Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc., Part 101

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Ohio > Summit County > Akron > Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc. > Part 101

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

817

PROLIFIC AND LONG-LIVED.

Thompson, Jr., Dr. and Mrs. Moses Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. George Pease, Mr. and Mrs. Eben Pease, Mr. and Mrs. William Leach, Mr. and Mrs. George Kilbourn, Mr. and Mrs. Bradford Kellogg, Mr. and Mrs. Amos Lusk, Mr. and Mrs. John Oviatt, Mr. and Mrs. Owen Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Whedon, Mr. and Mrs. George Holcomb, Mr.and Mrs. Zina Post, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. William Chamberlain, Mr. and Mrs. William Chamberlain, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Baldwin, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hollenbeck, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kingsbury, Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Ellsworth, Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan Metcalf, Mr. and Mrs. Ariel Cobb, Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Mills, Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Case, 73 in all, who brought with them into the town- ship 105 children. Up to 1856 there had been born to the 73 persons named, since coming to the township, 211 children, making a total of 316, or an average of nearly nine children per couple. To Mr. Pitkin's list should properly be added, as comers to the township previous to 1814, the following, though some of them afterwards permanently settled in other localities :- Benjamin Oviatt, John Birge, James Newton, Rev .. David Bacon, Zina Post, Christian Cackler, Jonathan Williams, Dudley Humphrey, Rev. John Seward, and perhaps others whose names are not now ascertainable. All of the adults have probably long since passed away, as well as most of the children who came with them, though many of the native-born children of the original pioneers still linger, while a large number of their descendants are yet to be found among the sturdy and thrifty inhabitants of the township.

Mr. Pitkin's statistics, compiled in 1856, show that of the 41 of 'the 73 pioneers named, who had died within the intervening 56 years, one lived to the age of 90; five, 80 to 90; fifteen, 70 to 80; five, 60 to 70; eight, 50 to 60; seven, 33 to 50; and of the 32 then living, ten were in their 80th, nine, 60th to 70th, three-fifths of the whole number having lived beyond the age of 70 years, while quite a number of the 32 then alive, were permitted to live several years thereafter. Up to 1856, five of the pioneer couples named had lived together 55, 56, 60, 62 and 75 years, respectively, while several others had very nearly reached their golden anniversaries; a con- dition of longevity and of connubial intercourse, that few of the townships of the county, or country can surpass, or even equal, either in ancient or modern times.

ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIP .- Aside from the judicial authority of Justice Hudson, by appointment of Governor St. Clair, early in 1801, Hudson was without legal organization until the Spring of 1802, when, by the action of the commissioners of Trumbull county, in connection with Stow, Boston, Twinsburg, Aurora and Mantua, it was set off as a township under the general name of Hudson. The first election was held at the house of 'Squire Hudson, April 5, twenty efectors being present, Mr. Hudson being chairman.

The officers then elected were as follows: Trustees, Heman Oviatt and Abraham Thompson, of Hudson, and Ebenezer Sheldon, of Aurora; clerk, Thaddeus Lacey, of Hudson; poormasters, Elias Harmon, of Aurora, and Samuel Bishop, of Hudson; fence viewers, Aaron Norton, John Oviatt and Jotham Atwater; appraisers' of houses, John Gaylord and Elias Harmon; supervisors of highways, George Kilbourn, Moses Pond and Moses Thompson; constables, Ebenezer Lester, Aaron Norton and Rufus Edwards.

818

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

(BENEDICT)

HARVEY BALDWIN.

- BENEDICT

"IF COCHI.

VAI

MRS. HARVEY BALDWIN.

H ARVEY BALDWIN,-son of Stephen Baldwin, born in Goshen, Connecti- cut, September 17, 1798; common school education; in 1814 came to Hudson, clerking in store of his brothers, Augustus and Frederick, about three years; October 6, 1817, was married to Miss Anner Mary Hudson, daughter of Deacon David Hudson, born October 28, 1800, and the first white child born in what is now Summit county. The young couple settled on a farm two and a half miles northwest of the center, where they remained two or three years, when, at Mr. Hudson's request, they returned to the home farın, where they ever after resided. Mr. Baldwin thoroughly identified himself with the business and educational interests of the township and village, co-operating with, and, as his successor, fully carrying out Mr. Hudson's benefactions in educational, church and other public enterprises, being a trustee of Western Reserve College for over forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin were the parents of four children-Anna Norton, born October 17, 1818, died December 13, 1825; Harriet Maria, born September 3, 1824, died January 20, 1841 ; Clarissa Miriam, born October 27, 1830 (married to Professor Edwin S. Gregory, July 28, 1852, and now residing upon a portion of the old home farm), and Lucy Susanna, born October 8, 1843, and died August 12, 1860. Mr. Baldwin died June 12, 1880, in full possession of his mental facul- ties, at the age of 81 years, 8 months and 25 days. Mrs. Baldwin still occupies the paternal domicile, with sufficient mental and physical vigor to manage her household affairs, her 90th birthday, October 28, 1890, having been publicly celebrated by the good people of Hudson and a large number of invited guests, and, as this chapter goes to press (October 27, 1891), still tranquil and happy, is on the eve of celebrating her 91st anniversary.

