History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 10

Author: Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co.
Number of Pages: 716

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The first minister in the county, of whom there is any record, (aside from Seth Hart, whose business as superintendent of the Land Company was of a seenlar nature, ) was the Reverend Joseph Badger, a mission- ary from Connectient, who came along the lake shore about the middle of August, 1801. After lodging at Carter's he and a companion crossed the Cuyahoga in a canoe, (leading their horses which swam the stream.) and then pursued the Indian path to Roeky river. There, while entting brush, they were, as he says, saluted with a " sing," which on investigation proved to be that of a " large, yellow rattlesnake," which they immediately dispatched.

In 1802. at the February term of the court of quar- ter-sessions for Trumbull county, it was ordered that the first town meeting of the township of Cleveland should be held at the house of James Kingsbury. It was accordingly so held. Rudolphus Edwards serving as chairman, and the following officers were elected: town clerk, Nathaniel Doan ; trustees, Amos Spaf- ford, Timothy Doan and W. W. Williams ; apprais- ers of houses, Samuel Hamilton and Elijah Gun : lister, Ebenezer Ayer : supervisors of high ways, Sam- nel Huntington, Nathaniel Doan and Samuel Hamil- ton ; overseers of the poor, W. W. Williams and Samuel Huntington : fence-viewers, Lorenzo Carter and Nathan Chapman ; constables, Ezekiel Hawley and Richard Craw.

While Mr. Huntington's neighbors were thus elect- ing him to the honorable, but not very important, offices of supervisor of highways and overseer of the poor, Gov. St. Clair had in January appointed him one of the justices "of the quorum" for Trumbull county, and when the court of quarter sessions met,

THE PERIOD FROM 1801 TO 1806.

although he was the junior member, his attainments were such that all his colleagues gladly consented that he should act as chairman.

This year an aet was passed by Congress, providing for a convention to form a State constitution for Ohio. In November an election was held for members of the convention, and Mr. Huntington was chosen a delegate for Trumbull county. In the division of parties Mr. Huntington ranked himself among the Republicans, or followers of Jefferson, in opposition to the Federalists, who believed in the principles of Washington and Hamilton. The former party ere long took the name of " Democrat," which it has re- tained to the present time, while its own old name of "Republican " was adopted some twenty-tive years ago by the new party formed to resist the ag- gressions of slavery. Mr. Huntington, however, was a moderate member of the Republican party, and the old Federalists, finding they had no chance of party snecess in Ohio, willingly contributed to the advance- ment of the ambitions Clevelander, who thus mounted rapidly to high honors.

In July, 1802, Mr. Badger again visited this part of the Reserve. In his account of his former journey he makes no mention of preaching within the limits of Cuyahoga county, but this year he preached to the five families whom he found at Newburg, which name had already been given to the settlement around the mills on Mill ereek. Even there, the reverend gentleman could find no apparent piety. In Cleve- land he states there were but two families, though we cannot make out less than three. In Enelid, al- together, there were four or five families.

About this period the six townships, reserved as before stated for the general benefit of the Land Com- pany, were put upon the market. The company was grievously disappointed at the results, for only very little land was soll and very low prices were obtained. "City lots" also fell from tifty dollars each in cash to twenty-five dollars on credit. Emigration, at least into this part of the Reserve, was very slow-slower than into almost any other newly opened portion of the United States since the Revolution.

The reason is evident. When the Connecticut Land Company made its great purchase, it was ex- pected that large numbers of emigrants would go to New Connectient by way of Lake Erie. But. ere long the great tract of several millions of aeres in western New York, known as the Holland Purchase, was bought from the Indians and opened to settlement at low rates. Consequently no one would go through that tract and two hundred miles beyond, unless he could obtain land at ruinonsly low prices. Add to that that in the early days this section had a peen- liarly unfortunate reputation regarding feverand ague. and it is easy to see why settlement was extremely slow.

Many of the Land Company were heavy losers by the speculation, and even the most fortunate gained but little immediate benefit. Those, however, who were able to make their payments to the State of Connecti-

cut, and their numerous assessments to the company for necessary improvements, and to keep their prop- erty twenty or thirty years, either secured good in- vestments for their old age or left handsome estates to their children. In December, 1802, it being found impracticable to sell the six townships, they were divided by draft among the shareholders; thus dis- posing of all the Company's lands cast of the Cuya- hoga, except a few city lots.

