USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County, number I > Part 15
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So it is all over our broad land. wherever the eye rests. Great changes are apparent in our advanced civilization as well as in the face of the country. Note for a moment the style and fash- ion of the present age. embracing not only that of the ladies but of the gentlemen as well. and compare it with that of an earlier day in the then village of Youngstown in this county. when the Rev. Charles R. Boardman, when on duty, was arrayed in bnek- skin breeches, painted bhie, and a noble Christian man he was.
In conclusion permit me to wish you a pleasant season. full of pleasure and enjoyment, and your noble Society a long and prosperons career in the fulfillment of its great purposes.
Most truly yours, THOMAS J. MCLAIN.
REMARKS BY CHARLES CROSBY, OF CHICAGO.
MR. PRESIDENT : I am most happy to have the pleasure of being with you on this third anniversary of the Early Settlers' Association. I had the honor of being represented before you a
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year ago by a communication read by my friend, Hon. John A. Foot, and published in your " Annals," and also of being con- stituted an honorary member. My childhood and youth, from ten years of age to my majority, were spent in this region, and a frequent revisitation has kept afresh my recollections from 1811 to the present time. It is three years since I have visited this region, and although myself an octogenarian, I meet a great many older persons than I am.
When I was a boy, those who had reached the age of forty- five or fifty years were regarded as " okl people," but now they are not considered old until they attain to seventy or seventy- five years; so that when I meet with many from eighty to over ninety (and yet fresh and vigorous), I almost feel that I ani young again, and youthful seenes and incidents recur to me with vivid freshness, like "a thing of beauty, a joy forever." I would not, however, indulge in mere sentimentalism, but re- call several incidents of historical interest which may serve to amuse, if nothing more. When I was young, "church privi- leges" and Sabbath enjoyments were not quite so adorned (but probably more highly appreciated) than now. It often happened that a congregation would for a time be destitute of a "stated supply" of the ministry, but the habit was observed of keeping up the regular public services on the Sabbath, and having a ser- mon read from the published works of some eminent divine. I well remember that, during such a vacancy in the Presbyterian Church of Euclid, one Sabbath morning, before the time for services to begin, a stranger on horseback rode up to the door and announced himself as a Methodist minister. He was very cordially invited by the Elders to officiate, to which he readily assented, and was accordingly conducted to the pulpit. On en- tering it, he found on the desk a large Bible which contained the Apochrypha (a portion of Scripture history not regarded as inspired), and opening the book he took for his text the first verse he cast his eye upon, and announced it as Ecclesiastes vii chapter, 1st verse, as follows: " Do no evil; so shall no harm come
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to thee." He delivered an illiterate. haphazard harangue of three-quarters of an hour, and the congregation, becoming rest- less. were quite ready and anxious to have the benediction. The text being new to the people, on going home they searched Ec- elesiastes through and through. but all in vain, until they learned from Mrs. Rev. Dr. Cowles. of Anstinburgh. who happened to be present, and who being the most thoroughly versed in Bible history (canonical and umcanonical), informed them that they would find the text in the book of Ecclesiastiens in the Apocry- pha. The mystery being solved, this amusing episode was the town talk, and afforded no little entertainment for a long time. It was afterwards reported that the affair coming to the knowl- edge of the Church Conference. this ignoramus was summarily silenced and dismissed therefrom.
In those days conformity to church requirements were more strictly enforced than in these later times. There was occasion- ally an individual whose infraction of the " Articles of Faith" caused him to be arraigned before the sessions of the church for trial. On one occasion a rather festive member. who was prone to overstep the bounds of propriety. was under examination for some irregularity, and on being pressed rather closely, made the quotation of an old maxim, with a slight alteration to suit his purposes. He said, " circumstances alter principles" instead of
cases. Elder Ruple. a well-poised and godly man, of remarkable consistency of character, but rather slow of speech, who had been patient and indulgent in listening to the delinquent. and who had his equanimity quite disturbed. could bear it no longer, and broke out as follows: " Mr. B. I really wish you would either keep inside of the line or step over it: you keep right along on the line and we can neither get you out nor keep you in." This twisting of the familiar proverb has occurred to me a thousand times, when I have seen men. particularly politicians, aet upon the principles of this church delinquent. " circumstances alter principles." which. after all. does not seem to be much out of the way, as applicable to our own times.
