USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > A twentieth century history of Trumbull County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 40
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ORIGINAL OWNERS AND NAME .- THE WOLCOTTS .- TAFTSVILLE .- MRS. JAMES STULL .- LEE FAMILY .- THE HYDES .- OTHER PIONEERS .- CHARLES A. DANA .- SCHOOLS .- FARMINGTON
ACADEMY .- SUBSCRIPTION LIST FOR PREACHER .- CHURCH SOCIETIES.
Range 5, township 6, which has occupied an important place in Trumbull County's history, from 1811 to 1817 was called Henshaw. Among the eleven owners of this township were Ebenezer King Jr., and John Leavitt Jr .; also, Samuel Hen- shaw. This property changed hands several times and finally most of it belonged to Solomon Bond. Samuel Henshaw was one of the original owners, and Luther Henshaw superintended and directed the survey of the township. Whether the name was given for both these men, or for only one, is not known. It is supposed that the name "Farmington" was given this township by E. P. Wolcott, who, before coming to Trumbull County, lived in Farmington, Connectient, the home of his wife, Clarissa. Some accounts credit Dennis Lewis of Bristol, Con- necticut, with naming the town. At any rate it was named for Farmington, Connecticut.
David Curtis and Captain Lewis Wolcott were the first settlers. They came in 1806. The first women to come were Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis, Mrs. Anna Ledyard Curtis, and Mrs. Elilm Moses. These women all left comfortable homes and took up the usual hard life of pioneer women. Very little has been preserved in regard to them or their early home life, but it was undoubtedly the same as that endured by the women of the other townships.
Lewis Wolcott, his descendants and connections made their impress upon the township. They had large families, they were good citizens, and the name is always connected with the town- ship. Wolcott and Curtis walked all the way from Connecticut,
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carrying their clothing and needed articles in a knapsack. Wolcott stopped in Vienna a year, working for Joel Humiston. When these two men arrived in Farmington, they did what the first arrivals did in all townships, chose a spot (where Mr. Kibbee's house so long stood in West Farmington), stuck some poles in the ground, put bark on the top and made themselves a house.
Josiah Wolcott, of Wethersfield, settled in the town of Bristol, Connecticut, in 1800. Solomon Bond, above referred to, set forth the glories of the New Connecticut in such a way as to persuade him to buy a thousand acres of land in the township of Farmington. In the winter of 1806-07, he, his brother Theodore, his son Horace, and his nephew Lewis, with Gad Hart, visited their new land, and constructed a log cabin, where they passed the winter. They suffered a good many hardships and encountered dangers. The straw with which they filled their bunks, they got in Mesopotamia, and the forest was so dense without paths of any kind running direct, that they followed the old Indian path towards Warren, from Mesopotamia, until they reached the Grand river, and then turned north reaching their home on the ice. Mr. Wolcott returned to New England in the summer. He had a most fatiguing journey. His horse died in Pennsylvania, and he had to walk the rest of the way. However, he succeeded in returning with his family to a cabin which Horace, his son, had erected during his absence. He took great pride in the fact that he had floors, a loft, doors, and other extravagant ( ?) things. However, when the women of the family, with the houses in their home town plain in their mind, arrived in the wilderness and saw this humble hnt, it was impossible not to show wet eyes. In 1808 Horace married Sabrina Tracy and had nine children, his wife dying in 1865 and he in 1873.
The Wolcott family was a mixed one. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott had been previously married. Each had three daugh- ters. Mrs. Wolcott's children were named Higgins. She was a rather unusual woman. Her father had been a sea-eaptain and he had brought her many beautiful presents from foreign countries, and she had received a practical education at his hand. These women, therefore, were ill prepared for the hard- ships awaiting in the wilderness. Mrs. Wolcott's first husband, Dr. Iliggins, was a surgeon in the Revolutionary war. From the " Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Reserve" we quote :
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" He was a courtly gentleman, resplendent in lace frills, jeweled knee bnekles, and powdered wig. Equally fine in stiff brocade, slippers and fan, was his wife Nancy. She brought with her to her home in the forests of the Reserve, Boston-made gowns and other wearing apparel which show her to have had dainty taste and a fine figure.
After her death these long unused gowns were divided among her danghters and are still in the hands of her descendants."
She died in 1824 and Mr. Wolcott married the third time. This wife was a Mrs. Brown, of Warren. Ile seems to have had a fondness for widows, and his family largely consisted of danghters. The last child, that of the third marriage. was named Naney, the name of his second wife.