INDIAN EXPERIENCES, ETC .- It should be borne in mind that at the time the first white settlers came to Hudson, the Indians were in full possession of all the territory west of the Cuyahoga river, which was not ceded to the United States until 1805, and that quite a sprinkling of the red-skins still lingered within the terri- tory east of the river, which had been ceded in 1785. Thus, much tact and skill had to be exercised by the leading men in the new settlement, to secure and .maintain peace and harmony between the two races. This, largely through the liberality and fairness of

819

INDIAN AND WILD BEAST TRADITIONS.

Mr. Hudson and the fearless good sense of Mrs. Hudson, was pretty generally maintained, though some turbulent and alarming episodes-chiefly caused by fire-water-would occasionally occur.

After the shooting of Daniel Diver, in Deerfield, in the Winter of 1806-7, elsewhere written of, the course of the fleeing Indians was through Hudson, two of Hudson's earliest settlers-George Darrow and Jonathan Williams-joining in the pursuit, the latter shooting and killing the Indian, Nickshaw, in the present township of Richfield, and it was largely through the influence of Deacon Hudson and Captain Heman Oviatt, that a general Indian war was averted at that time. It is related that a troublesome Indian called George Wilson, delighted-especially when under the influ- ence of whisky-to frighten the white women and children, when found alone in their cabins, and that upon one occasion, after one of his customary ugly visits to the house of Mrs. Newell, living in the southwest corner of the township, Williams followed him and shot him dead in his tracks, sinking his body, rifle, etc .; in the mucky bottom of Mud Brook. Other similar exploits are attrib- uted to Williams, both in Hudson, Stow and Northampton traditions, some of which may have a modicum of fact to rest upon, but are too vague to be recorded here as a matter of bona fide history.

Bears, wolves, deer, turkeys and other wild animals and game were, as in all the neighboring townships, abundant in Hudson in those days, and many stories are extant of frightful collisions between some of the pioneer settlers and the two animals first named; one being that Governor Samuel Huntington, while riding through the woods from Tinker's Creek to Hudson, one evening after dark, was chased by a pack of wolves, which he kept at bay with his riding whip and umbrella, until, in nearly an exhausted condition, he finally reached the house of Colonel John Oviatt, in Hudson, about 9 o'clock at night; another that Elisha Noble, soon after leaving the house of Colonel Oviatt, one day, for his own cabin in the west part of the township, encountered a huge bear, who grappled with him, and would undoubtedly have squeezed the life out of him, but for the timely arrival of Colonel Oviatt, who heard his screams, and whose gun and ax soon caused bruin to relax his grip on Noble, and his own hold on life; Mrs. Oviatt, herself, also, on one occasion, while returning from a distant neighbor's in the dusk of the evening, being chased by wolves, whose speed she checked by dropping pieces of dried venison, which had been given her by her neighbor, until her husband hearing her screams, came to her relief with a brand of fire and his trusty rifle.

Among many other pioneer reminiscences extant among the good people of Hudson, is the following: Little Luna Pease, seven years old, started from her uncle Benjamin Oviatt's on a narrow trail through the forest, to go to her uncle Richard Croy's, with whom she lived, some three miles distant. Losing the trail, she became lost in the woods, and night coming on she lay down beside a log, and during the darkness some wild animal came and after smelling of her a few minutes, left her uninolested, Luna, young as she was, having the presence of mind to lie perfectly still. As soon as she was missed, searching parties were organ- ized, provided with tin horns, to signal each other. Her uncle

820

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

Croy's party first discovered her some time during the next day, by which time she had become so wild that she fled from them like a frightened deer, but was soon overtaken. Signaling the others, the entire party repaired to the village, where there was very hearty rejoicing over the recovery of the lost child, which child, now Mrs. John Ramsey, is still living in Collamer, nearly 80 years of age.