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Another noticeable and somewhat remarkable and amusing event occurred in the township of Twinsburg, Summit county. I tell the story as it was related to me in that vicinity very many years ago, and which was fully confirmed by my old friend. Buckley Hubbard, Esq., of Ashtabula. a few weeks ago. Among the first settlers who came into the place were two twin brothers by the name of Wilcox, from Connecticut, who. according to Shakespeare, were real "Dromios." their resemblance was so perfect: inasmuch as in size, features, voice. dress and actions, they were so nearly alike that they could rarely be distinguished apart, and their identity was often mistaken, the one for the other. The name of Twinsburg was given to the township in their honor. In progress of time. one of these brothers fell under the susceptible influence of the sly god Cupid, and be- came blindly enamored of a fair damsel of the land. His at- tachment became so ardent. and his devotion so strong. that he made it a rule never to disappoint his lady love in his promised visits. It so happened that indispensable business called him unexpectedly away at one of these golden periods. As he could not endure the thought of disappointing his inamorata, he ap- plied to his brother, in whom he could entirely confide, to take his place, and act the part of the devoted lover. To this end he posted him thoroughly in the progress of the courtship, and in- structed him in the sentimental part he was to perform. and left him to his ready resources, having the most undoubting faith that he would accomplish his part successfully. The eclat which followed can easily be imagined, as the successful ruse was not divulged nor discovered until long after the happy marriage was consummated. These brothers had the reputation of being gen- tlemanly and intelligent, and so devotedly attached to each other in affection and interest that in their deaths neither long sur- vived the other, as I have been informed.
With many thanks for your kind indulgence, and for the honor you have done me, I beg to express the hope that your beautiful and growing city, which bears the name of its honored
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founder, will, ere long. in its pride and prosperity, erect a suit- able monument to his memory, and continue to grow in wealth and influence; and the Early Settlers' Association be perpetu- ated long after the snowy heads here present to-day shall have gone to "that bourne from whence no traveler returns."
ADJOURNED.
The Association now adjourned until 2 o'clock p. M., and during the interim the members partook of a free lunch, served in the Tabernacle, from Weisgerber's refectory. This was a brilliant feature of the day, and highly enjoyed.
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AFTERNOON SESSION.
The public were cordially invited to attend the exercises of the afternoon, commencing at two o'clock. The Tabernacle, spa- cious as it is, was filled by an intelligent and highly interested audience. The exercises consisted of an opening prayer, followed by the annual written address, a life-sketch, report of members deceased within the past year, and sundry volunteer speeches of prominent citizens, interspersed with songs adapted to the occa- sion, and rendered in charming style by the Arion Quartette Club.
At the appointed hour the assembly was called to order by the President of the Association, and the session opened with prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Thomas Corlett.
PRAYER.
Almighty and everlasting God, from whom all good things do come: we render Thee thanks and praise for Thy mercy and goodness to us and to all mankind; but more especially do we praise Thee for prolonging our life and health to meet together again as on this day.
Grant, O Lord, that all our doings this day may redound to Thy glory, our own mutual good, and the welfare of this con- munity.
We implore Thy divine blessing on all legislative, judicial, and executive authority; that they may have grace and wisdom so to discharge their respective duties as most effectually to pro- mote Thy glory, the interests of true religion and virtue, and the highest good of the State and Nation. Preserve, we bescech Thee, to our country the blessings of peace, and prosper our in- 2
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stitutions for the promotion of sound learning and the diffusion of virtuons education.
