USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County, number I > Part 12
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Much more might be said of the deceased; even an inter- esting volume might be written on the subject, but it has not been the object of this sketch to present more than an outline of our deceased fellow citizen's life and character.
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In conclusion. In a review of the whole life and the death of David H. Beardsley, I can only look upon him as a faithful soldier in his sphere, who had fonght a good fight and quietly gone to his rest, almost literally exemplifying the words of the old Spanish poem:
" As thus the dying warrior prayed, Without one gathering mist or shade Upon his mind,
Encircled by his family, Watched by affection's gentle eye, So soft and kind,
His soul to Him who gave it rose, God led it to its long repose, Its glorious rest.
And though the warrior's sun has set, Its light shall linger round us yet, Bright, radiant, blessed."
[The life and character of Mr. Beardsley, as estimated by Judge Bishop, was received with evident satisfaction, and regarded as not only truthful, but eminently worthy of imitation.]
SONG: "AMERICA." ARION QUARTETTE.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEMBERS DECEASED DURING THE PAST YEAR.
BY REV. THOMAS CORLETT.
The following are the names of members of the Association who have departed this life during the past year, including a statement of place and year of birth, when residence com- menced in the Western Reserve, and date of decease, viz:
DANIEL BEERS, born in N. J., 1816. Reserve in 1818; died Dec. 4, 1880. DR. D. G. BRANCH, born in Vt., 1805.
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Reserve in 1833; died Dec. 23, 1880. ELIAS COZAD, born in N. J., 1790. Reserve in 1808; died Sept., 1880. REV. A. S. HAYDEN, born in Ohio, 1813. Reserve in 1835; died Sept. 10, 1880. HARVEY TAYLOR, born in Ohio, 1814. Reserve in 1814; died Nov., 1880. AHIMIAZ SHERWIN, born in Vt., 1792. Reserve in 1818; died Jan. 24, 1881. ELIJAH BING- HAM, born in N. H., 1800. Reserve in 1831; died July 10, 1881. AARON CLARK, born in Conn., 1811. Reserve in 1832; died Jan. 6, 1881. CAPT. C. H. NORTON, born in N. Y., 1805. Reserve in 1838; died Feb. 23, 1881.
The entire number of members who have been removed by death since the organization of the Association, is twelve. Of these, not a few were individuals we all delight to honor. The hardships and perils which the early settlers of this country encountered and overcame, gave them qualities of head and heart which, to us, their descendants, are of inestimable value, and which we shall do well to imitate and cherish, and so hand down to posterity, as our fathers have to us, a goodly heritage, worthy of a free and enlightened people.
Though more or less might be said relative to the lives of deceased members which would, perhaps, be of public inter- est, yet in the announcement of their deaths it is not expected that a biographical sketch of each will be appended, or can be furnished within the brief period that has elapsed since their decease. In a few instances, however, where deceased mem- bers were well known to the public, a brief notice of their life- work seems desirable in connection with their final departure.
REV. A. S. HAYDEN was, for nearly fifty years, an active and efficient minister in the ministry of the Disciple Church. He was also a composer of music, and was one of the com- mittee which compiled the Christian Hymn-book, now used by that denomination; and to him, perhaps, more than to any other, is that body of Christians indebted, not only for its church music, but also for his latest work, the " History of the Disciples of the Western Reserve."
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In 1850 he was chosen Principal of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College), and this position he filled honorably for seven years; since which time he has filled honorable offices in that church, and left an impress up- on those among whom he labored that will not soon be for- gotten.
MR. AHIMIAZ SHERWIN, for sixty-three years a resident of Cleveland, leaves us a record honorable to himself, and worthy of our imitation. He was one of Cleveland's earliest builders and land purchasers, and may be justly ranked among the most active promoters of Cleveland's growth and prosperity; nor did his interest in this direction cease until he was called to his heavenly state. Long will his kind and genial spirit be cherished by those who knew him.
CALL FOR VOLUNTEER SPEECHES.
On call for volunteer speeches, the following gentlemen responded in an interesting manner: Dr. E. D. Burton, T. D. Crocker, Esq., Hon. R. C. Parsons and Mr. H. M. Addi- son. The exercises of the day were then closed by singing " The Early Settlers' Hymn" (tune Old Hundred), by the quartette and audience:
THE EARLY SETTLERS' HYMN.
Still pilgrims in a favored land, Who long have lingered on the way, How blest to meet and grasp the hand, And crown with joy our festive day !-
And tell of years whose scenes return, Like shadows on our pathway cast;
And catch from living lips that burn The fleeting memories of the past.
