USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > History of Ashtabula County, Ohio > Part 10
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28
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
In 1812, John Metcalf is again found carrying the mail over his old route from Cleveland to Erie. At this time he is provided with a heavy lumber- wagon and a span of spirited horses.
In 1815 the wagon was superseded by a neat little stage-coach, with two seats for passengers, and the driver's box. Metcalf still retained his position, and did not relinquish it until 1818, when a regular line of mail-stages was established by Wm. Whitman, of Ashtabula, and Calvin Cole, of Painesville, and the stage- route was then extended as far west as Detroit.
In 1819 the Trumbull and Ashtabula turnpike-road was established, an enter- prise of great importance to this county at the time of its construction. A line of stage-coaches from Ashtabula to and from Warren, and eventually to and from Wellsville, continued to operate this route for more than thirty years.
About the year 1820, Edwin Harmon succeeded Whitman & Cole as pro- prietor of the stage-route from Erie to Cleveland, and larger coaches, drawn by four horses, were placed upon the route, delivering a daily eastern and western mail to the inhabitants of the different towns along the route. Mr. Harman occupied the route for about seven years, and was succeeded by Colonel Henry J. Rees, of Ashtabula, who, in a few years, was followed by Rees & Converse; after the latter came Hubbard & Rees; then, in 1838, Neil, Moore & Co., who con- tinued to operate the route until 1852, when it was abandoned, and the track of iron, with the swift-flying engine, came in its stead.
RAILROADS.
The minds of leading men of the county were at an early day awakened to the importance of connecting the Ohio river and the lake by a railroad. The fact that the shortest distance between these two points was on a line running south from the lake through this county was a feature very favorable to the project. The first railroad projected was incorporated under act of legislature by a company called the Erie and Ohio railroad company, the road " to commence at some point on Lake Erie between the west line of the county of Geauga, now Lake, and the east line of Ashtabula, to extend through Trumbull county, and terminating at some point on the Ohio river, in Columbiana county." The capital stock was one million dollars, but was not subscribed, and the project failed.
" In February, 1836, the Ashtabula, Warren and East Liverpool railroad com- pany was chartered, with a capital of one million five hundred thousand dollars. A company was duly organized under this charter, surveys made, and some work done; but, owing to the commercial crisis which commenced soon after, the work was abandoned." The names of Matthew Hubbard, Horace Wilder, Roger W. Griswold, Joab Austin, and G. W. St. Jobn, of Ashtabula County, headed the list of incorporators.
THE ASHTABULA AND NEW LISBON RAILROAD
was the enterprise destined to secure the object so long desired. It was char- tered February 23, 1853, with a capital of one million dollars. Books were opened and sufficient subscriptions secured, so that on the 4th of July following directors were elected. They were as follows : Henry Hubbard and Frederick Carlisle, of Ashtabula; Joshua R. Gidding, of Jefferson; Lewis B. Austin, of Austinburg; Henry L. Springer and A. L. Brewer, of New Lisbon. Mr. Brewer was chosen president, G. I. Young, of New Lisbon, was appointed secretary, and O. N. Filch, of Ashtabula, treasurer.
As subscriptions were to determine whether the road should be located through the third or fourth ranges of townships, between Ashtabula and Warren, the people of the towns on these ranges engaged in earnest competition to secure the road. The people of the fourth range were the successful competitors.
The road was divided into two divisions,-the northern from Ashtabula harbor to Niles, and the southern from Niles to New Lisbon.
The amount of subscriptions obtained on the northern division was two hun- dred and seventy-four thousand six hundred dollars, including about sixty-three thousand dollars in real estate; on the southern division, one hundred and twenty- one thousand one hundred and seventy-five dollars.
Lemuel Clark, of Morgan, decded his farm of twelve hundred and forty-nine acres to the company for twenty-five thousand dollars; but the directors induced him to take other lands, valued at six thousand dollars, reducing his subscription to nineteeu thousand dollars. He subsequently donated his stock to the Ameri- can Bible Society.
July 4, 1854, Roger W. Griswold was chosen president and Henry Fassett secretary. Mr. Griswold served two years, when Eben Newtou, of Canfield, was elected, who served three years, when Henry Hubbard was elected, and still holds that position. Henry Fassett has held the position of secretary from 1854 to this date.
Prominent among the directors who rendered valuable service to this company, for many years, were Aarou E. Austin, of Austinburg, and James Stone, of Morgan.
July 14, 1864, that portion of the road lying south of the Mahoning river, at Niles, was leased for ninety-nine years to the New Lisbon railway company, and soon after completed and put in operation.