After the adoption of the State constitution for Ohio, and the admission of the new State into the Union, Mr. Huntington, in the forepart of 1803, was elected a State senator for the county of Trumbull, and on the meeting of the first legislature he was made president of the senate. Even this rapid ad- vancement was not all; on the second day of April. 1803, he was appointed a judge of the supreme court. Ilis commission was the first one emanating from the governor of the State of Ohio.

Civilization steadily progressed; about this same time the first indictment against any one in the pre- sent Cuyahoga county was found by the grand jury of Trumbull county against our active friend, the landlord, constable and Indian-trader, Lorenzo Carter, for assault and battery on James Hamilton, of New- burg.

The same year the legislature divided the State into four military districts; Trumbull county falling into the fourth district, (under Major-General Elijah Wadsworth, of Canfield,) which also embraced Col- umbiana and JJefferson conuties and included all that part of the State north of the sonth line of the latter county.

It was also in this year, as near as can be ascer- tained, (some say t802.) that the first murder of which there is any record took place in the county; though, as both the parties were Indians, it is not improbable that some similar transaction occurred here long be- fore any white man took the trouble to write about it. The crime sprang partly from superstition and partly from alcohol; the latter cause could not operate be- fore the advent of the whites, but the former had an open field before as well as after that epoch.

Although, as before stated, there were but two or three families at Cleveland, yet there were several persons, without families, in active business there. David Bryant was running his distillery, Elisha Nor- ton and David Clark were trading with the Indians, and a Scotchman named Alexander Campbell also built a small trading-house for the same purpose. This little cluster of cabins around the distillery. under the hill, formed a constant attraction for both Indians and squaws, especially at the time of their annual return from their hunting expeditions up the river. The squaws bought the gaudiest calicos they could find and scarfs of the brightest hues, and were not averse while trading to exchanging amorous glances with the traders, who were great men because they had so much calico. The warriors, more simple in their desires, bought whisky.

GENERAL HISTORY OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY.

Among the Indians who frequented the little group of cabins was a Seneca. called by the whites "Big Son," a brother of a chief named Stigwanish; the latter being a person of considerable influence, to whom was given the distinctive appellation of Seneca- he being considered the especial representative of that powerful Iroquois tribe, of whom only a few were settled in this section. Big Son's wife fell sick, and he employed as her physician a " medicine-man " he- longing to the Chippewa tribe, whose name was Menompsy-generally abbreviated by the whites to " Nohsy." The squaw died and the disconsolate hus- band attributed her death to the medicine-man. Big Son made some threats, but he was generally consid- ered a coward, even by his brother, Stigwanish, who had treated him with great coldness in consequence. and it was not supposed there would be any serions results.

Late one afternoon Menompsy was in Carter's tay- ern, when the subject of Big Son's threats was intro- dneed. " Me no fraid," said the medicine man; "me charmed-no ball, no knife can kill me. See!" he exelaimed, throwing open his blanket and displaying several ugly scars on various parts of his body. " see where Indian cut me; another Indian shoot me, and me no dead man yet-me no dead man vet .*

Shortly afterwards he went down to one of the trading-honses at the foot of the hill. There he met Big Son, whose grief for his defunct spouse had been greatly stimulated by deep potations of Bryant's fiery whisky. A fierce altercation ensued, in which the Seneca renewed his threat and Menompsy again re- peated: " Me no 'fraid-me no 'fraid."

They went out of the store together. and ascended the path which wound up the bluff, where Union lane had been laid out and now runs. It was then becoming quite dark. When partly up the hill Big Son held ont his hand, as if to shake hands in token of reconciliation. The same instant he drew his knife and phinged it into the side of the unguarded medi- cine-man. The latter fell to the ground, while the Seneca speedily made his way to the encampment of his brethren, below Carter's.

An ontery was raised, and several white men came running to the scene-among them Mr. Carter. The wounded man looked up in his face, saying: " Me dead man now-yes, Nohsy broke now," and soon afterwards expired.