RELIGION, CHURCHES, ETC .- As we have seen, on his arrival in his new township, to which his co-proprietors insisted his own name should be given, Mr. Hudson immediately established religious services, both private and public, and, in 1802, in connec- tion with Deacon Stephen Thompson and Captain Heman Oviatt, he took measures for the organization of a church in the new settlement, of which Mr. Hudson himself was very properly elected one of the deacons-whence came the title by which Hudson's founder has been known to the present time.

But, while strict in the observance of his own notions of religious duty, both private and public, unlike the chief agent in the settlement of Tallmadge-Rev. David Bacon-he did not, either by written or oral stipulations, seek to compel his associates, or subordinates, to adopt his own peculiar theological dogmas, but rather sought to mould them to his views, by the force of his. example and the logic of his " daily walk and conversation."

Thus, while embracing the very first opportunity of a visit to the' Reserve, of a representative of the Connecticut Missionary Society-Rev. Joseph Badger-in 1802, Mr. Hudson entered zeal- ously into the project of establishing a church in his new township upon the principles of his own religious faith-Congregationalism -he accorded to his fellow pioneers the utmost freedom to give or withhold their support, or to work in such other directions as their consciences and inclinations might dictate.

The first church, therefore, to be organized in the township, was essentially Congregational, though for a time amenable to the Grand River Presbytery-afterwards coming under the jurisdic- tion of the Portage Presbytery-the organization being effected September 4, 1802, with 13 communicants, as follows: Mr. Hud- son, Stephen Thompson and Mary, his wife; Abraham Thompson and Susanna, his wife; George Kilbourn and Almira, his wife; Stephen Thompson, Jr., and Abigail, his wife; Heman Oviatt and Lucy, his wife Hannah Lindley and Amos Lusk; the eleven first named having been members of the Congregational church in Goshen, Conn., and the two latter of the church at Bloomfield, New York.

The society for many years depended for such occasional preaching as they enjoyed, upon the ministrations of Mr. Badger and other missionaries, Rev. David Bacon, after being recalled from the missionary field at Detroit, and before the inauguration of his Utopian scheme for the settlement of Tallmadge, in 1807, as elsewhere set forth, being, under an arrangement with a Connect- icut Missionary Society, a regular supply for two or three years ..

Thus, sometimes with, and sometimes without preaching, but without omitting worship for a single Sabbath, the society grad -- ually increased, so that on the installment of the first regular pastor, Rev. William Hanford (uncle of W. L. Hanford, of Stow, and W. A. Hanford, of Akron), August 17, 1815, there were 27

821

RELIGIOUS AND CHURCH MATTERS.

communicants, with quite a large society membership and congre- gation. Mr. Hanford ministered to the congregation until 1831, adding to the church, in the 16 years of his pastorate, 133 members, the successive pastors of the church being Rev. Amri Nichols, July to December, 1832; Rev. Giles Doolittle, 1832-40; Rev. Josiah Town, July to October, 1840; Rev. Mason Grosvenor, 1840-43; Rev. William Hanford, 1843; Rev. John C. Hart, 1844-52; Rev. N. Bar- rett, 1853-58; Rev. George Darling, 1858-74; Rev. E. W. Root, 1874- 76; Rev. J. Towle, 1876; Rev. T. G. Gardner, 1876-85; Rev. A. B. Cristy, February 7, 1886 until his resignation, January 18, 1891. Present pastor (October, 1891), Rev. A. Carroll; membership, 264.

D R. MOSES THOMPSON,-born in Goshen, Connecticut, January 22, 1776 ; liberal education, including study of medicine ; December 22, 1797, married to Miss Elizabeth Mills, immediately moving to Kinderhook, New York ; practiced medicine there until Spring of 1800, when he came to Ohio, with Summit county's first settler, David Hudson, purchasing for himself, his father, Deacon Stephen Thompson, and his brothers, Abraham and Stephen, 750 acres of land in Hudson ; in Stimmer of 1800, went back to Connecticut on foot. walking 650 miles in twelve days; in Spring of 1801, returned to Ohio with wife and one child, settling on farm two miles southwest of center of Hudson, where he afterwards resided, until his death, from an accident, November 20, 1858, at the age of 82 years, 9 months and 28 days. Dr. Thompson was the first practitioner in what is now Portage and Summit counties, his ride extending from Lake Erie south nearly fifty miles. During the War of 1812, Dr. Thomp- son served as surgeon in the army ; at close of the war engaged in raising and selling agricultural products in in Southern markets, Louisville, Nashville, Huntsville, etc. Mrs. Thompson shared with her husband the hardships and privations of pio- neer life, both heartily promoting the religious, educational and material enterprises of the time, Mrs. Thomp-

DR. MOSES THOMPSON.

son, a member of the Congregational Church of Hudson, from 1808, dying November 20, 1850. Their children were: Eliza Lemira, wife of Horace Metcalf, deceased; Susan, wife of Horace Holbrook, deceased ; Mills, deceased ; Emily, widow of Samuel Woods, deceased; Sylvester H., deceased ; Virgil M., a prosperous farmer in Stow; Ruth B., wife of Leander Starr, deceased ; Mary, wife of John Hazelton, deceased ; Martha, died at 22; Elizabeth, unmarried, yet living, and two dying in infancy.