And while we trace from whence we sprung, And early friendships fain renew,
Still let us dream that we are young, And though a dream, believe it true !
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Nor days forget when first we heard Life's battle-cry, and sought the field ; When lofty aims our bosoms stirred, And faith had armed us with her shield.
'Twas courage, then, with youthful zeal, That led us onward, flushed with pride; 'Tis years, now ripe, that make us feel How swiftly glides life's ebbing tide!
Yet while we here prolong our stay, We'll keep our pledge of love and truth ; And when we pass the darkened way, Ascend and share immortal youth !
APPENDIX -
WHAT I RECOLLECT.
[COMMUNICATED.]
The writer of this article first saw Cleveland in 1811, when a small boy. Then, what now is a grand and growing city, could hardly be called a village. A few houses of the primitive order located along Superior street between the river and the Public Square, with here and there a temporary dwelling in the bushy vicinity, gave but a slight indication that it was the beginning of a future large city; or that there were then some who would live to see Cleveland what she now is, a great city, was not anticipated by any at that time.
My father settled between the two villages, Cleveland and Newburgh, in April, 1812, which brought us into a position to observe the various changes occurring in the two aspiring villages from year to year.
I remember when there was no court house in Cleveland, nor a church building in Cuyahoga county, nor a bridge across the river from the outlet to Cuyahoga Falls. The outlet of the river at that time was some 120 yards west of where it is now, and was sometimes completely barred across with sand by storms, so that men, having on low shoes, have walked across without wetting their feet. A ferry at the foot of Su- perior street, consisting of one flat boat and a skiff answered the purpose to convey over the river all who desired for quite a number of years.
When a boy I frequently visited the family of Dr. David Long, living in a log house on the top of the hill in the rear of where the American House now stands. The doctor's premises extended from Superior street to the river. Who would have dreamed in those days that the side-hill where the
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doctor pastured his cows, would, in after years, be rendered so entirely useless for the purpose it was then used for, by laying out streets (Champlain and Canal), and by digging a canal across it, extending to the Ohio River, and the ruin brought on the doctor's garden-spot, by running Long street through it?
I recollect seeing, on the Public Square, the gallows of John Omic, the Indian who was hung in 1812 for killing two white men. That same year the first court house was built by the late Captain Levi Johnson. It was located on the Square about where the northwest fountain now is; the west end of the lower story served for a jail, and the east end as a residence for the jailor's family. The upper or second story was the court-room.
In this building ex-Treasurer William Waterman's father lived as jailor during several of the last years that the build- ing remained on the ground.
In that-court room the Episcopalians held their meetings before Trinity Church was built on the east corner of Seneca and St. Clair, the Rev. Mr. Freeman being their pastor. At the same time the Presbyterians occupied the old academy, where engine house No. 1 now is; but before the academy was built they met in a little frame school house on St. Clair street, a little east of the Kennard. Revs. McLain and Bradstreet were their first regular ministers. The father of the late John Barr preached occasionally. The Baptists or- ganized and occupied the academy after the Presbyterians had moved to the third story of a house which your correspond- ent helped to build for Dr. Long, where the American House is. On the ground floor were two stores; one was occupied by the firm of John McCurdy and Prentis Dow. McCurdy had recently arrived from Connecticut, and Dow had been a clerk for Irad Kelley. At that time there was but one public cemetery in Cleveland. Its location was where Prospect street and several lots south of Prospect intersect Ontario; there had been quite a number of soldiers buried on the bank
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of the lake, not far from Ontario street, during the war of 1812-14, but subsequently the land slides carried them into the Lake.
About the year 1826, the ambitious men of Cleveland concluded that a better court house was a necessity; accord- ingly, through their county commissioner, David Long, it was resolved to have a house that would be a lasting ornament to the place. Henry L. Noble was called to draw the plan. The plan being satisfactory, the job was let to H. L. Noble and George C. Hills, and the work commenced in the spring of 1827. Esquire Stanley, of Twinsburg, was superintendent of the mason work, and the second court house was erected on the Square about where the southwest fount is. In 1827 came the noted sickly season; the season that the water was let into the northern division of the Ohio Canal; your corres- pondent being one of the number who worked on the Court- house, and remained well while most of the men and boys were unable to work, put in more days during that season than any other hand.