September 20, 1870, the Ashtabula and New Lisbon railroad company sold all of their road between Ashtabula Harbor and Niles to the Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburgh railway company.
In 1872-73, forty years from their first efforts to secure a railroad from Ashta- bula harbor to the Ohio river (the same length of time it took the children of Israel to get out of the wilderness), the citizens of Ashtabula County had the satisfaction of seeing two roads completed from this place, one passing through the central and eastern part of the county to the oil and coal regions of Pennsyl- vania, with a branch from Andover to Youngstown, and the other through the thriving villages and towns in the western part of the county, connecting us by rail with Warren, Niles, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh, thus making our harbor one of the most prominent shipping ports on Lake Eric, especially for the iron and coal trade.
February 11, 1848, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula railroad company was chartered, and its road soon after completed, which now forms a line in the great- est railroad thoroughfare in the world, connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific.
The value of railroad property within the county is one million eight hundred and sixty-two thousand and seven dollars, and, in 1876, the taxes paid were twenty-six thousand eight hundred and ninety dollars and seventeen cents.
For the above facts in relation to railroads we are indebted to Henry Fassctt, Esq., of Ashtabula.
CHAPTER XI.
CIVIL ORGANIZATION.
IN 1788 the Northwestern Territory was organized, with General Arthur St. Clair as governor, Winthrop Sargent as secretary, and Samuel Holden Parsons, James Mitchel Varnum, and John Cleves Symmes as judges. The district em- braced was a vast one, including all the country lying northwest of the Ohio, as far west as the Mississippi. The seat of government was at Marietta, at which point the first settlements within the present limits of the State of Ohio were made. The laws adopted for the governmental needs of this Territory were those provided in the celebrated ordinance of 1787, which has been fitly described as having been a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night in the settlement and government of the northwestern States.
In 1788 the county of Washington was organized by proclamation of the governor and judges. It included that part of the Western Reserve east of the Cuyahoga river, the old Portage path, and the Tuscarawas river. In the year 1796 the county of Wayne was established, including, with other territory of vast extent, the remainder of the Reserve not embraced in Washington county. , In 1797 Jefferson county was organized, and its boundaries were such as to in- clude all of the Western Reserve east of the Cuyahoga. The county-seat of this county was at Steubenville.
Notwithstanding the inclusion of the soil of the Reserve, by act of the Terri- torial government, within the limits of these several counties, civil government was not organized in New Connecticut, so as to have been recognized as of binding force by its inhabitants, until the year 1800. Prior to this date, Connecticut and the Connecticut land company denied to the United States the right of jurisdic- tion within the limits of New Connecticut, and refused to yield to congress or to the Territorial government the right to make laws for the settlers upon the Re- serve. (The reasons for this are given in Chapter III. of this volume.) Thus it happened that from 1796-97, the time when the first settlers arrived, until May 30, 1800, the pioneers of this region were without municipal laws. Their conduct was regulated and restrained, and their duties were prescribed, solely by their New England sense of justice and right. There was no law governing the descent and conveyance of real property, or of the transfer of personal goods ; there were no regulations for the redress of wrongs, or for the protection of private rights. They were literally a law unto themselves. But few cases of misdemeanor arose, but if a settler were guilty of theft, or if he misused his wife, his neighbors constituted a court of justice, and decided among themselves what punishment should be inflicted. The offender's back generally furnished the only record of these judicial proceedings. On the 10th day of July, 1800, the legislature of Counecticut having authorized its governor to return to the general government all right of jurisdiction within the limits of New Connecticut, the West- ern Reserve was erected into a county, and called Trumbull, in honor of Jonathan Trumbull, the governor of Connecticut. This was done by proclamation of the gov- ernor and judges of the Northwestern Territory. The county-seat was at Warren.
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HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
The first court in Trumbull county convened in Warren on Monday, August 25, 1800. The following were the first officers of this large county :
John Young, Turhand Kirtland, Camden Cleveland, James Kingsbury, and Eliphalet Austin, Esquires, justices of the peace and quorum.
John Leavitt, judge of probate and justice of the peace; Solomon Griswold, Martin Smith, John Struthers, Caleb Baldwin, Calvin Austin, Edward Brockway, John Kinsman, Benjamin Davison, Ephraim Quinby, Ebenezer Sheldon, David Hudson, Aaron Wheeler, Amos Spafford, Moses Park, and John Minor, justices of the peace.