In a short time some Chippewas took up the body and carried it across the river. There a grand pow- wow was held over it, and yells of revenge resounded through the forest hour after hour. The whites on the east side were in extreme fear lest the savage Chippewas should attempt revenge on the small mm- ber of Senecas, in which case the settlers were liable to be assailed in the drunken rage of the two parties. The next morning the Chippewa warriors were seen

with their faces painted black in token of war, while it was not doubted that the Oftarras would stand by their friends against the arrogant Iroquois.

Messrs. Carter and Spafford interposed, and after some negotiations the wrathful Chippewas were in- duced to forego their vengeance on very reasonable terms: to wit, in consideration of a gallon of whisky, which Bryant was to make for them that day. It was agreed, however, that the Indians should remove their fallen brother to Rocky river before going through with the funeral ceremonies; as it was rightly supposed that an Indian " wake " at Cleveland, under the existing circumstances, might be even more dan- gerous than a declaration of war.

For awhile the warriors waited patiently for the expected whisky. But Mr. Bryant, who happened to be busy at something else, with singular recklessness neglected to manufacture the promised peace-offering, and toward night the savages became more wrathy than before. They departed for their camp across the river, muttering threats of vengeance, which this time distinctly included the faithless whites. They were again followed by the principal men of the settlement, who solemnly promised that in view of their disappointment the amount of the peace-offering should be doubled, and they should certainly receive two gallons of whisky the next day. This time Bryant did not fail to perform, and the Chippewas obtained their consolation in time to remove the body to Rocky river the second day after the murder, accompanied by their friends, the Oftawas. When the mournful but fantastic procession passed out of sight into the western woods, the whites breathed much more freely than they had during the previous forty-eight hours.

Meanwhile the murderer and his brother Senecas do not appear to have troubled themselves much about the threats of the western Indians: apparently relying on the valor and warlike skill which pertained to them as a fraction of the all-conquering Iroquois. No one seems to have doubted that they would have defended Big Son against any attempt at vengeance on the part of the Chippewas. So far from being detested as a murderer by his countrymen, the lately despised coward had suddenly become a hero in their eyes. The treacherous method in which vengeance was taken did not affect the glory of the deed, and Stigwanish promptly received his brother into high consideration.

Early in 1804 we find the first movement made to organize the militia of this section; an event at that time of considerable importanee. The "trainings " were holidays attended by the whole population, and to be a captain or major of militia added in no slight degree to the consequence of the fortunate official. On the sixth of April Major-General Wadsworth issued an order dividing his district into two brigade-dis- triets, the second of which consisted of Trumbull county. This again was subdivided into two regi- mental districts, the first of which embraced all that part of the county north of the north line of town- ship five in the several ranges; that is. north of North-

* This part of the account is derived from Mrs. Miles, before men- tioned, who heard it from her nnele, Major Carter, immediately after the murder.

THE PERIOD FROM 1801 TO 1806.

field, Twinsburg, etc., and including all of the present Cuyahoga county east of the river, together with Lake, Ashtabula, Geauga and part of Trumbull coun- ties. It contained eight company districts, the fourth of which comprised the civil township of Cleveland; the boundaries whereof at that time have already been described. By the same order the com- panies were directed to hold elections on the second of May following, at which the members of cach were to choose their own company officers.

Accordingly, on the appointed day the members of the fourth company, first regiment, second brig- ade, fourth division, Ohio State militia, assembled at the house of James Kingsbury for the purpose just mentioned. James Kingsbury, Nathaniel Doan and Benjamin Gold were elected judges. There was a hot contest for the honors of the day, but the judges decided and certified that Lorenzo Carter was duly elected captain, Nathaniel Doan lieutenant, and Samuel Jones "ensign;" the latter officer corresponding to a second lieutenant at the present time.

A protest was, however, put on record by eight, voters, including several leading citizens, requesting the major-general to set aside the election. They alleged that persons under eighteen, and others not liable to military duty, had voted for the successful men, as well as some who did not reside in the town- ship. They also declared Carter ineligible, firstly because he had given spiritnous Equors to the voters, and secondly because he had frequently threatened to set the savages on the inhabitants. The first charge, considering the customs of the period, may be taken for granted without any evidence, but the latter is so preposterous, in regard to a man as popular as Carter evidently was, that it may safely be peremptorily rejected. Very likely, however, the loud-voiced cap- tain, who, in modern phrase, "talked a good deal with his mouth," may have used some jesting ex- pression in his convivial moments, which could be distorted into such a threat. The prayer of the pro- test was not granted by the major-general, and in the following August Captain Carter was elected major of the regiment; thus receiving the title by which he was known the remainder of his life.