About 1832, the village of Cleveland began to put on airs and to enact and enforce municipal laws. John W. Allen was elected mayor, and - Marshall was elected marshal, etc. This was the summer that the cholera first made its ap- pearance in Cleveland. A quarantine was established by having a man stationed on the pier day and night with a loaded musket to intercept any vessel that should dare to enter the harbor without a proper quarantine permit. Doctor Cowles, brother to Samuel Cowles, attorney-at-law, and Doctor McIlvane, both having recently come to Cleveland, and board- ing at C. L. Lathrop's, on Water street, were appointed a board of health and visiting committee.
One afternoon the steamboat Henry Clay was seen head- ing for the port of Cleveland, and on its being ascertained that the cholera was on board, and not well men enough to man the boat, she was permitted to tie up at the mouth of the
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river. Doctors Cowles and MeIlvane went on board every day for a few days and prescribed for the sick, and then the boat was taken to Black Rock and tied up till the cholera season was over.
On Christmas day, in 1825, there was a shooting match to see who could win the most geese and chickens. Turkeys were not much domesticated about Cleveland at that time, but there were plenty of wild ones to be found within the present corporation limits. The shooting was done from a rail fence on the line of Superior street, where the front of McGillin's store now is. From the fence southerly to the river the space was clear of obstructions, except patches of bushes and scat- tering stumps. A little west of the shooting position was the blacksmith shop with the significant sign-board, "Uncle Abram Works Here," and the rack for shoeing oxen, that stood by the side of the shop, indicated that " Uncle Abram's " (Hickox) sign told the truth. On the opposite side of the street was the competing blacksmith. In the only newspaper in Cleveland, a weekly, might be found this advertisement: " David Burroughs may be found by the sign of the anchor and the sound of the hammer."
That winter I went to school at the newly-built academy, then standing where engine house No. 1 now stands, on St. Clair street. The male pupils of that school, under the in- struction of Harvey Rice, now President of the Early Settlers' Association, were Jesse Pcase, Albert Kingsbury, Louis Dib- ble, Henry H. Dodge, Samuel Williamson, Henry Blair, Wol- cott Bliss, Don McIntosh, myself, and several whose names I cannot recall. Of the females who attended that school fifty- five years ago there were quite a number. One is still living in the city, one in Rockport, this county, and one in Cincin- nati. Seven of that school beside their teacher, are still living that I know of. Whether any others survive I am unable to say.
About the beginning of the summer of 1826 the Franklin
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House was completed for a hotel, and about that time N. E. Crittenden came to Cleveland and set up a watch and jewelry establishment next door east of the Franklin, in a little one- story brick, built by the Terhoeven Bros., to carry on brandy making by a process kept secret by them. Crittenden's was the first watch and jewelry store established in Cleveland, and, though not very extensive, or rich in materials, its contents attracted the attention of sight-seers, and many of the glitter- ing gems were eagerly sought for, especially by some of the lads and lasses, who liked to make a little display of fine things. It is a good while since that store gave place to a larger and better one through the energy and business capacity of the late N. E. Crittenden.
Previous to building the Franklin House the site was occu- pied by"a small one-and-a-half-story frame house, owned and occupied by Philo Scovill. To make room for the Franklin, which was to be a three-story frame building, the small house was moved to H. L. Noble's lot, on the north side of the Public Square, about half way between the Savings institu- tion and Ontario street. That was the first and only home on that side of the Square for over a year. In that house, which consisted of one room on the first floor, which answered the purpose of a kitchen, dining-room and parlor, with a bed- room and pantry attached to it, and two small chambers up- stairs, Henry L. and his wife Hopey Johnson Noble, first set up housekeeping; and they also found room to board from one to four men in Noble's employ. Subsequently they attained to greater affluence, but now they lie in Woodland Cemetery, while year by year some of the few left who remember them in 1826, follow after.
When I pass along the north side of the Square I some- times try to locate the spot near the sidewalk where Noble's well was. It was there I once had a little anxiety to know how a certain occurrence might terminate. Preparatory to occupying the new quarters, I was requested to go with a man
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by the name of Jones, a well digger and cleaner, and assist in cleaning the well. When we arrived at the well Jones drew the water out, and then took from his pocket a pint bottle full of whisky, uncorked it, put it to his lips, drank about two-thirds, then set the bottle down and commenced descend- ing the well, which was from twenty to twenty-five feet deep. I had seen some big dram drinking in my boyhood excursions, but that was the biggest swig I ever saw taken at one pull. Then came trouble in my meditations. What to do was diffi- cult to decide. I supposed that Jones, who was a heavy man, would be helplessly intoxicated at the bottom of the well before he could clean it and come out, and the water might run in and drown him while I was after help to extricate him from his impending fate. On mature deliberation I concluded to stick by and watch the progress of affairs, and if any per- sons came in sight, to notify them of the predicament of my companion in the well. But as good luck would have it, Jones was proof against two-thirds of a pint of the pure article to start on. He finished his job, came out and drank the re- mainder of the pint, and then went away in a business-like manner, in pursuit of another job.