Calvin Pease, Esq., clerk ; David Abbott, Esq., sheriff; John Hart Adgate, coroner ; Eliphalet Austin, treasurer ; John Stark Edwards, Esq., recorder.
The following extract from the diary of Judge Turhand Kirtland, of Poland township, will be of interest :
" Monday, 25th .- Went to Warren, took dinner at Adgate's, and went to Quinby's. Met the judge and justices of the county, when they all took the oath of office, and proceeded to open the court of quarter sessions and court of common pleas, agreeably to the order of the governor. They proceeded to divide the county into cight townships, and appointed constables in each. A venire was issued to summon eighteen persons as grand jurors."
The following is an abstract from the records of Trumbull county : " TRUMBULL COUNTY, } " August term, 1800. S Ss.
" Court of general quarter sessions began and holden at Warren, within and for said county of Trumbull, on the fourth Monday of August, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and of the Independence of the United States the twenty- fifth. Present : John Young, Turhand Kirtland, Camden Cleveland, James Kings- bury, and Eliphalet Austin, Esquires, justices of the quorum ; and others, their associates, justices of the peace holding said court. The following persons were returned and appeared on the grand jury, and were impaneled and sworn, namely, Simon Perkins, foreman ; Benjamin Stow, Samuel Menough, Hawley Tanner, Charles Daly, Ebenzer King, William Cecil, John Hart Adgate, Henry Lane, Jonathan Church, Jeremiah Wilcox, John Partridge Bissell, Isaac Palmer, George Phelps, Samuel Quinby, and Moses Park.
" The court appointed Amos Spafford, Esq., David Hudson, Esq., Simon Per- kins, John Minor, Aaron Wheeler, Edward Payne, and Benjamin Davison a committee to divide the county of Trumbull into townships, to describe the limits and boundaries of each township, and to make a report to the court thereof."
The committee above named executed their instructions by dividing the reserve into eight townships for the better government of the few settlers then living within the county. These township were Richfield, Painesville, Cleveland, Mid- dlefield, Vernon, Youngstown, Warren, and Hudson, Richfield embraced the whole of the present county of Ashtabula, with the exception of the present town- ships of Williamsfield, Andover, Wayne, Cherry Valley, Colebrook, New Lyme, Orwell, Rome, Windsor, and Hartsgrove. The first six of these outlying town- ships were included in Vernon township, and the others in Middlefield. Richfield embraced also the present townships of Madison and Thompson, in Lake county. At the May term of court, 1801, these eight townships were divided into election districts, called respectively the " northern district" and the "southern district." The towns of Middlefield, Richfield, Painesville, and Cleveland constituted the former, the place of holding elections being at the house of Mr. Simon Perkins, at the intersection of Young's road and Lake road, now Concord, Lake county. The towns of Youngstown, Warren, Hudson, and Vernon constituted the latter district, the place of balloting being at the house of Ephraim Quinby, iu Warren.
Of the township of Richfield the following were the first officers, as nearly as can be ascertained : Noah Cowles and Nathan King, trustees ; Aaron Wheeler, justice of the peace; and John A. Harper and Mills Case, constables. The names of the other officers cannot now be ascertained. In 1804 Geauga county was formed from Trumbull county, and included the greater portion of the present limits of Ashtabula County. In 1807 the present limits of Ashtabula County were defined, and January 22, 1811, the county was organized. Starting with this township of Richfield, embracing the entire territory of what is now Ashtabula County, with the exception of the two southern tiers of townships, we will trace the steps which were taken whereby the county came to have its present number of organized townships. The township of Salem, now Conneaut, was the first to be carved out of this immense district. Richfield remained intact from 1800 till 1804, when numbers twelve, thirteen, and the gore, numbered fourteen, of the first range, were separated from it, and incorporated into a distinct township, and called Salem. No other change was made until the year 1807, when Harpersfield, embracing what now is Geneva, Harpersfield, Trumbull, and Hartsgrove, was organized into a sep- arate township. In 1808 Ashtabula township, embracing what now is Kings- ville, Sheffield, Ashtabula, and Plymouth, was carved out. About the same time Jefferson township began an existence, including the present townships of