In this year the sloop "Cuyahoga Packet, " of twenty tons, was built at the mouth of Chagrin river; being the first sail vessel cerceted in this part of the country, though built just outside the present limits of the county. The other vessels of American build at this time running on the lake were the " Washington, " of sixty tons, the " Harlequin," the "Good lutent," the " Adams, " the " Tracy," the "Wilkinson " and the " Contractor." There were also some vessels of Canadian build.

The most important event of the year 1805 was the making of a treaty, extinguishing the Indian right of occupancy to that part of the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga river. The first council was agreed to be held at Cleveland, and was to be attended not only by

the western Indians but by a deputation from the Sic Nations, who still kept up a kind of shadowy claim to the lands, even west of the Cuyahoga, over which they had once marched as conquerors.

Accordingly in June thirty Iroquois chiefs, accom- panied by their interpreter, Jasper Parrish, came to Cleveland to attend the council. The commissioner for the United States, under whose auspices the whole business was conducted, was Colonel Charles Jewett, a large, powerful man, to whom the Indians looked up with the respect they seldom refuse to great physical strength. The representatives of the Connecticut Land Company were General Henry Champion, the first president of the company, Oliver Phelps, and Gideon Granger, postmaster-general; while the proprietors of the Fire Lands were repren- sented by Roger A. Sherman, a distinguished Connec- tient lawyer, J. Mills and William Dean.

For some unknown reason, but probably to enhance the price of their lands by appearing to hold back, the western Indians neglected to come to Cleveland according to their previous agreement. After wait- ing a few days, the commissioners sought out the chiefs of the Chipprias and Ollawas, who, with a show of reluctance, finally agreed to meet in council with the whites, at what was called Ogontz' Place, now Sandusky City. The usual ceremonies and speech-making were there gone through with, result- ing at length, on the 1th of July, 1805, in the cession by all the Indians of their right to that part of the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga, including the Fire Lands. It was said, at the time, that after the signing of the treaty many of the warriors wept at the thought that they must now yield up their ancient Hunting-grounds. A barrel of whisky was however dealt out to them, which doubtless soon caused their tears to disappear.

By the treaty, the proprietors of the Fire Lands and the Connecticut Land Company jointly agreed to pay the Indians seven thousand dollars in cash, and twelve thousand dollars more in six equal annual payments. The United States goverment also agreed to pay the interest on thirteen thousand seven hund- red dollars forever, to the Wyandots, the Munsees, and to those Senecas actually occupying the land. The Chipperras and Ollawas appear to have had no share in the latter payment.

William Dean, one of the commissioners, reported the expense of the treaty, aside from the payments, to be about five thousand dollars. This included rum, tobacco, bread, meat, presents, "expenses of se- raglio," and commissions of agents and contractors. Meanwhile the seven thousand dollars in silver, pro- vided by the proprietors to make the first payment on the land, came through from Pittsburg in a wagon, by way of Warren to Cleveland, under the escort of seven resolute men, among whom was Major Carter. At Cleveland it was shipped on boats, and taken to Sandusky. It arrived there the day the treaty was signed, and the next day, together with an ample

GENERAL HISTORY OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY.

supply of inferior presents, was distributed among the Indians.

During this year the first post-office in the county was established at Cleveland, and on the 22nd of October Elisha Norton was appointed postmaster.

The same year the collection-district of Erie was established; embracing the whole southern shore of Lake Erie, with headquarters at Erie, Pennsylvania. Previous to this time there has been no collection of revenues along the lake; the amount of trade being too small to justify the expense. The mouth of the Cuyahoga was made a port of entry at the same time, to be under the charge of an assistant collector. John Walworth, of Painesville, was appointed to that. office, and soon after removed to Cleveland.

Another event of the year, showing the gradual spread of the population into the wilderness, was the tirst settlement in survey township number eight, in range ten. now the civil township of Mayfield.