Josiah Wolcott early recognized the fact that one of the most needed things in this new country was a mill. The nearest points where grain could be ground were Garrettsville and Bristol. lle made three attempts to buikl one before he was successful.
E. P. Wolcott, the son of Josiah, who spent most of his life in Farmington, held several positions of trust, and died in 1881.
Captain Erastus was the fourth son of Josiah and Lydia Wolcott. He was only eight years old when his father came to Farmington. He married Almira Hannahs, of a well known Nelson family. He was captain of the state militia in 1825. His wife died in 1865 and the following year he married Celestia Worrell, whose first husband was John Worrell. He died the following year.
Charlotte, a danghter of Josiah Wolcott, who married William Smith, was for years the only milliner in the township.
Theodore Wolcott became a permanent citizen of Farm- ington in 1814. His wife was Rhoda Goodrich; he had nine children. Hle lived to be seventy-three, his wife eighty-eight. His oldest son. Lewis, was well remembered by the business men of the present time. He was the father of O. L. Wolcott. and of Mrs. Florilla Wolcott Stull. O. L. Wolcott was born in 1823, married Martha F. Kibbee of the Kibbee family of the township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott have died within the last few years. Their children living are Ella H. (Mrs. Cham- berlain), Emma A. (Mrs. Millikin), Carrie F. (Mrs. Peters),
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Grace L. (Mrs. Smith), and Frank B. Mr. Wolcott served four years as county auditor, taking his seat in 1859; served two years as commissioner of railroads and telegraphs; became cashier of the Trumbull National Bank (now Western Re- serve) in 1884. He was greatly respected in his home town and took a proper place in the business life in Warren upon his removal to the county seat. No woman in Warren was better beloved, did more for philanthropy and church, than did Florilla Wolcott, the wife of John Stull. Her deeds are referred to in several places in the Warren history. She was an ideal wife and mother. Her husband, John M. Stull, although much more delicate of constitution than she was, sur- vived her many years. Their daughter, Minnie (Mrs. A. F. Harris), resides in the Stull homestead on Mahoning avenue, and has devoted a goodly part of her time the last few years to the maintaining of the Public Kindergarten. She has one son, Stull Harris.
Gad Hart moved his family to Henshaw in 1807 and lived in the cabin which the first settlers had constructed. It stood where the Wolcott store stood so many years.
In 1815 Orin Taft and Daniel settled on the State road, and after a few other families had congregated near them, the settlement became known as "Taftsville." From 1816 to 1820, the postoffice was there and Daniel Taft was the first post- master. The Tafts were influential people. The wife of Daniel was Mary Humphrey. She arrived in Youngstown with her people, in 1800. Her sister Kezia taught the first school (or one of the first) in Youngstown. Mrs. Henry Taft was Lamira Kirkham, sister of Samuel Kirkham, the author of "Kirkham's Grammar." Sarah J. Hart, one of the sisters of the well known Hart brothers, married a Taft and by this marriage two of the old families of Farmington were united. Mrs. Taft has been one of the most energetic women of Farm- ington. She was an officer in the Ohio Woman Suffrage Asso- ciation in the '80s, and has always been interested in temperance work.
Mrs. James Stull was from Glasgow, Scotland. Her maiden name was MeIllvee. Her daughter, Henrietta Stull, married Henry MeKinney, afterwards common pleas judge in Cleveland. and her son was John M. Stull, often referred to in other parts of this work. The sterling qualities of this staunch Scotch woman were shown in her son and her granddaughter. Judge
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MeKinney's mother lived in West Farmington, and his sister, Sally Ann, was the wife of Joel Tyler. Mrs. McKinney was one of the hardest workers in Farmington. It is recorded that she did her own work when they kept thirty cows, and spun two runs of yarn a day. Sadie MeKinney Haserrot is the grand- daughter of this Anna Holley MeKinney and of Katherine MeIllvee Stull.
Abijah Lee, unlike most of the early settlers of Farming- ton, came from New York. He traveled the whole five hundred miles in winter, bringing with him his mother-in-law, who was eighty-three years old, and eleven children. His oldest son was Roswell. The latter was the father of Angeline Warwood, one of Warren's most respected citizens, who now, at the age of eighty-five, resides in Warren. He was a very generous man and at one time when a neighbor, Mrs. McKay, lost her only cow, he gave her one of his own. Roswell married Sally Smith of Oppenheim. His brother Isaac was engaged to Sally's sister, Mary, and when Roswell went east for Sally, Isaac begged Mary to return with them. In those days as in this, a good many of the barbarie thoughts of marriage were still held by people, and most brides insisted that the bridegroom should at least come to fetch them, if they did not come to catch them. So, Mary hesitated a long time before she would consent to go to Isaac. However, the distance was so long that she con- chided to waive ceremony. The lover met the party at Rock Creek, where they had come in a sleigh, and the four were car- ried to Farmington by oxen and a sledge. They were married the next day.
