USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of the city of Cleveland: its settlement, rise and progress, 1796-1896 > Part 21
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Exactly when and where the first white resident of Brooklyn made his appearance, is not known. Most of the glimpses we have had of the forerunners of civiliza- tion upon the West Side, were caught down near the lake and about that part now known as Main and Detroit streets. There was, however, out near the present River- side Cemetery, a grassy slope running up from the Cuya- hoga River, which, even in late years, was known as " Granger's Hill." Here came, from Canada, one Gran- ger, who became a " squatter," but at what date is not certainly known. He was there when James Fish, in May, 1812, became the first permanent settler of the Brooklyn Township of the later days. The stay of the squatter, however, was not long, as he migrated, in 1815, to the Maumee country.
James Fish came from Groton, Connecticut, having 56 Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland," p. 475.
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purchased land of Messrs. Lord and Barber. He left home, in the summer of 1811, with his family stored away in a wagon drawn by oxen. He was accompanied by quite a company of pioneers, and spent forty-seven days upon the road. He passed the winter in Newburg; early in the spring of 1812, he crossed over to Brooklyn, erected a log-house at a cost of eighteen dollars, and in May took his family over and commenced house-keeping. In the same year came Moses and Ebenezer Fish, the last named serving as one of the militiamen guarding the In- dian murderer, whose execution in 1812 has been else- where recorded. In 1813, came Ozias Brainard, of Con- necticut, with his family; while in 1814, six families ar- rived as settlers within one week-those of Isaac Hinckley, Asa Brainard, Elijah Young, Stephen Brainard, Enos Brainard, and Warren Brainard, all of whom had been residents of Chatham, Middlesex County, Conn. They had all exchanged their farm lands at home for those placed upon the market in this section of the New West. Their journey and reception has been described thus- with what warrant of exact truth we are not prepared to say : " All set out on the same day. The train consisted of six wagons, drawn by ten horses and six oxen, and all journeyed together until Euclid was reached ( forty days after leaving Chatham ), where Isaac Hinckley and his family rested, leaving the others to push on to Brooklyn, whither he followed them within a week. It appears that the trustees of the township of Cleveland, to which the territory of Brooklyn then belonged, became alarmed at the avalanche of emigrants just described, and concluding that they were a band of paupers, for whose support the township would be taxed, started a constable across the river to warn the invaders out of town. Alonzo Carter, a resident of Cleveland, heard of the move, and stopped it by endorsing the good standing of the new-comers,-ad- ding that the alleged paupers were worth more than all the trustees of Cleveland combined. "57
57 " History of Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, p. 417.
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Richard and Samuel Lord, and Josiah Barber, of the firm of Lord & Barber, above referred to, removed, as early as 1818, to that part of Brooklyn which is now the west side of Cleveland. Brooklyn Township was organ- ized on June Ist, 1818, and originally embraced "all that part of Cleveland situated on the west side of the Cuya- hoga River, excepting a farm owned by Alfred Kelley." Major Lorenzo Carter and his son, Alonzo Carter, pur- chased lands on the west side soon after the survey, the son occupying the same and keeping tavern in the Red House, as it was called, opposite Superior lane.
The first real boom in land speculation, upon that side, began in 1831, when an organization, known as the Buf- falo Company, bought a large tract in that section, laid it out into streets and lots, and began to push various im- provements forward at a rapid rate-with what degree of eventual success we shall discover some years later.
Among the events of 1832, was the organization of a church in Newburg, which was Congregational in form, although attached to the Cleveland Presbytery. It came into existence at the residence of Noah Graves, under the direction of Rev. David Peet, of Euclid, assisted by . Rev. Harvey Lyon. A temporary place of worship was fitted up in a carpenter's shop, and services were held occasionally under the leadership of Rev. Simeon Wood- ruff, of Strongsville. This organization became known in later days as the South Presbyterian Church. Timothy P. Spencer, afterwards a well-known citizen, one of the founders of the " Cleveland Advertiser," and later post- master of Cleveland, became a resident of the village in 1832. At a meeting of the trustees in June, the purchase of a hearse, harness, and bier, was ordered; Dr. David Long and O. B. Skinner being appointed to make the purchase.