EARLY CHURCH STRUCTURES .- The early religious services of the township were held at private residences and in school houses, but about 1817, the question of building a church began to be mooted, resulting a year or two later in the completion of a small frame edifice on the west side of the green, under the name and style of the "Union Church," free to any denomination that might desire to worship in it. This sort of free and easy religious partnership did not comport with the strictly orthodox notions of Deacon Hudson, Captain Oviatt and other members of the Congre- gational Society, and in 1818 that organization began building for themselves on the site now occupied by the Town Hall; the house, costing about $5,000, being dedicated in March, 1820. As, with all

822

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

church structures of New England, at that day, there was, for many years, no provision whatever for warming the building, with its bare floor and bare seats, the congregation depending altogether upon the foot-stoves carried from home, and upon the fervent heat of the discourse to keep them warm during the "firstly to the fifteenthly and lastly" elongated sermons in vogue in that early day. What would the lady church-goer (or the gentleman either) of the present day think of sitting two mortal hours, with the- thermometer below zero, even in one of the comfortably cushioned and carpeted, but unwarmed, churches of the present day?

This building was used by the congregation until the comple- tion of their present handsome and comfortable brick edifice, on Aurora street, in 1865, when it was sold to private parties and con- verted into a public hall, for which purpose it was used until 1878, when it gave place to the town hall as already named. The Free Church edifice, after promiscuous general use for several years, was also sold to private parties and relegated to secular business purposes.

OTHER DENOMINATIONS .- In 1828, a Methodist Episcopal church was organized, among its early meinbers being Daniel Gaylord, Perley Mansur, Moses Draper, and their respective wives, the society, at first, using the Union Church structure above spoken of, their present building on Aurora street, having been erected in 1836. Though for several years maintaining a fair standing as to- members and influence, removals and deaths have so depleted its membership that pastoral appointments by conference have some- times either been omitted or made jointly with neighboring charges, the present pastor (October 1891) being Rev. E. J. Smith. Present membership about 30 and church free from debt.

In 1840, measures were taken by Frederick Brown, Henry O'Brien and others of that faith, looking to the organization of a Protestant Episcopal church in Hudson, Rev. T. B. Fairchild and other ministers of the Northwest Convocation, holding regular Sabbath services in the other churches, public halls, the academy building, etc., until the erection of their present elegant church structure on Aurora street, in 1846. Thirty-seven names, among whom Anson A. Brewster, Dr. Israel Town, Arthur Sadler, Freder- ick Brown and Henry O'Brien, were subscribers to the original document for forming the "Parish of Christ Church of Hudson, O.," and the church was duly organized July 11, 1842; Rev. Alanson Phelps being the rector of the church, at the time of the dedication of the new edifice by Bishop McIlvaine, in April, 1846. The church tower is equipped with a fine bell, the gift of Mr. D. H. Arnold, of New York, and a town clock, the gift of the late Anson A. Brewster, of Hudson; and the interior, besides its general elegant furnishings, provided with a fine-toned church organ, and a Sabbath School cabinet organ. Rev. S. W. Garrett officiated as rector of the church from October 1, 1874, to December 12, 1887, a period of over thirteen years, resigning the pastorate to go to Canon City, Colorado, being followed November 1, 1888, by Rev. James A. Brown, for about two years. The parish is now without a rector, lay services, by direction of the bishop, being conducted by Mr. W. H. Lewis. The present membership of Christ Church is about 70.

Catholicism, also, has obtained quite a foothold in Hudson and vicinity within the past 30 years, their house of worship, St.

823

HUDSON'S EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.

Mary's Church, on Railroad street, having been built in 1858, though additions and improvements have been made upon it from time to time, as the necessities of the congregation seemed to demand. The present pastor is Rev. J. B. Dogherty, who is also pastor of the Cuyahoga Falls and Peninsula congregations, the church at Hudson embracing about 40 families, or an aggregate of about 200 souls.

The Disciples of Christ, organized in June, 1890, now has a membership of about 45, with Rev. F. H. Moore as pastor, the society now being about to erect a house of worship on the east side of North Main street.

