USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > New Lyme > Condensed history of New Lyme, Ashtabula county, Ohio > Part 5
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In speaking of fine blooded cattle we have unintentionally passed by the old Red Jacket breed, brought in by Elijah Brown. They were handsome red cattle, with fine broad horns . The cows were stately, and fine milkers. We are inclined to think that the Dodges had an interest in this importation. Be that as it may, there is no questioning the fact that they were a fine breed of cattle, and highly creditable to the importers.
Judge William S. Deming, now one of the solid men of our county, like most of our rich men, cammenced business with small means on a correspondingly small scale. He en gaged in the mercantile business, at Brownsville, in the spring 1834 of 1834, in company with John W. Oakley and Elijah Brown, under the name of Oakley, Deming & Co. This firm continued in business for two years. After that the busi- ness was continued in the name of William S. Deming; Dem- ing & St. John; William S. & John Deming; and Deming & Gee He then went into the commission business with J. Straight and others, in Cincinnati, under the name of Straight, Deming & Co. Since that time they have extended their business to Cleveland, New Orleans, St. Louis, and other cities, and gone largely into the marufacturing of cheese; and they either own or control two large sugar plantations in the State of Louisiana. He has been Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of this Coun- ty, Justice of the Peace, and for many years postmaster, in this town; all of which offices he has filled to the satisfaction of all concerned. In an early day he dealt largely in cattle and pro- duce, in which he was generally successful.
Some people might say that the Judge has been one of that class that Providence has smiled upon through life. We yet
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
believe with the Emperor Bonaparte, "that Providence smiles most on the bravest soldiers." Riches have never caused Judge Deming to relax his energies, or to look down with disdain upon those who are his inferiors in wealth. He still delights in telling young America how he drove a yoke of oxen, behind an old bob-tailed mare, hitched to an old-time two-wheel cart, to Pittsburg after his first load of goods. Tre Judge is still one of the most industrious men in this community. Beside at- tending to his immense business, he cultivates his own garden and makes himself generally useful. He gives with a liberal hand. Times have greatly changed with him since he drove the oxen and old mare to Pittsburg. He can now step into his of- fice, and in a few moments tell vou of the prospect of the sugar crop on his Louisiana plantations, or whether any of his hands are on the sick list; he can converse with his several houses in Cleveland, St. Louis, New Orleans, or Cincinnati, or inquire of his friend Vanderbilt if it is likely that his once favorite Lake Shore stock will soon go much below fifty cents on the dollar.
The Free Will Baptist Church in this town was organized November 12, IS26, by Elder Samuel Wires, from the Holland purchase yearly meeting. The number of members at
1826 its organization were nine; six males and three females, namely: Benjamin Reeve, Elias Brockway, Elijah Brown, Rum- sey Reeve, Daniel Bogue, Joshua Strickland, Lovina Waters, Martha Reeve, and Serepta Brown. Clerk, Joshua Strickland ;. Deacon, Benjamin Reeve. The first delegates to a Quarterly Meeting, were Benjamin Reeve, Elijah Brown, and Daniel Bogue. Some of the several pastors who have had charge of this church at different periods were: Elders Wires, Cheeny. Dodge, Rol land, Perry, Craft, D. H. Miller, Dunn. Rice, Straight, Crandal !. Page, and. Drake, who is the present pastor.
The first child born in a frame house in this town, was Marcena Miller, Esq. And it is said the first thing he cried for was a new hat, to which he believed himself justly entitled.
The first Cheese Factory ever started in this county, was
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
the old Alderney. It was built by Albert Latimer and Jonathan Bishop, in 1865 or '66. It has now been run ten years, eight
1865 years of which it has been under the management of
our old pioneer cheese-maker, Mr. Zopher Gee. (Two years out of the ten he has had the charge of the Lebanon Val- ley Factory). The first season this Factory was run it was quite difficult to raise milk from three hundred cows. The next sea- son was a little better, and the third they had the milk from 1,100 cows; this year from six hundred. The best sales of cheese, made from this Factory, was 20 cents a pound on the shelves. Mr. Latimer, one of the proprietors, had long been engaged in manufacturing dairy cheese, and for many years had been a large purchaser of cheese, mostly on commission.