An approaching plague, of a severe nature, foreshad- owed the early and perhaps frequent use of these trap- pings of death. The cholera season, of 1832, is still remembered by the older settlers of Cleveland and vicin-
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ity, more from the apprehension and dread that it caused than from its actual ravages in this neighborhood.
The researches of medical science, at that early day, had not robbed this eastern plague of its terrors, so, when the alarm was sent through the west that death in its worst form of wholesale slaughter was approaching, the people of Cleveland, like their neighbors, were panic- stricken, and ready to resort to any measures for protection.
Toward the end of May, an emigrant ship landed at Quebec with a load of passengers, and the cholera aboard. It spread over that city with great virulence; moved up the St. Lawrence River; attacked Montreal, where its effects were fatal in most cases. A feeling of panic spread rapidly through all the lake region, as it was known that the march of the scourge, in that direction, would be cer- tain and rapid.
The authorities of the village on the Cuyahoga acted with humane promptness. In the record book of 1832, under date of June 24th, occurs this entry: " At a meet- ing of the board of trustees of the Village of Cleveland, on the 24th of June, 1832, present J. W. Allen, D. Long, P. May, and S. Pease, convened for the appointment of a Board of Health, in pursuance of a resolution of a meeting of the citizens of the village on the 23d instant, the fol- lowing gentlemen were appointed: Dr. Cowles, Dr. Mills, Dr. St. John, S. Belden, Ch. Denison."
John W. Allen was then president of the corporation. With wise energy, he set out to protect the citizens, and at the same time care for the helpless sick who should seek shelter in Cleveland harbor. In a communication to this new Board of Health, he said: " At a public meet- ing of the citizens of this village yesterday to adopt meas- ures in relation to the anticipated arrival of the Indian cholera within our limits, it was determined that a com- mittee of five persons be appointed, whose duty should be to inspect any vessels arriving here from Lake Ontario, or any port on the lake where the cholera does or may exist; to examine all cases that may be suspicious in
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their character, either on the river or in the village; to examine into the existence of, and cause to be removed, all nuisances that may have a tendency to generate or propagate the disease. . And, also, that they erect or procure a suitable building for the reception of stran- gers, or others, who may be attacked, or who have not the proper accommodation of their own." An ordinance was also passed relating to the inspection of vessels, or the placing of them in quarantine. At a later date, Dr. S. J. Weldon and Daniel Worley were added to the Board of Health. In July, all quarantine regulations were abandoned.
The story of that fated summer, in Cleveland, has been so graphically told by, perhaps, the chief actor therein ( John W. Allen ), that I will give his relation in full.
" The famous Black Hawk War" was then raging in the territory which is now called Wisconsin, and in adja- cent parts of Illinois clear through to the Mississippi River. The Indians were all on the war-path. The gar- rison, at what is now Chicago, had been massacred, and every white man, woman, and child they could hunt out, murdered. With a horrible pestilence threatened in the east and at home, too, and a war of extermination in progress in the west, it may well be inferred the popular mind was in a high state of excitement. About June, General Scott was ordered to gather all the troops he could find in the eastern forts at Buffalo, and start them off in a steamboat in all haste for Chicago. He embarked with a full load on board the ' Henry Clay,' Captain Nor- ton commanding, a most discreet and competent man and officer. Incipient indications of cholera soon appeared, and some died, and by the time the boat arrived at Fort Gratiot, at the foot of Lake Huron, it became apparent that the effort to reach Chicago by water would prove abortive. General Scott, therefore, landed his men, and prepared to make the march through the wilderness, three hundred miles or more to Chicago, and sent the
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' Clay' back to Buffalo. Captain Norton started down the river, having on board a number of sick soldiers. A11 were worn out with labor and anxiety. They hoped, at Detroit, to get food, medicines, and small stores, but when they got there every dock was covered with armed men and cannon, and they were ordered to move on with- out a moment's delay, even in the middle of the river, and did so, heading for Buffalo. Before the ' Clay' got off Cleveland, half a dozen men had died and were thrown overboard, and others were sick. All believed there would not be men enough left to work the vessel into Buffalo, and Captain Norton steamed for Cleveland, as his only alternative. Early in the morning of the 10th of June, we found the ' Clay' lying fast to the west bank of the river, with a flag of distress flying, and we knew the hour of trial had come upon us, thus unheralded. The trustees met immediately, and it was determined at once that everything should be done to aid the sufferers, and protect our