To the families of those of our Association who have been re- moved from us by death, grant Thy grace and consolation; and to us who still survive, wisdom so to live and do. as to be dis- pensers of good to others, and thus to approve ourselves worthy in Thy sight of the rich heritage here bestowed, and at the close of our pilgrimage here, to be raised to that higher and better citizenship with the saints in light-through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The President here introduced to the audience Mrs. J. A. Harris, who sat on his right, as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Association. elected to fill the vacancy made by the death of the late Judge Bishop. The audience applauded. Mrs. Harris arose and gracefully acknowledged the compliment.
George C. Dodge, Esq., Treasurer of the Association, now arose and said: "Mr. President: I desire to congratulate our Association upon having settled one question. We have vindi- cated (alluding to a scene in Dickens,) the character of Sarey Gamp, and squelched Betsey Prig. There is a Mrs. Harris."
This adroit and complimentary witticism convulsed the an- dience, and when the laughter had subsided, the regular exer- cises were resumed.
ANNUAL ADDRESS-Success of the Early Settlers.
BY HON. JOHN HUTCHINS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: In 1824 Daniel Webster visited Jefferson and Madison at their homes in Virginia. One morn- ing it became necessary for Mr. Webster and his party to cross in a rude ferry-boat a river which was much swollen by recent rains. The ferry-boat was propelled by hand, and the ferryman and his
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assistant became much exhausted. While crossing, Mr. Web- ster, in his frank and cheerful manner, began a conversation with the boatman, and remarked: " You find it hard work enough this morning, I think." " Yes, sir;" said the boatman, "it puts a man up to all he knows, I assure you." " An apt phrase," says his biographer. "which amused Mr. Webster very much at the time, which he was constantly using on all occasions through the rest of the journey, and which he often introduced in speaking and writing in after years. In this way it has be- come a common phrase in our part of the country, where few persons know its origin." This plain language of this hard- working and unlettered boatman explains the successes of the early settlers of Cleveland and Ohio.
Their circumstances stimulated the best efforts of mind and body, and hence their history, habits and traits of character. their virtues and their vices, for example as well as warning, are now and will be interesting matters of study, not only to their immediate descendants, but to all the people who shall hereafter inhabit the country they settled and cleared. and converted its wilderness into productive farms and populous cities and towns. The State of Connecticut sold in 1795 the land it claimed in the then Northwestern Territory, except the "Fire Lands," to the Connecticut Land Company, and the original deed transfer- ring the title to the company is recorded in the Recorder's office in Trumbull county. In 1795-6 the proprietors of this company began an organized effort to survey these lands, with a view to sale and settlement, and some of the earliest settlers of the Western Reserve were connected with those surveys. Moses Cleaveland, a lawyer in Connecticut, was the first general agent of the Connecticut Land Company. He did not become a set- tler, but returned to Connecticut. General Cleaveland, in the performance of his duties as agent, became familiar with the south shore of Lake Erie, and he located this city, and named it Cleaveland. His prophetic eye, in a measure, saw the future growth of Cleaveland, by reason of its location.
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A large proportion of the early settlers purchased farms and cleared them, devoting their lives to the business of agriculture, the most ancient and useful of all human industries. We do not find the names of those engaged in it in history as frequently as of those employed in positions of a more public character. My father. Samuel Hutchins, came from Connecticut to Vienna, Trumbull county, in 1798, and cleared a farm which he pur- chased of Uriel Holmes, Jr., one of the persons named in the deed from the State of Connecticut to the Company, with whom he had lived in his boyhood, and I am proud to say that his vo- cation was that of a farmer, and that my first lessons of industry were learned on that farm.
Trumbull county is the mother of all the other counties comprising the Western Reserve, and when organized, July 10, 1800. embraced all of the Reserve, including the " Fire Lands," all the neighboring islands in Lake Erie, and parts of Jefferson and Wayne, and the county seat was Warren. The first election held in the county was at Warren. on the second Tuesday of October. 1800, for the election of a representative to the Terri- torial Legislature. There were cast at this election forty-two votes, thirty-eight of which were given for Edward Paine, and he was declared duly elected. It is not stated in any of the his- tories of that day what Mr. Paine's campaign expenses were, but they probably did not exeed a sum that would be regarded le- gitimate at the present time in Cleveland, under a more enlight- ened civilization.