Jefferson, Denmark, Pierpont, Lenox, Dorset, and Richmond. In 1810 Kings- ville, embracing besides its present territory that of Sheffield, was detached from Ashtabula and organized. At the time of the organization of Ashtabula County, Jauuary 22, 1811, there were six organized townships within the limits of the county, as follows : Salem, including numbers twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, of the first range ; Harpersfield, including numbers nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, of the fifth range; Ashtabula, including numbers twelve and thirteen, of the third range ; Kingsville, including numbers twelve and thirteen, of the second range ; Jefferson, including numbers ten and eleven, of the first, second, and third rauges; and Richfield, which included the remaining territory of the county, except num- bers eight and nine, of the five ranges. The settlers in the county south of the tenth tier of townships voted, for the most part, with the people of the original townships of Vernon and Middlefield. In 1806 the three number eights, now constituting Williamsfield, Wayne, and Colebrook, belonged to a township called Green, which included considerable other territory in Trumbull county. In April, 1811, Wayne township was organized, embracing the present townships of Williamsfield, Wayne, Colebrook, Andover, Cherry Valley, and New Lyme. In July of the same year Windsor township was organized, aud included Leffing- well (now Orwell) in addition to its own territory. The organization of the remaining townships was effected as follows:
Austinburg, including besides its present territory that of Saybrook, in 1812; Lebanon, including the present townships of New Lyme and Colebrook, in 1813 (in 1825 the name was changed from Lebanon to New Lyme); in 1813 Denmark was detached from Jefferson, and embraced the present townships of Denmark, Pierpont, Richmond, and Dorset ; in 1816 Wrightsburg, changed in 1827 to Say- brook, was detached from Austinburg; in 1816 Geneva was taken from Har- persfield ; in 1818 Pierpont was detached from Denmark, and included Richmond with its own territory ; in 1818 Monroe was formed from Salem; in 1819 An- dover, embracing in addition to its own territory that of Cherry Valley, was taken from Wayne ; in the same year Morgan was taken from Richfield, and organized; in the same year Lenox was detached from Jefferson ; in 1820 Sheffield was taken from Kingsville; in 1823 Leffingwell (afterwards Orwell) was attached to Rich- field, and the two townships were known as Richfield until 1826, when Orwell was organized into a separate township. In 1825 Trumbull was detached from Harpersfield and made to embrace the present townships of Trumbull and Harts- grove. In 1827 Cherry Valley was severed from Andover, and Richmond from Pierpont in 1828. The last vestige of the name of Richfield disappeared in 1828, when, upon the petition of Christopher Champlin and other inhabitants, the name was changed to Rome. Hartsgrove became a separate organized township iu 1830, and on the 4th day of July, 1838, the last township organization of the county was perfected, the greater part of number twelve, of the third range, being sev- ered from Ashtabula on the 7th day of January preceding, and erected into a township at the date first named above, and called Plymouth. Thus did the single township of Richfield, together with the two southern tiers numbered eight and nine, yield the twenty-cight independent sovereignties into which the county is to-day divided. The first and present officers of these townships will be found in the separate town histories.
FIRST OFFICERS OF ASHTABULA COUNTY.
The county of Ashtabula began a separate and distinct existence on the 22d day of January, 1811, the following-named persons serving as first officers: Pre- siding Judge, Benjamin Ruggles ; Associate Judges, Aaron Wheeler, Ebenezer Hewins, and Solomon Griswold ; Treasurer, David Hendry ; Recorder, James A. Harper ; County Clerk, Timothy R. Hawley ; Sheriff, Nathan Strong. The first official act was the organization of the June term of the court of common pleas. The following were the first grand jurors: Noah Cowles, Peleg Sweet, Stephen Brown, Jesse D. Hawley, William Perrin, Walter Fobes, Ebenezer K. Lamson, Sterling Mills, Michael Webster, Gidcon Leet, Joshua Rockwell, Eliphalet Aus- tin, James A. Harper, Moses Wright, and David Hendry. The court appointed Eliphalet Austin foreman. The jury were duly empaneled and sworn, and were charged by the court. The first suit was the State of Ohio vs. Orison Cleveland, assault and battery. The defendant was discharged by order of the court. There was no petit jury. There was a case that came before the judges, and was for debt, the plaintiff receiving a judgment for seventy dollars. The late Peter Hitchcock was the first prosecuting attorney pro tem., and Ezra Kellogg the first regular prosecuting attorney.
THE COURTS OF RECORD.