citizens so far as in us lay. I was deputed to visit Captain Norton and find what he most needed, and how it could be done. A short conversation was held with him across the river, and plans suggested for reliev- ing them. The result was that the men were removed to comfortable barracks on the West Side and needed appli- ances and physicians were furnished. Captain Norton came ashore and went into retirement, with a friend, for a day or two, and the 'Clay' was thoroughly fumigated, and in three or four days, she left for Buffalo. Some of the men having died here, they were buried, on a bluff point, on the West Side. But, in the interim, the disease showed itself among our citizens in various localities, among those who had not been exposed at all from prox- imity to the boat, or to those of us who had been most connected with the work that had been done. The faces of men were blanched, and they spoke with bated breath, and all got away from here who could. How many per- sons were attacked is unknown now, but in the course of a fortnight the disease became less virulent and ended
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within a month, about fifty having died. About the middle of October following, a cold rain-storm occurred, and weeks, perhaps months, after the last case had ceased of the previous visitation, fourteen men were seized with cholera and all died within three days. No explanation could be given as to the origin, no others being affected, and that was the last appearance of it for two years. In 1834, we had another visitation, and some deaths occurred, but the people were not so much scared."
To the above graphic description of a trying time, may be added the statement of another prominent Clevelander, made to the writer in person some years ago. This was Captain Lewis Dibble,59 who simply tells a story in which he had a personal part. "I was here in the two cholera scares," said he. "We had heard a great deal of it, and some marvelous tales were told of men walking along the .streets and falling dead, with others of the same char- acter. It was in 1832. I was on the schooner 'America,' and Mr. May asked me whether I would lay up or go on to Buffalo, where the disease was then raging. I replied that I would probably have to face it one place or another, and that it might as well be Buffalo as here. We accord- ingly went down. We saw a great many hearses going to and fro, and I must confess that things did not look pleasant. When we came back (to Cleveland), we found a guard on the dock, as the people were determined that no ships with cholera on board should stop here. The wind was well in the northeast, and we came in at a good pace. The sentry, a man named Marshall, caught sight of us, and when he saw me he sung out 'Any sick?' I answered that we had none, and he said it was all right. . When the 'Henry Clay' came in here on her way back from carrying troops up to the Black Hawk War, she had a number of cases on board. There was great excitement, and many declared she should not re- main, some wishing to go down and burn her. I remem-
59" Personal Statement," by Captain Lewis Dibble .- "Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 7, p. 56.
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ber her captain came up town in disguise, and stopped for a time at the tavern kept by Mr. Abbey. I entered the place once and saw him, but before I spoke to him, he gave me a look that explained the situation and led me to hold my peace. On one occasion water was wanted at the cholera hospital on Whisky Island, and no one could be got to take it there. My vessel was at the foot of Su- perior street. We took two casks to a spring near Supe- rior street, filled them, and then rowed them down the river to the point of destination. Word came in from Doan's Corners that Job Doan, the father of W. H. Doan, was down with it and needed help. A man named Thomas Coolihan and I agreed to go out and see him. We got a buggy and went to the Franklin House, where we waited a long time before a couple of doctors whom we expected came in. They then mounted another buggy and we drove out, the hour being quite late. We all four went in. The doctors looked at him, shook their heads, and going out returned to the city. He was in great agony. When we, the other two, went up to the bed, he took our hands, and by his look showed that he was in great pain. Captain Stark and a man named Dave Little stood over him, rubbing him all the time. It was no use. We re- mained about an hour and then returned to the city. An hour after we left, he died."
The subject of a water supply, and of increased fire pro- tection, both came before the Cleveland public for dis- cussion, if not for very definite action, in the year 1833. In June, an act was passed by the Legislature incorpo- rating the Cleveland Water Company, with Philo Scoville and others as incorporators. They were granted the privi- lege of furnishing water to the Village of Cleveland, but it does not appear that anything was done for the accom- plishment of that laudable purpose. In March, 1850, this act was so amended as to extend their privileges; the company was organized, and some stock subscribed, but again nothing came of it; and it was some years before such active steps were taken that the founda-
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tion of the great system of to-day was successfully laid.