It has been said that the first court house was built of logs. This is a mistake. It was a frame, except the jail room on the lower floor, which was constructed with logs notched together and sided up like the other parts of the building. I helped build the second court house, which was a brick structure, and for that reason it was supposed it would outlast a century. It occupied the ground where the south corner fountain is, as many who saw it before it-was taken down re- member. All the doors and sash for it were made by hand, and the flooring dressed by hand. There was no labor-saving machinery to do a part of the work of carpenters when the second court house was being constructed. We worked in summer from sunrise to sunset, but were favored in June and July with an hour nooning. Truly, times have changed, since
EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 65
a man can now do a legal day's work in from four to five hours less time than was required when some of us were young men. Of those employed on that building I am not certain that I am not the last one living. If there are any to respond who worked on the old brick court house, or on the old Trin- ity Church in 1828, I would like to hear from them.
I. A. MORGAN.
Cleveland, February 4, 1881.
THE OLDEST RESIDENT.
[Copied from the Sunday Voice].
John Doane, of Collamer, the oldest living pioneer of Cuyahoga county, came to Cleveland in April, 1801. He was born June 28, 1798, and consequently is now almost eighty- three years of age, although he looks to be much younger. The distinction of being the oldest male inhabitant of the county invests Mr. Doane with public interest, and the facts regard- ing both his ancestors and his life while here will be read with pleasure. Mr. Doane is descended from one of the oldest fam- ilies in the country, and his family for generations has sup- plied substantial and worthy members of the community. While heredity does not possess the significance in this coun- try that it does abroad, it is always a matter to be gratified at that our ancestors have been useful men and good citizens. The original John Doane, the founder of the Doane family in this county, crossed the Atlantic in one of the first three ships that sailed to Plymouth, landing at that famous spot in the year 1630. A brother came after and settled in Canada, and founded a family that now has numerous branches in the Dominion. Another brother settled in Virginia, and also founded an extensive connection.
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John Doane, the ancestor, took a prominent and useful part in the affairs of Plymouth colony, and in 1633 was chosen assistant to Governor Winslow. Subsequently in 1639 he was chosen one of the Commissioners to revise the laws. In 1642 he was again made assistant to the Governor, and in 1647 and for several years succeeding he was elected Deputy to the Col- ony Court. In addition to the civil offices which he held he was made a deacon in the church at Plymouth and at East- ham. He died in 1685 at the advanced age of ninety-five years. His wife's name was Abigail, and by her he had five children-Lydia, Abigail, John, Ephraim and Daniel. All of these were the progenitors of large families, whose descend- ants are numerous in that section.
Daniel Doane had four children by his first wife, among whom was Joseph Doane, who was born June 27th, 1669, three years after the fire and plague of London.
Joseph had twelve children by two wives. He was a dea- con of the church at Eastham for forty years, and was a pious and God-fearing man. His first child was named Mary, after her mother, and the second Joseph, after the father.
Joseph Jr., was born November 15th, 1693, and married Deborah Haddock, September 30th, 1725. He moved to Mid- dle Haddam, near Middletown, on the Connecticut river, and there engaged in ship building. His children were Joseph, Nathaniel, Seth, Eunice and Phineas. Seth was born June 9th, 1733, and married Mercy Parker, February 23d, 1758. Both died in 1802. They had nine children, Seth, Timothy, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Job (died early), Mercy, Job, John M. and Deborah. The two Seth Doanes, father and son, were taken prisoners by the British from a merchant vessel in 1776, during the Revolutionary war, the father, at the time, being mate of the vessel on which he was captured. They were re- leased in 1777, and soon after the younger Seth died from sickness contracted while a prisoner and due to his captivity.
Nearly all of these children came west and settled in and
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around Cleveland. Nathaniel was the first Doane to reach this vicinity. He came here in 1796 with a surveying party, and in 1798 moved with his family. The route of emigration was down the Connecticut river, along the coast by vessel to New York, up the Hudson river, across by land to Lake On- tario, and thence by boat to the mouth of Cuyahoga river. The family lived in the then little village of Cleveland, until the next fall, when they removed to what is now East Cleve- land, settling at the " Corners," just this side of Wade Park. The children of Nathaniel Doane were Sarah, Job (died young), Job, Delia, Nathaniel and Mercy. W. H. Doane, of Cleveland, is a son of Job Doane.