The first court established on the reserve, and whose jurisdiction first extended over the settlers upon the soil of Ashtabula, was organized at Warren in August, 1800, and was known as the court of quarter sessions,-a tribunal which ceased to exist. upon the admission of Ohio into the Union, in 1802. Since that date
30
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
and up to the time of the adoption of the new constitution, March 10, 1851, the court of common pleas and the supreme court have held jurisdiction. Since 1851 the courts of record known to the citizens of the county have been the district court, the court of common pleas, and the probate court. The following are the names of the presiding judges, who were the appointces of the governor of the State up to the year 1855, when the office became elective : 1811, Hon. Benjamin Ruggles ; 1815, George Todd ; 1830, Reuben Wood; 1833, Matthew Burchard; 1837, Van R. Humphrey ; 1844, Eben Newton ; 1847, B. F. Wade; 1851, Reu- ben Hitchcock ; 1854, Eli T. Wilder; 1855, Ilorace Wilder; 1861, N. L. Chaf- fee ; 1871, M. C. Canfield. Mr. Canfield died whilein office, and E. Lee was ap- pointed to fill the vacancy until the first succeeding election, when D. W. Canfield was chosen to the office, and served until 1876, when L. S. Sherman, the present incumbent, was elected. By special statute H. B. Woodbury was elected at spe- cial election spring of 1875, and in the succeeding fall was re-elected, to serve for a term of five years.
The following are the names of associate judges : 1811, Aaron Wheeler, Ebe- nezer Hlewins, and Solomon Griswold. Nchemiah King succeeded Aaron Wheeler in 1817 ; Eliphalet Austin succeeded E. Hewins in 1818; Amos Kellogg suc- ceeded N. King in 1824 ; Titus Hayes and Thomas Smith succeeded E. Austin and S. Griswold in 1825; Jonathan Gregory succeeded Thomas Smith in 1826; Lemuel Moffitt succeeded Amos Kellogg in 1830; Luther Spellman succeeded Titus Hayes in 1832; Ashbel Dart succeeded Jonathan Gregory in 1838 ; James M. Bloss succeeded L. Moffitt in 1838; Jonathan Warner succeeded Luther Spellman in 1839; Matthew Hubbard succeeded Ashbel Dart in 1840; John Sherman succeeded MI. Hubbard in 1843; Lathorp Rawdon succeeded J. M. Bloss in 1845; Lynds Jones succeeded J. Warner in 1846; Chester Stowe was appointed to fill vacancy caused by death of Mr. Sherman in 1846; was elected to the office in 1847; Wm. S. Deming succeeded Lathorp Rawdon in 1851; Stephen D. Dann succeeded Lynds Jones in 1851. In 1857 the office of asso- ciated judgeship was abolished.
The first jury trial occurred in the March term of court, 1812, in which George B. Merwin was plaintiff and Gideon Leet was defendant, in which a judg- ment was rendered for Merwin in the sum of thirty-two dollars and fifty cents.
THE PROBATE COURT.
The first judge of probate for Ashtabula County was J. Addison Giddings, in 1852, who served until 1857, and was succeeded by Hiram A. Plumb, who died in office, August 25, 1859. Henry Fassett was appointed to fill vacancy, and in October following was elected to the office. He held the position one year, and, resigning, was succeeded by D. S. Wade, appointed to fill the vacancy. Mr. Wade was elected to the office in October, 1860, and continued to serve until 1866, when B. T. Cushing became his successor. Mr. Cushing resigned the office in 1872, and E. J. Betts, the present worthy incumbent, was appointed to fill the vacancy. In 1875, Mr. Betts was elected to the office.
THE OFFICIAL ROSTER.
United States Senators .- Hon. Benjamin F. Wade was elected to the United States Senate in 1851, and served for three senatorial terms, or until 1869, when he was succeeded by Allen G. Thurman. No county of the State has furnished a citi- zen who has served the people with greater honor as senator of the United States than did this son of Ashtabula.
Members of Congress .- Ohio, before its admission as a State, in 1802, was a part of the Northwestern Territory, and its representative in the Seventh congress from 1801 to 1803 was Paul Fearing. He was born in May, 1762, and died in Ohio in 1822. Upon the State's admission into the Union, in 1802, its entire territory constituted one congressional district, and no change was made until 1813. During this time it was represented by Jeremiah Morrow in the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth congresses. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1770. Died in Ohio in 1852. After the expiration of his term of office as rep- resentative he became United States senator. He was twice elected governor of the State, in 1822 and 1824.
The Ashtabula district was represented in congress from 1813 to 1814 by Reson Bell, and from 1814 to 1817 by David Clendening. From 1817 to 1819, Peter Hitchcock, of Geauga, was the delegate. He was born in Connecticut, October 19, 1780, and died at Painesville, Ohio, May 11, 1853. He was one of the fore- most men of his day. His name appears below as member of the house and senate of Olio. He was one of the supreme judges of the State for twenty-eight years,-part of the time chief justice,-and was one of the ablest and most useful judges the State ever had.
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