Almira Lee, who married William Griffith, kept one of the most hospitable homes in Farmington. Here were held apple- bees, quilting bees, social meetings of old and young people, as well as prayer meeting.
The Lee family was such a large one that when it was joined with the Hydes, equally large, there were enough children to start a school.
Ira Hyde and his wife, Mary Parker, reached Farmington in 1818, having spent thirty-nine days on their journey. Mrs. Hyde was of Scotch descent and a woman of most optimistic temperament. With his brother Joel, Ira settled in East Farm- ington. Eunice Hall of Oppenheim, New York, was the wife of Joel. She came to Farmington in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen and a team of horses. The family of Joel Hyde, Ira
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
Hyde and Abijah Lee stopped at the house of Eden Wildman the first night in their new home. Wildman had sent some grain to the mill to be ground and as was very often the case. the grist was delayed. When, therefore, these visitors arrived, it was necessary to send four miles for corn meal for their suppers. However, both guests and hostess were happy to see each other. Sarah lyde married Comfort Hurd of Southing- ton and was the mother of several men who afterwards became influential citizens of that town. Of all of the Hyde daughters, Eliza was possibly the most prosperous. She early taught school, married Joel Peck, and settled in the Hyde-Lee neigh- borhood. She lived a long, active, useful life, and left a fine property which was the result of good business management on the part of herself as well as her husband.
One of the interesting figures in Farmington was Mary Housel, who was a famous singer, and one of the best spinners and weavers the township had. Her father helped to construct the capitol building at Washington.
In 1835 Ira B. Crane and his wife. Lucy Rawdon, came to Farmington to live. She was a daughter of Horace Rawdon, who kept Rawdon's Hotel in Warren. As a young woman she was exceedingly popular. Her Imsband was a shoemaker. She helped him bind shoes and often in the busy season worked way into the night with him.
Mr. and Mrs. John Benton were among the most substantial of Farmington's citizens. Mrs. Benton lived to be ninety-one years old, was active in the First Presbyterian church of Farm- ington, and was so good a knitter that she sold socks and stock- ings of her own make. She is remembered as the woman who "shot the bear."
We think of the pioneer women as always being at hard labor, but occasionally a woman, either from executive ability or inclination, managed to retain some of the ways of eastern society. Mrs. Amos P. Woodford, and her sister, Miss Wheeler, held Saturday afternoon receptions, about 1814, which the young women of the neighborhood attended. At these meetings they were taught the art of "polite conversation, how to appear in company" and how to do fine sewing and embroidery.
Among the early settlers of West Farmington were Joel and Eliza Peck. Their second child, Dr. Allen Peck, was a physician who studied in New York City and Cleveland, prac- ticing in Springfield, New Mexico and Omaha. He married
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Cordie A. Fuller, who was likewise a native of Farmington. Her father was major of militia and postmaster at Taftsburg. After Dr. Peek's marriage he resided for a time in Farmington. then in Cleveland, Akron, returning to Cleveland, where he died in 1878. He left two children, Frank J. and Cora M., who now reside in Cleveland, which is Mrs. Peck's home. The men of the Peek family were tall and very strong, and Mr. Frank Pock is like them physically. Mrs. Cordie Peck is a sister of Mrs. Allen Jones, formerly of Kinsman.
We have seen how the Wolcotts, the Hydes, the Lees, with their large families, were influential citizens in the first days of Farmington. Probably no family of the later times was better known than that of the Harts. The boys began their lives in Farmington, were educated there, most of them came to Warren and separated for different parts of the country. They were interested in politics and whatever county candidate had the Hart boys on his side was sure to make a good showing in the nominating convention, at least. The father was Joseph C. Hart; the mother, Rosanna Goff. Mr. Hart was from Con- neetient, Mrs. Hart, Massachusetts. They came to Ohio in 1840. They had thirteen children. Hiram S., who lived in Gustavus, and followed his trade as a blacksmith, now resides in Warren, with his son Clinton. He is eighty-four years okl. Frances married Mr. Fries. Sarah J. (Mrs. Taft) is elsewhere referred to. Ann Jeanette became Mrs. Maltby. John O. Hart, for many years a successful clothier in Warren, died about three years ago. He was president of the New National Bank. and a substantial citizen. He married Miss Caldwell, a sister of Oscar Caldwell. Arlington, who married Sadie Angstadt. and resided for a while in Warren, is dead. Albert M. died from exposure in a rebel prison during the war. Me- lanethon practiced law in Warren. Cleveland moved to Okla- homa and married Mary Camp, a sister of A. B. Camp. Ile died a few years since, and his widow residing in Guthrie, has managed his property very successfully. V. M. Hart ro- sides in Warren. His wife was Miss Clark of Mesopotamia. Their son, Ross, is proprietor of a shoe store. The mother of this family lived to be seventy three years old, and was an able woman, strong of mind and heart. She was devoted to her church, an energetic worker, and exceedingly charitable.