The settlement of Trumbull county is so intimately con- nected with the early settlement of Cleveland, that I may be pardoned for referring briefly to a few of the early settlers of that county. Some of them afterwards became citizens of Cleveland. and many of their descendants are now residing in Cleveland and extensively associated with its manifold busi- ness enterprises, its religious, educational, moral, political and social agencies. In the year 1800, when Trumbull county was organized, a majority of the settlers were located in the south-
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eastern corner of the Reserve. Among the early settlers of Trumbull county were Turhand Kirtland, James Hillman, Si- mon Perkins, Samuel Everett, Meshach Case, Ephraim Quinby. John Kinsman, Francis Freeman, John Young, Leicester King, Henry Wick, Asahel Adams, George Parsons, John Ratcliffe. Ephraim Brown, John Young, Calvin Pease. George Tod, William Rayen, Elisha Whittlesey, Thomas D. Webb, and Eben Newton. Leonard Case, Sr., before he came to Cleveland, grad- nated on his father's farm, a little south of Warren. He was employed in the Recorder's office in Trumbull county, and in 1816 he became a citizen of Cleveland. Those early settlers were fair types of the character of the early settlers of the West- ern Reserve. Their lives are shining examples of what can be accomplished by men with high and noble purposes when cir- cumstances and motives stimulate and develop their best facul- ties of mind and brain. Some of these men were connected with public duties of far-reaching importance, and with public and private trusts of immense value. The manner in which these duties were performed and these trusts administered are among the brightest chapters of the early settlers of the Western Re- serve. In illustration I will quote a few words from a letter written by Gideon Granger in December, 1807, then Postmaster General, to General Simon Perkins, of Warren: " You cannot be ignorant of the unpleasant aspect of public affairs between this nation and Great Britain, nor of the vigorous preparation making for war in Upper Canada. In this state of affairs it has become necessary to establish a line of express through your country to Detroit. *
X To avail ourselves of the energy of your talents at this crisis, I have to solicit you (and even more, to express my opinion that it is your duty) to depart immediately for Detroit. * I know of no person whose experience would, at this time, be as satis- factory to the Government, and however inconvenient the dis- charge of this duty may be to yourself, it is what you owe to your country, and to the south shore of Lake Erie in partieu-
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lar." This difficult and laborious duty was immediately per- formed to the satisfaction of the Government.
About 1835 the good people in Vienna, Trumbull county, built a meeting-house, now more properly. perhaps, called a church, on a joint stock plan. whereby each subscriber was to own such proportion of the church as his subscription bore to the entire cost of the building. Churches in those days were so inexpens- ive, and the attire of the people who worshipped in them so plain, that no one was deterred from attending them. I had then just commenced reading law in the office of David Tod, in Warren, and our minister wanted me to see General Perkins or Leicester King. as the people in Warren had built a church upon a similar plan, to get the form of paper which the several owners of the church ought to hold as evidence of their title, and suggested that they would furnish me with one. I called upon General Perkins, who cordially received me. He said in sub- stance that he believed that no formal paper of the kind had been drawn up for the owners of the church in Warren. but sug- gested that any paper stating the facts would be sufficient, and that his practice in such matters was to "tell the story and then stop." This was good advice to one who was expecting to become a lawyer. In 1815 the State land tax paid by General Perkins, as agent and owner, amounted to one-seventh of the entire amount collected in the State.