The Lebanon Valley Factory, owned by Dodge and Brown, work up the milk from 1, 100 cows. The present price of mak- ing up the milk is $1.50 per hundred pounds; the price, at the commencement, was $2.00 per hundred.
As to the soldiers who went into the army during the late Rebellion, there were forty-six men who enlisted from this town. The following nineteen of them died, or were killed in the service: Russell Clark, Henry Clark, James Foster, David Gard- ner, David Goodwill, Andrew Holman, Thomas Heath, Henry Heath, Orrin Holcomb, Eli C. Joles, John C. Knowles, David Lamont, Edgar R. Lucas, Emerson Richardson, Wm. H. Reeve, Albert A. Sherman, Elias P. S.one, Erastus J. Way and Truman Williams. The following twenty-seven were discharged: A. C. - Champion, Joseph K. Bratten. George Collyer, Alfred J. Day, Noah Day, Cyrus Day, Henry Edson, George Evans, Henry Fort, Orlando Gardner, George Guest, Charles E. Griffin, Or- ville Hepburn, R. N. Hoskins Earl E. House, George Hallam, Thomas Knowles, Alfred Knowles, Newton Knowlton, John Morrison, Edward Morrison, James W. Ritchie, James Patchen, Fennimore Peck, Levi Thompkins, and Platt L. Wood.
New Lyme has at present four mercantile establishments, all capitalists; and all doing a large and apparently healthy
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business. They are as follows: Hiram Dodge. and M. L. Strickland, of Dodgeville; Perry Hyde, and M. H. Wilson, of Brownsville. There is a telegraph office kept at the store of Perry Hyde, which connects with the main line at New Lyme station.
We have two blacksmith shops in full operation. That of William Miller, at Dodgeville, has been run by him, in the same shop, for thirty-two years. That of Mr. Evans, at Browns ville, oniy a few years. Both are doing a fine business in their line.
We must not omit the extensive harness shop of M. H. Wilson, which has been in full blast for many years. At this shop you can find a fit from a young colt up to a horse forty years old.
New Lyme has also a fine Brass Band, which is fast com- ing to maturity. We should here mention that his Honor, Judge Deming, made them a present of $too in cash to start with. We.suppose that long ere this he has received the thanks of the Band boys.
We must not pass unnoticed the extensive manufacturing establishment of Richmond, Dodge & Co., on Maple avenue. This is a house of long standing, and the amount of fine wag- .. ons, buggies, carts, and sleds, sent out annually from this es- . tablishment, is truly wonderful. Then we have the establish- ment of Elisha Beckwith, of Brownsville, Though not on as large a scale, yet the workmanship done at that shop is nice.
While at Maple Avenue we should have spoken of our comical, old-time friend, uncle William Stults, who is sti'l fit- ting up shoes for the multitude. It will pay a person, while waiting for him to fit on a patch, to take a walk through his fancy grounds and fine garden; and then take a peep at his little Isaac, born to him in his old age.
While Brownsville can boast of its Good Templar Lodge, so can Dodgeville of its fine building for the meeting of the Free Masons, where, we suppose, are to be found all the ma.
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
terials for making up that article, from a gridiron upwards.
As some of our young friends may like to know what kind of furniture was in use as compared with that of the present day, we will speak of one article which would com- pare favorably with that in general use at that time, and that is of the bedsteads: They were made of round poles, both for fthe sides and posts. When it was convenient, we would bore 'holes into the logs of the house, and thus save posts. We ;well remember when we had four of that class of bedsteads in .use. Though it may not interest others, yet we have a little incident to relate about one of those bedsteads which is strong- ly . imprinted on our memory. Before bringing home our young 1828
bride, in 1828, who, by the way, had been reared in luxury, which inspired us to desire something a little , extra from what we then had in use, we went into the woods and cut some smooth, round, basswood poles, which were nice- ly peeled, and prepared for a bridal bedstead. Not being con- versant with the use of tools, we made some mistake in bore- ing the holes in the posts, for when it was put together, one corner hopped up about a foot from the floor, and if you went to put that down, then another corner would hop up. In fact, it was just what, in later years, would have been called a spiritualist bedstead.
The first list of personal property taken in this town, was in June, 1813, by John Gee, lister: The number of listers was seventeen, all now dead. Number of horses listed, six; number of cattle, fifty-six. Total valuation, $740.