The purchase of Cleveland's first fire-engine, and the criticism of that action upon-part of the village authorities, have been related in detail elsewhere. In 1833, a volun- teer fire-company, Live Oak No. I, as it was called, came into existence, although there was no regular organiza- tion. The foreman was Captain McCurdy. Out of this, there grew, in 1834, a regularly organized company, called Eagle No. 1, of which McCurdy was also foreman. The organization of a regular department soon followed, and Neptune No. 2, Phoenix No. 4, Forest City Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, and Hope Hose Company No. I, were the component parts thereof ; there was a No. 3, but it was composed of boys, and had no official recognition. In April, 1836, Cataract No. 5 was added. The first chief of the department was Samuel Cook, with Sylvester Pease as first assistant, and Erastus Smith as second as- sistant. The succeeding chiefs of the old volunteer department were as follows:
Sept. 29, 1837, H. L. Noble, chief; Erastus Smith and Jonathan Williams, assistants. June 14, 1838, T. Lemmon made chief. April 3, 1839, T. Lemmon resigned, and John R. St. John succeeded. June 29, 1840, J. R. Weatherly, chief; A. S. Sanford and N. Haywood, assistants. June 19, 1841, J. R. Weatherly continued, with Thomas Well and C. W. Hurd, assistants. June 13, 1842, M. M. Spang- ler, chief ; John Outhwaite and Zachariah Eddy, assistants. June 7, 1843, John Outhwaite, chief; Jacob Mitchell and W. R. Virgil, assistants. June 26, 1844, M. M. Spangler, chief; C. W. Hurd and Zachariah Eddy, assistants. June 2, 1845, A. S. Sanford, chief; W. E. Lawrence and James Barnett, assistants. June 2, 1846, John Gill, chief; Joseph Proudfoot and James Bennett, assistants. June 19, 1847, M. M. Spangler, chief; S. S. Lyons and C. M. Reed, as- sistants. June 5, 1848, S. S. Lyon, chief ; W. E. Lawrence and George Cross, assistants. June 22, 1849, James Ben- nett, chief ; William Sabin and John R. Radcliff, assistants. June 4, 1850, M. M. Spangler, chief ; T. C. Floyd and John
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Kilby, assistants. June 3, 1851, M. M. Spangler, chief; T. C. Floyd and William Delany, assistants. June 15, 1852, Jabez W. Fitch, chief; William Delany and John Bennett, assistants.
The City Council, in 1853, refused to set a time for the election of a chief, and for some subsequent time they were chosen directly by the people. General J. W. Fitch was followed by William Cowen, who, in turn, gave way to James Hill, who held the office until the breaking out of the war, when he was succeeded by Edward Hart. The latter was re-elected in 1862, but the law was once more changed, and the City Council elected James Craw. Mr. Hill was again made chief on his return from the war. It would, of course, be impossible to give all the changes that oc- curred in the make-up and leadership of the various com- panies in this long series of years, but we may glance at the constitution of the department in 1850, as follows: Eagle No. I; Forest City No. 2; Saratoga No. 3; Phoenix No. 4; Cataract No. 5; Red Jacket No. 6; For- est City Hook and Ladder No. JABEZ W. FITCH. I. Neptune No. 7 was organ- ized in 1853, and Hope No. 8 in 1852. When Ohio City was annexed, Washington No. I and Forest No. 2, already organized upon that side of the river, became respectively Nos. 9 and 10 of the Cleveland department. Alert Hose Company was organized in 1857, and Protection Hose Company in 1858. It is said that upon the breaking out of the war in 1861, fully two-thirds of the active mem- bers of the department answered the country's call for volunteers, which is a significant illustration of the char- acter of the men of which that old department of unpaid firemen was composed.
