, loaded with furs, returned, but it was never heard from more. Either Lake Michigan, Lake Huron or Lake Erie swallowed it up, crew, vessel and cargo. Much speculation as to its fate has been indulged in. Some have adopted the theory that it was driven upon the south shore of Lake Erie and the crew murdered by the vengeful Iroquois. Relics have been found near the mouth of the Rocky which it is claimed were from the lost Griffin. It is also asserted that La Salle and his companions, before making their historic journey down the Mississippi, returned from Fort Creve Cœur (Joliet, Illinois) to Canada for supplies, and having heard nothing from the Griffin, searched along the south shore of Lake Erie, crossing Cuyahoga County to ascertain, if possible, the fate of the lost vessel. The subsequent history of that daring adventurer as the field representative of the French government up to the time when he was murdered by one of his own men in Texas, is interesting, but not connected with our history. The French, however, were closely allied with the very early history here. The Englishman came and in the wars that followed between the French and English the Iroquois were generally on the side of the English, but the French had acquired the friendship of the Senecas and made many profitable voyages after furs in this region on Lake Erie, but their trading posts were on the west side of the Cuyahoga. By the Treaty of Utrecht following Queen Anne's War the Iroquois, or Six Nations, were acknowledged to be subjects of Great Britain, but no definite boundaries were assigned them, but as constituting the Iroquois country Great Britain claimed as far west as the Cuyahoga River. The French, by right of discovery and possession, claimed both shores of the Great Lakes and the whole of the Mississippi Valley. The Iroquois repudiated the pretentions of both countries, but while being jealous of the English because of the colonizing of certain sections, in the disturbances between the two nations sided with the English, while the western Indians allied themselves with the French. The French did not colonize, but were content to establish their fur trading posts and stations for their mission- aries. The English had done no colonizing in the far west, as this region was then designated. All this history, while a part of the general history of the United States, is pertinent here because of the peculiar situation of the territory to become Cuyahoga County. It is a significant fact in history that both nations did not hesitate to use the redman as allies in the wars for supremacy in the continent. The Indians were used by the British in the Revolutionary War against the Colonies, and that fact brought forth an eloquent protest from one of her great statesmen in the British Parlia- ment. According to the claims of the French, Ohio was considered a part of Louisiana and the whole territory was divided for administration into provinces, each in charge of a military commandant and all subject to the general commander of Louisiana. One subdivision included all the territory northwest of the Ohio River. These would-be rulers exercised very little authority outside of the walls of their fortresses.
329
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
Both the English and the French were intriguing with the various tribes of Indians. Each nation got grants of various kinds. The powerful Iroquois weakened under foreign diplomacy. The English got some sort of a grant from the Iroquois to combat the French claim to this territory. It provided that the English were to hold the land as far west as the Cuyahoga River forever in trust for the Indians. The Indians got diplo- matic and one faction of the same tribe would treat with the English and another with the French. And so this territory continued for many years, the only white men seen would be an occasional French trader or an extremely daring Englishman and now and then a gowned Jesuit, risking his life to spread the faith of his church among the savages. The war between France and England concluded by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748 did not change conditions here. After that treaty there was an Ohio Company organized in Virginia for the settlement of land west of the Alleghanies. They secured from the Virginia Colony a grant of very indefinite territory. Among other things it provided that if the owners could maintain themselves on the Ohio River and the shores of Lake Erie they were welcome to do so. It might be implied from this that they then would own the land between. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle soon became a scrap of paper, the contest between France and England for territory continued. In 1749 the French Governor General of Canada sent an envoy to visit important points and take possession in the name of the King of France. His method was to bury at certain places a leaden plate engraved with the coat of arms of France and at the same time make a curious record called a "proces verbal," being a declaration taken before a notary public to the effect that he did then and there take possession of the surrounding territory in the name and for the benefit of the King of France. The mouth of the Cuyahoga had long been considered an important geographical location, being on the western boundary of the Iroquois country, but if he buried a plate there it has long since been washed away by the encroachments of the lake and the "proces verbal" washed into the waters of oblivion. The new French Governor General of Canada, appointed in 1752, was even more aggressive in making claim to territory than the one mentioned and now the Indians became very much disturbed, asserting that England claimed a lot of their territory and the French the rest. In protest the tribes held a council near Pittsburgh and Patrick Henry speeches were indulged in. Notwithstanding this demon- stration under the direction of the Governor General aforesaid, French posts were established the next year at Presque Isle (Erie) and points south and the French laid claim to the territory west. Under this claim the territory of the Western Reserve would be French territory. At this time a French post was established on the Cuyahoga River. It is shown on the old maps five or six miles up the river from its mouth and on the west side. This was the first European establishment within the present limits of Cuyahoga County. All this procedure by the French had its effect. The English Colonies were much excited. A meeting of their representatives was held at Albany. Benjamin Franklin was a delegate from the Pennsylvania Colony. He proposed a plan of action, which was not adopted. The substance of his proposition was published in his paper afterwards. He proposed planting a fort at French Creek and another at the mouth of the Cuyahoga on the south side of Lake Erie, where a town should be erected for the trade of the lake. Thus it was Benjamin Franklin who first suggested the building of a town at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. His suggestion of course meant the driving away of the French. It meant war. And war came. In that year the famous defeat of Braddock occurred. The western Indians took part in that battle.
330
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
Braddock was directed to expel the French from their encroachments on English territory. Word was given out that he was on the march. The Indians friendly to the French were notified and they swarmed along the lake in canoes, many going up the Cuyahoga to the French post and then on by portage and stream to the scene of the battle, near Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). In the year following the English, aided by the Iroquois, defeated the French, aided by the western Indians, in many battles. In 1760 Canada surrendered to the British. Cuyahoga County now was Indian territory, but held in trust by the English. After the surrender of
Thịhihu
..
CENTENNIAL ARCH
Canada the English ruled, but permitted the Indians, to have nominal ownership.
The Iroquois did not apparently have exclusive rights east of the Cuyahoga, for there was an Ottawa village east of the river in Inde- pendence. After the English possession the great chief Pontiac arose to power, and he made war on the garrisons, besieged Detroit, and made himself generally troublesome. Aside from this the English were dis- turbed by the fact that there were many French posts flying the French flag in their territory. An English commander named Rodgers was sent out with a force to reduce the French posts and check the ravages of the hostile Pontiac and to establish English posts in place of the French. He is only connected with our history from the fact that he made a stop at Rocky River. His expedition was not very successful. The next year Sir William Johnson conducted an expedition, sailing on Lake Erie and stopping at the Cuyahoga. His purpose was to make friends with
331
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
the western Indians and attach them to the crown the same as the Iro- quois. It may be added that Sir William Johnson was commissioner of Indian affairs in the Colonies. The view off the shore of Cleveland and Cuyahoga at this time was rather barren, except for Indian canoes. Occa- sionally in 1762 an English vessel would sail up the lake carrying supplies to the various posts. The western Indians were still hostile. In 1763 an organized attack on all English posts was planned by Pontiac. Major Wilkins, proceeding up the lake to aid in the defense, was wrecked off Rocky River. Another under one Bradstreet was wrecked near the same place. He had a force of whites and Indians. Relics of these disasters have come to light on the shore years afterwards. Muskets, bayonets, guns and flints have been thrown up by the waves, some bearing evidence of these expeditions have been found as late as 1831.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.