Timothy Doane moved from Connecticut to Herkimer county, New York, about the year 1794. In 1801 he followed his brother Nathaniel to Cleveland, arriving here in April. On the way he stopped at Fairport, where the boat on which he had journeyed from Buffalo stopped. From Fairport he and his family performed the journey on horseback to Cleve- land. Timothy's family consisted of himself and wife, and six children-Nancy, Seth, Timothy, Mary, Deborah and John. Of these only one besides John is living-Deborah, 'the mother of T. D. Crocker, who was born January 14, 1796. Nancy Doane married Samuel Dodge, the father of General H. H. and George C. Dodge. Seth married Lucy Clark, and was the father of David Clark Doane, Mar- garet A., wife of A. S. Gardner, and Seth Cary Doane. Chil- dren of each of them reside in Cleveland. Timothy had eleven children, whose descendants reside mostly in East Cleveland.
John, the subject of the present sketch, was born in 1798, and having been brought to Cleveland in 1801, has been a res- ident here for 78 years. There were only a few log huts here at the time, and the country was very wild. It is a somewhat noteworthy circumstance that he has lived within one hundred yards of the same spot where he now resides since 1801.
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In January, 1829, John married Olivia Baldwin, who lived but a short time. In September, 1832, he married Sophia Taylor, and by her had six children-Mary S., Abigail Corde- lia, Edward B., Anna O., Harriet S., and John Willis, all of whom are living and reside in or near Cleveland.
He has been a witness of all the principal events of local interest from the building of the first frame house in the county to the present time. He saw the Indian Omic hung in 1812, and has a distinct recollection of the event, as it oc- curred on the Square, nearly in front of where J. M. Richards & Co.'s establishment is now. A storm came on during the hanging of Omic, and he was cut down and the body put into a box, which, it was afterward ascertained, the doctors got hold of at night.
Mr. Doane has been a Republican in politics ever since the organization of the party. He has never taken an active in- terest in politics, to which is probably due much of his good health and peace of mind. He is to-day one of the most ac- tive old men in the county. He gets around in a lively man- ner, and is generally on the go. He has never used tobacco in any form, nor has he ever indulged in ardent spirits. He attributes his longevity and health to daily exercise and regu- lar habits.
Mr. Doane's present home is just east of the Euclid Ave- nue House, while the old Doane farm, where he lived so many years, is directly opposite.
The majority of Doanes in this section spell their names without the final letter of the original name; a custom that was introduced some fifty or more years since, and has been kept up by all the families here except by the descendants of John Doane.
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LETTER FROM MR. T. D. CROCKER.
CLEVELAND, O., August 9, 1881.
Hon. Harvey Rice,
DEAR SIR: Yours of the 27th ult., asking me to furnish the " Early Settlers' Association " with the substance of my remarks at the meeting on the 22d of July, was received on my return from Chicago. . After narrating some of my early recollections of Cleveland and its vicinity, I gave, in substance, the experience of my grandfather on the maternal side, Judge Timothy Doane, in migrating to this part of the then Northwestern Territory. Mr. Doane was born in Middle Haddam, in the State of Connecticut, in about the year 1757. His father, Seth Doane, owned and sailed, as the captain, a merchant vessel to foreign ports. He carried his son, Tim- othy Doane, when about the age of fifteen years, to sea, and taught him the science of navigation; and, at the age of twen- ty-two, he (Timothy Doane) was well qualified to sail a vessel as master, and he took the place of his father, who left the ocean. When about thirty years of age, he was the owner of the vessel he sailed, and continued in that business, trading in France, Spain, and the West Indies. He not only became the owner of the vessel but of the cargo also, and had de- cided to leave the ocean when he was at the age of forty. On his home-bound voyage he encountered a severe storm, and the only means of saving the ship was to throw over its cargo, consisting mostly of sugar, molasses and coffee, and then, as a last resort, to cut away the masts. The hull then floated until they almost despaired of life-the hull being in a leaky condition. Their signal of distress was at last seen by a vessel, which took them off. When he reached home he said to his wife that he had lost all. His wife replied that she was willing it should all go if he would leave the sea, and not take his sons. Soon after that he left for Herkimer county, New York. My mother, Mrs. Deborah Crocker, a daughter
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