We have the following statement from Alvin Beckwith, son of Perry G. Beckwith, now 75 years old. He says his fa- ther's family arrived at the house of Joel Owen in July, 1811.
That this was the first arrival of that year. They built
1811
a log house on the place where Mr. Potter now lives, near Brownsville, and that this was the first log house built in the town after that of Mr. Owen. They sent to Austinburg for hands to help roll the logs for the house; two men came
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
from Jefferson. The house was put up on Saturday; the two men from Jefferson staid and helped them put on the long- shingled roof, which was done on Sunday. Monday morning they chopped a hole through for a door, and moved into the house the same day, without sleepers, floors, doors, or win- dows, and minus a chimney. Soon after this they took a com- pass and blazed trees through the woods to Houghton's Spring Mill, in Andover.
Alvin was once sent to that mill with two bushels of wheat, on horseback. It was late when he left the mill for home, and when about three miles on the road home, it became so dark that he could not follow the road. He took off his grist, set it up beside a tree, put the saddle on top of that, and set on it all night, holding the horse by the bridle. The wolves closed around him, and kept up a continual howling all night. When daylight arrived, he reloaded his grist and went home all right. He tells us that he had eighty coons skins of his own catch- ing in one fall. When out coon hunting one night, with Charles Knowles, their three dogs treed a bear up a large whitewood tree, and they watched him until daylight, when Stephen Bisnop shot him dead at the second shot. When shot, he was sitting on a limb ninety feet from the ground. During the night he had often started to come down the tree, but they kept him back by throwing fire-brands at him, which mode of treatment he did not seem to relish.
If there is any one thing over another to which the citi- zens of New Lyme are entitled to credit, it is for the great re. spect shown their departed friends. This is shown by their fine and costly monuments, as well as by the neat manner of keeping the cemetery enclosures The grounds are well set out with evergreens and shade trees, with a sprinkling of per- encial flowers. They have two public cemeteries, and three private, or family, burial-places. The largest of the former is near Dodgeville; the other is northeast of Brownsville. In taking a view of the latter, we were surprised to find so many
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ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
costly monuments. One of them, in particular, attracted our attention. It was that of Perry G. Beckwith, and Anna, his wife, late of Colebrook. It has recently been elected by their only son, David Beckwith, and is enclosed by a no less expen- sive iron fence set on marble.
The family burial ground of Joseph Miller, is three-quar- ters of a mile north of Dodgeville, on the old Miller farm. The one where rests the remains of Lemuel Lee, is a half- mile. south of the Dr. Fuller corners, on the edge of a beautiful grove of timber, some twenty rods east of the road. This roman- tic place was selected by him during his life, as the place where he desired to be laid at rest. The other, and the most beau- tiful of all, is the Stults' family grounds, on Maple avenue, where every passer-by can not fail to admire the beauty of the place and its surroundings.
Of the heads of the families that settled here in 1811, all are now dead. Jeremiah Dodge and wife are the only couple now 1811 living together of the children who came here in 1811. Of the ninety persons who came at that time in one group only eighteen are now living, and they are of the following fami- lies: Griffin G. l'eck, six; Daniel Peck, two; Eusebius Dodge. two; Charles Knowles, one; Zopher Gee, two; Perry G. Beck- with, three; Sanford Miner, one: Peter Chapman, one, who is row the wife of Jeremiah Dodge.
Thus, you see, almost all the first settlers of your town have gone to their long home. And the small number who still linger on the brink of the grave, will soon be with you no more. It has been well said that when you bury one of your first settlers, with them you bury a valuable portion of your early history. This you have from time to time continued to do, until a valuable por- tion of the early history of your township lies hidden in yonder graveyards. However solemn the thought, yet it is neverthe- less true, that in far less than one hundred years from this time, the people that now inhabit this town, will only be spok-
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HISTORY OF NEW LYME,
en of as a strange people that once inhabited this land, and you and I will be thought of no more forever.
And now, with our kindest thanks for the assistance ren- dered us in getting up this history, and our best wishes for your future welfare, we now pass it into your hands with all its imperfections, deeply regretting that you did not make choice of some one far more able than we are, to write up a history of so much importance to you all.
J.A.HOWELLS.&CO
PRINTERS
FERSON,
3733
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