DOCTOR JONATHAN METCALF, -born in Lebanon, Connecticut, June 26, 1787; educated in common schools, at family school of Rev. Dr. Nott, Franklin, Connecticut, and at Colchester Academy ; studied medi- cine three years with Dr. Bass, in Middlebury, Vermont, with two courses of lectures in medical depart- ment of Dartmouth College; in Spring of 1812, started west, on horse- back, locating in Hudson, June 12, of that year, his medical practice extending over many of the sur- rounding townships, without roads or bridges, involving exposure, danger and fatigue, wholly unknown to the profession of the present day. In 1813, Dr. Metcalf bought 290 acres of land, one mile east of the center, building a comfortable log-house thereon. December 26, 1814, was mar- ried to Miss Abigail L. Root, of Aurora, who bore him five daughters -Harriet, married to Rev. James Shaw, born in 1817, died in 1850; Caro- line, married to Rev. T. H. Barr, born in 1819, died in 1889; Catharine, mar- ried to R. G. Perry, born in 1822, died in 1858; Mary, now wife of Rev. E. Chester, of Clifton Springs, born in 1825, and Emily E., born in 1831, for 15 years principal of Hudson Ladies' Seminary, and still residing in Hud-

COCH

DOCTOR JONATHAN METCALF.

son. Of rare intellectual endow- inents, Dr. and Mrs. Metcalf gave a hearty support to all of the educa- tional, religious and benevolent enterprises of their day and genera- tion ; the former dying July 30, 1869, and the latter November 27, 1870.

EDUCATIONAL MATTERS .- Hudson has been a prominent factor in the educational development, not only of the Western Reserve, but largely of the entire Western country. Its history in that regard has heretofore been so fully written up, that the briefest outline only will be here attempted.

The first school in Hudson was taught by Mr. George Pease, from Enfield, Conn., in 1801, in a small log school house, on the green, nearly opposite the present store of Mr. C. H. Buss, some of his more immediate successors being Miss Patty Field, Miss Amy Cannon, Titus Wetmore, Martha Filer, Benjamin Whedon, etc .; other schools than the one named being started from time to time, in convenient localities, as the population increased; the trustees, in 1825, dividing the township into five districts, denomni- nated, respectively, the central, northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest; the central district being divided in 1838, and three

824

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

other districts created, making in all nine districts in the town- ship. In 1855 the two central districts were consolidated, under the graded school system now in vogue, a high school department . being added and a commodious high school building erected in 1868.

In the meantime, however, in addition to the College enter- prise to be treated of further on, a number of private seminary enterprises had been inaugurated, with varying degrees of suc- cess; Mrs. Nutting (wife of Professor Nutting of the College) opening a school for young ladies in 1827; her immediate suc- cessors being Miss Eggleston, of New York; and Miss Upham. In 1834 an academy for both boys and girls, was opened by Mr. H. H. Gross, on Aurora street, the brick building erected by Mr. Gross, being afterwards purchased by a stock company, and, under the title of Hudson Academy, furnished, free of rent, to such teachers as were willing to depend upon tuition receipts for their compen- sation. Successive teachers in this school were Miss Smith, Miss Eunice Town, Miss Rebecca H. Dana and Miss Mary Strong, the latter erecting a new building on Main stret, in 1845, which she christened the "Hudson Female Seminary." Contemporaneous with this was the "Hudson Young Ladies' Seminary," by Rev. Mason Grosvenor and his sister Mary; and the "Seminary for Ladies," by Rev. A. Phelps, the two former being boarding schools; Mr. and Mrs. Skinner, from Massachusetts, succeeding Mr. and Miss Grosvenor and a Miss Deven acting as principal of Mr. Phelps' school. Though pursued with commendable vigor, these several competing enterprises proved unremunerative, and grad- ually subsided.

In 1853, Mr. J. W. Smith fitted up and furnished a suite of rooms in the "Pentagon," and employed Miss Elizabeth Burt, a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, as principal, the school being reasonably successful, until the general business collapse of 1855, '56, when it was discontinued. The old "Hudson Female Seminary" was then refitted by an association of citizens, and another graduate of Mount Holyoke, Miss Everett, employed as principal. This effort did not prove successful, and in 1860 Miss Emily E. Metcalf, of Hudson, assumed control, afterwards purchas- ing the property, and by her enterprise and good management, conducted the school with fair pecuniary returns for some twelve or thirteen years, Rev. H. B. Hosford and daughters, about 1874, reviving the academy for a single year, only.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905 Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228