Each township in Trumbull County has one or more citizens
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who, from natural ability, environment or circumstances, has acquired more or less national fame. Charles A. Dana, who came to Farmington in 1833 from New Hampshire, stands in that position in Farmington. He was editor of the New York Sun for many years, when it stood at or near the head of the metropolitan press.
The oldest resident, at the present time, is James C. Ken- nedy, who came to Farmington in 1839 with his wife, Sarah Curry. They had eleven children, two of whom have made more than an ordinary place for themselves in the literary world: James H., who wrote "History of Cleveland" and who is now a newspaper man in New York; and Charles E., who made the Plain Dealer of Cleveland the most powerful newspaper of nor- thern Ohio, and who has, at this writing, become one of the pro- prietors of the Cleveland Leader.
The first marriage in Farmington was that of Lewis Wolcott and Nancy Higgins.
Anna Bruce, the wife of Asahel Belden, was the first and probably the last to construct an oven in Farmington. She grew tired of trying to bake in a kettle, and trying to have an oven made for her, so made it herself.
The first white people in East Farmington were Mr. and Mrs. Eden Wildman.
The first woman suffragist was Mrs. Samuel French. She was not only fearless as to principles, but on meeting a bear in the forest, saved her life by suddenly opening her umbrella and shonting at the same time.
Mrs. Selden Spencer was a self-educated woman and interested in the cause of woman suffrage. Her danghter, Mrs. R. K. Lewis, shared her mother's beliefs.
The first birth was that of Caroline Wolcott on September 12, 1808.
The first person to die in Farmington was Mary (com- monly called Polly) Wolcott. She was a daughter of Josiah Wolcott, and on her trip to the West, when she walked much of the way, she fell from a log while crossing a stream, into the water, contracted a cold, and later had tuberculosis. She died in 1808, and the spot which was cleared for the purpose of digging her grave is now used for the cemetery.
Mr. Stewart, of Vienna, established the first store in Farm- ington. It stood on the southeastern corner at the center.
In the spring of 1816 the first schoolhouse was erected
(Loaned by the Tribune. )
JAMES KENNEDY.
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in Farmington on the northeast corner of the center. Josiah Wolcott and Captain Benton ent the logs. Erastus Wolcott hanled the logs. Almira Hannahs was the first school teacher of Farmington. These two were later married and their de- seendants ought to feel proud of the part they played in the early education of the children of Farmington.
Very soon after the erection of this first schoolhouse a second one was put up where the business houses in West Farmington now stand.
Among the early teachers of this township were Amelia Belden; Sarah, Mary and Eliza Hyde; the daughters of Harriet Lee and Newton Wolcott; Sarah A. French; Sophia, Martha and Maria Hatch; Mary, Eliza and Loretta Lamberson. Rev. Daniel Miller was the first teacher in the academy. Other teachers were Mr. Chapin, Daniel Branch, M. D. Leggett, Caroline and Adeline Griffith, Adeline Miller, Julia Mckay and a Miss Wells. In 1831 this academy was established and was known as the Farmington Academy until 1849. James Greer was the first principal and so successful was he that there were sometimes nearly three hundred students under him. In 1849 so popular was this school that the old building was abandoned, money secured from liberal people in the county, and when the three-story building was completed, it was known as the "Farm- ington Normal School." In the beginning the Congregation- alists exercised anthority over the management, but in 1854 the trustees transferred this control to the Methodist church. In this contract it is stipulated that all sects and denominations shall have equal advantage. At this time the name was again changed. It became the "Western Reserve Seminary." In 1868 two dormitories were erected and here the students may board at club rates. This seminary has always had a good standing and many a Trumbull County boy has been educated and consequently made a name for himself, because of the existence of this institution. Senator Stewart, of Nevada, was educated here, as was General Asa W. Jones and John M. Stull. Junins Dana, who taught so successfully in the early Warren schools, was educated in this seminary.