On the 20th of May, 1805, another military election was held for the same company before mentioned, which, however, was now designated as the seventh company of the second battalion; the regiment, brig- ade and division remaining as before. Nathaniel Doan was elected captain in place of Carter, promoted to major of the battallion. Samuel Jones was chosen "leuftenant" (as the record says) and Sylvanus Burk (of Enelid) ensign. The judges were Major Carter, W. W. Williams and William Erwin. The whole number of votos present was thirty, twenty-nine of whom voted for Doan and Jones; each of the worthy candidates declining to vote for himself. Sylvanns Burk, however, received but twenty-four votes; the other six going to Ezekiel Hawley, or Holley, as the name was sometimes spelled.

As the list of voters at this election comprised nearly all the males between eighteen and forty-tive then in the county. we transcribe it from Col. Whit- tlesey's work, although the orthography of some of the names is a little doubtful. It is as follows: Jack F. Mason, David Kellogg, Ebenezer Charter, Jacob Coleman, Benjamin Warder, Daniel Parker, Christo- fer Gun. William Coleman, John Doan, Thomas Thomas, Henry Norton, Harry Gun, Jonathan Hub- bard, Mason Clerk, Nathan Chapman, Nehemiah Dille, Timothy Doan, Seth Doan, Steven Gilbert, Samuel Hurst, Richard Blin, Epetary Rogers, Samuel Jones, Nathaniel Doan, William Erwin, Benjamin Wood, Sylvanus Bark, Samuel Dille, Meage Deta, Charles Prard.

On the 21st of December, of this year, the county of Geauga was formed from Trumbull by act of the leg- islature. It embraced all that part of the present Cuyahoga county east of the river, and all west as far as the west line of range fourteen; that is, the west line of Rockport, Middleburg and Strongsville. The present townships of Dover and Olmstead still re- mained nominally attached to Trumbull county. The act did not go into operation until March, 1806.

The seat of justice of the new county was fixed at.

Chardon, where it is still located. This was more convenient than Warren, but was still very unsatisfac- tory to the people near the mouth of the Cuyahoga, who were patiently expecting a great city to grow up at that point, and thought it inconsistent with the general fitness of things that they should journey nearly thirty miles, to an interior village, to settle their quarrels or record their deeds. So they made strenu- ous efforts to promote the organization of a county extending on both sides of the Cuyahoga, the natural focus of which should be near the mouth of that stream.

Soon after the cession by the Indians of that part of the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga, Messrs. Abram Tappen and Aaron Sessions obtained a contract for surveying it into townships. They and their twelve employees met at Cleveland on the 15th day of May, 1806, to commence their work. The United States government had directed Seth Pease, then assistant postmaster-general, to survey the south line of the Reserve. Tappen and Sessions waited several days for him to come to Cleveland, but as he did not do so they proceeded without him; running their meridians so l'ar south, that Pease's line would be sure to cross them. Pease did not begin bis work until the 24th of June, when the meridians were nearly finished.

The same system was pursued on the west side as on the east; the townships being laid off tive miles square, the best being taken as a standard, and some of the others being divided and added to the remain- der to bring them up to that standard. An equalizing committee, on behalf of the proprietors, went with the surveyors.

It was while this survey was going on that the cele- brated total eclipse of June 16, 1806, occurred; the day becoming in the forest as dark as night itself, and giving the Indians cause to think they had offended the Great Spirit by selling the homes of their fathers to the intruding white men.

Amos Spafford, of Cleveland, and Almon Ruggles, of Huron, were authorized by the Connectiont Land Company and the proprietors of the Fire Lands to run the line between their respective tracts. This being done, there remained, as near as could be ascertained, eight hundred and twenty-nine thousand aeres west of the Cuyahoga for the Connecticut Land Company.

Early in the spring of this year, 1806, an event ocenrred which, though affecting but a few persons, is so typical of the hardships of the pioneer days, when those who met with misfortune often failed of rescue on account of the sparseness of the population, that we have thought best to repeat it in the general history of the county. A man named Hunter, his wife and child, a colored man named Ben, and a small colored boy, who were moving to Cleveland from the settlements in Michigan in a small boat. were surprised on the lake by a heavy gale. They were driven ashore a short distance east of Rocky river. Unable to ascend the high, perpendicular

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History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 10

Author: Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co. Number of Pages: 716

Author: Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co.
Number of Pages: 716