The reorganization of the department came in 1863, as
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will be shown when the events of that year are under con- sideration. It would not be just, however, to dismiss the old volunteer service without some recognition of its services, and the public-spirited efforts and personal bravery of those having its fortunes in charge. One citi- zen, who was acquainted with the whole subject through personal contact and personal knowledge, has borne such minute, expert testimony upon that point, that I cannot forbear reproducing it quite fully: "It was simply," says George F. Marshall,60 "a concentrated man power, with willing hands and without horses or steam. It com- prised a goodly share of the young blood of the city-young men with more muscle than money-men strong of arm and fleet of foot-men who had no other purpose in 'running with the machine ' than a desire to do something worthy their manhood. Of those who did not belong to that volun- teer band were Joel Scranton, Philo Scoville, Benjamin Harrington, Nathan Perry, Peter M. Weddell, George Kirk, Moses White, Erastus Gaylord, Dr. Long, Levi Sartwell, Daniel Worley, Melancton Barnett and many more like them, whose hearts were in the work, but were not fleet of foot enough to keep out of the way of the engine. Many young men who had not a farthing in combustible matter at stake, except what covered their backs or was at the washerwoman's, were the most active men in the department. They could work with the same vigor to save the poor man's cottage from the flames as the rich man's palace ; while on parade and drill days they would march with a more stately tread, and run with greater speed, if they but knew their' sweetheart was among the spectators. This young city was miserably poor in those early days, and she was small as well, while there were scattered here and there a pretty good lot of combustible dwellings and places of business which needed the super- vising care of a well-drilled fire department. The ' ma- chines' were well enough for those times, but they were
60 " The early Fire Department of Cleveland," by George F. Marshall .- " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," No. 9, p. 245.
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heavy to handle, while the streets, during one-third of the year, were nearly impassable, and the common council forbade the running of fire-engines on the sidewalks. The entire compensation to individual volunteers was rated according to the roll-call of the companies, who ap- peared at the six-monthly drills and parades each year- one dollar each, while the city orders were at a discount and protested for non-payment. The real service was performed for the honor and glory of the enterprise, as well as the fun to be had between times of hard work."
We are further told that at the tap of the old Baptist Church bell, repeated in quick succession, the town would become alive with hurrying people, whether it were day or night. Among those most certain to respond to this call to duty were such sturdy and active men as Milo Hickox, J. L. Weatherly, J. W. Fitch, James A. Craw, E. C. Rouse, John E. Carey, Elijah Sanford, Jefferson Thomas, B. W. Dockstader, John Proudfoot, John Gill, B. L. Spangler, Jacob Lowman, C. W. Heard, Nelson Hayward, Samuel Mason, and many others. The facili- ties for obtaining water were not good, and limited " to four or five cisterns, located at street corners, the Ohio Canal, the river; and although there was a vast lake on one side of the city, the waters were never utilized for the purposes of the department. The cisterns or reservoirs were often out of repair and out of water, while some of the engines in trying for water from them were com- pelled to act like some of our modern political newspa- pers-they would throw nothing but mud."
It was, also, in 1833, that yet another of the powerful church organizations of the Cleveland of to-day came into existence. On the 16th of February, of that year, the First Baptist Church of Cleveland was organized, under the pastoral care of Rev. Richmond Taggart. The ser- mon was delivered by Rev. Moses Wares, of Columbia, and the charge to the church by Rev. T. B. Stephenson, of Euclid. The newly-created society came into the fellow- ship of the Rocky River Baptist Association on Septem-
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ber 28th, 1833. The first meetings were held in either that universally useful place of gathering, the old Acad- emy on St. Clair street, or the Court-House, until the erec- tion of their own place of worship on the corner of Seneca and Champlain streets. This was a brick struct- ure, the foundations of which were laid in 1834, the dedi- cation occurring on February 25th, 1836. The church cost thirteen thousand dollars, and was, at that time, considered one of the largest and most attractive in that section of the west. The society gained steadily in strength and usefulness; and in 1855 purchased of the Plymouth Congrega- tional Church a brick church building, on the corner of Euclid ave- nue and Erie street, where services were FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 1836. first held on April 8th.
The Hon. John A. Foot, who passed a long and useful life in this city, was among the arrivals of 1833. He was a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and the son of Samuel A. Foot, governor of that State, who, as a mem- ber of the United States Senate, introduced that his- toric resolution in reference to the public lands, which called forth the memorable Webster-Hayne debate. Mr. Foot was a graduate of Yale, and upon his arrival in Cleveland formed a law partnership with Sherlock J. An- drews, which continued until the latter was elected to the bench. In 1837, Mr. Foot was elected to the State Legisla- ture by the Whigs, and afterwards served as a member of the City Council, and was president of that body. He was elected to the State Senate in 1853. In his later years, he
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