Calvin Pease, in April, 1803, was appointed President Judge of the third circuit, then comprising the counties of Trumbull. Washington, Belmont, Jefferson and Columbiana. He was then about twenty-seven years old and he held the office until March 10, 1810. The first court held in Warren was between two corn- cribs, with a rough covering over them, owned by Ephraim Quinby. While upon the bench a case came before Judge Pease. involving the constitutionality of certain portions of an act of the Legislature of 1805, defining the duties of justices of the peace, and he decided certain sections unconstitutional and void. Public opinion then had not become settled upon the powers of the
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co-ordinate departments of the Government-the executive, leg- islative, and judicial. The separation of these departments by clearly defined boundaries was attempted by American constitu- tions, National and State, but at this time these constitutions. upon this subject, had not been authoritatively construed, and Judge Pease had no precedents to guide him save his own con- victions of duty and his study of the theory of our then new form of government. It was insisted strenuously by many pub- lic men, and especially by members of the Legislature, that the judgment of a majority of its members as to the constitution- ality of the law was evidenced by its passage, andthat that judg- ment was final and not subject to revision by the courts, and that judges who should decide otherwise were guilty of crime and liable to impeachment, the penalties of which were removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, profit, or trust in the State. The question involved in this decision of Judge Pease was a grave one, requiring, in the then state of pub- lic opinion, great nerve and decision of character to make it. His reflections convinced him of his duty, and he faithfully per- formed it. His judgment was afterwards affirmed by two of the judges of the Supreme Court, Samuel Huntington and George Tod, but this did not satisfy public elamor, and articles of im- peachment were preferred by the House of Representatives in December, 1808, against Judges Pease and Tod. Samuel Hunt- ington had been elected Governor, and the House of Represent- atives, no doubt, coneluded it would be unwise to put him on trial. The charges against Judge Pease were three:
1. That on an appeal from the judgment of a justice of the peace, for a sum exceeding twenty dollars, he had, as President Judge of the third circuit, reversed that judgment on the ground that the justice had no constitutional jurisdiction of the case.
2. That in an action for a sum between twenty and fifty dollars, commenced by an original writ from the Court of Com- mon Pleas, he had allowed the plaintiff his costs of suit upon
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recovering judgments, contrary to the twenty-ninth section of the justices' act and the fifth section of the act organizing the judicial courts.
3. That sitting as presiding judge of the Third Circuit, he had decided on various occasions that the court had full power to set aside, suspend and declare null and void the fifth section of the act defining the duties of justices of the peace.
I have copied these charges from an article written by Gen. Crowell. of this city, and published in the Western Law Journal, and he informed me that he copied them from the State records at Columbus.
The charges against Judge Tod were, substantially, that as a member of the Supreme Court he had affirmed the judgment of Judge Pease. On the first charge against Judge Pease the vote was unanimous for acquittal; on the second, for conviction, 15, for acquittal, 9: on the third, for conviction, 8, for acquittal, 16. The Constitution requiring a concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators to convict, both Judges were acquitted. The pub- lic reception of the recent decision of our Supreme Court decid- ing the Pond law unconstitutional, marks the change on that subject in public opinion since 1808.
These impeachment proceedings did not shake the confidence of the public in the ability or integrity of Calvin Pease and George Tod, for both afterwards occupied prominent public po- sitions. Judge Pease, in 1815. was appointed Judge of the Su- preme Court of the State, and held the office two terms. Judge Tod was appointed the same year President Judge of the third circuit, and held the office two terms. Judge Pease was a man of few words, but expressed himself with great force and clear- ness. His wit was overflowing and sparkling. About 1836 the Whigs in the State of New York achieved quite a victory over the Democrats, an unusual event in those days, and a great jolli- fication meeting was held at the old court house in Warren, and eloquent speeches were made by leading public men; and among them, if I am not mistaken, was Judge Daniel R. Tilden. Judge
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Pease was sitting at the bar table quietly enjoying the hilarity of the occasion. The audience began to call for him and were clamorous for a speech from him. He arose and said: " I feel like adopting the language of Simeon of old, . Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared be- fore the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel,'" and sat down amid tumultu- ous applause.
Judge Tod was a learned lawyer and a cultured gentleman. His speeches on public affairs were able and eloquent. He made a profound written argument on his impeachment trial, which has been preserved by his descendants, in which he has asserted in a scholarly manner the right and duty of the judiciary in a proper case made to decide on the validity of the law. He was a friend of common schools and a patron of agriculture. The first agricultural society in Trumbull county was organized in 1817, and he was elected its first president, and was connected with it many years.
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