In 1816 the settlers of Henshaw, together with those of Bristol, Mesopotamia, Parkman, and Bolestown, decided that there ought to be preaching in that neighborhood. They stated that this ought to be done for the sake of adult and the children, but it is most likely that they were thinking of the children,
Vol. 1-29
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since most pioneers were anxious about the education of their offspring. A subscription list for the purpose of paying the minister was circulated with the following results: Josiah Wolcott, $30; David Curtis, $8; William Wilson, $10; Gad Hart, $12; Zenas Custis Jr., $6; Lewis Wolcott, $7; Josiah Wolcott, $5; Gad Bartholomew, $10; Ezra Curtis, $5; John D. Heath- man, $5; Josiah P. Danford, $8; Dennis Lewis, $10; Jake Bar- tholomew, 13 cents; Amos P. Woodford, 8 cents; Horace Wol- cott, $7. The above were all from Henshaw, and the subserip- tions received from Bristol amounted to $77.25.
The Congregational church at Farmington, like most of the Presbyterian churches of the county, was organized by the Rev. Joseph Badger, on the union plan. The first members were Abiel and Rebecca Jones, Josiah and Nancy Wolcott, David and Elizabeth Curtis, David and Lois Belden, Eunice Hart, Polly Benton, and Rebecca Jones. Later Theodore Wolcott and his wife Rhoda and Gad Hart were admitted to membership. The deacons were Josiah and Theodore Wolcott. The first preachers were Revs. Badger, Leslie, Darrow and Jones. The church was under the care of the Grand River Presbytery. The growth of this early church was slow until 1825. On July 10, 1825, Rev. Luther H. Humphrey baptized forty children. In 1860 the church became Presbyterian and continued until 1874, when it returned to its first organization, Congregational.
The first church of this denomination was the pride of the community. It had a steeple. It was built in 1828, continued to be used until 1850. At this writing there are few services held in the church building, which was the second one erected by this organization.
Rev. Daniel Miller, one of the first teachers in the academy, organized a church at West Farmington in 1834. It had six- teen men and twenty-three women members to start with. Most of them came from church organizations at the center. It has lived all these years and done very good work.
In the fall of 1818, in the log schoolhouse in East Farm- ington, a Methodist class of seven members was formed by Ira Eddy, composed of Mr. and Mrs. Eden Wildman and the latter's mother, Joel and Eunice Hyde and daughter. Rev. Eddy, Jacob Baker and "Father" Wilbur were among the first preachers.
The first Methodist society was organized at Taftsburg
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by Elder Sweeney in 1825. The members were Clarissa, Arethusa and Anna Bosworth, Jane and Mary Taft, James and Catherine Stull, Mr. and Mrs. Grosbeak. The first meetings were held in the ball room of the State Road Hotel.
CHAPTER XXXVI .- FOWLER.
SALT MANUFACTURE BY INDIANS .- MRS. ASA FOOTE .- " TYRRELL HILL." -- AN IMPORTANT MANUFACTORY .- THE MORROW, BALDWIN, DOUD, AND ALDERMAN FAMILIES .- CONGREGATIONAL, METHODIST AND CHRISTIAN CHURCHES.
Township 5, range 2, was first called "Westfield" in honor of the home town of Samuel Fowler, who purchased this tract in 1798 for less than fifty cents an acre. Later the township took his name. Abner Fowler was the first white man to live there. He was a surveyor by profession and received one hundred acres of land for his services. His wife having died at his home in Massachusetts, he came to this new country, built a log house, and for a time lived alone. He was one of a family of ten children who lived to be from sixty to ninety years old. They were all fathers of families. The house of James Fowler, a son of Samuel, used to stand, within the mem- ory of the oldest settlers, a little south of the center.
Authorities differ as to who the first woman resident was. It is recorded that when Alma Barnes was seventeen years old (1800) she came to this township and was the first white woman. But Mrs. C. D. Hayes, in "The Pioneeer Women," says that when Levi Foote and his family arrived in 1801, the women of his family were the first. At any rate, Mrs. Foote, and Mr. Foote's mother, Mrs. Thompson, who was a relative of Aaron Burr, were bright women. They located near the center in 1801.
Whatever may be the disagreement about the first white woman who made a home here, there is no dispute about the first white child. She was Lydia Foote, the daughter of Levi and Millie, and was born in 1805.
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