History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 104

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

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OTHER MANUFACTURES.

Davis & Wirth are somewhat extensively engaged at Brooklyn village in the manufacture of boots, shoes and slippers, and employ an average force of twenty men. Davis & Richardson inaugurated the business at Brooklyn in 1864. After them Davis, Pelton & Co. continued it; being followed by Davis & Wallace Brothers, who dissolved in 1870. Mr. Davis then taansferred his business to Cleveland, whence in Jannary, 1829, he returned to Brooklyn, and in com- pany with Mr. Wirth renewed the manufacture of boots and shoes in that village.

Adam Krochle carries on a large brick tannery at Brooklyn village, in which he tans about ten thon- sand hides and skins annually, employing ten men. Mr. Krochle has conducted the busmess since 1862, when he purchased it from Mr. Storer, who started it about 1840.

E. Jorus has a small tannery at the foot of Brook- lyn village hill, where he turns out about twenty hides weekly. On the Brighton side of the creek, Charles Mueller has a similar establishment of like eapacity.

NURSERIES.

Ebenezer Fish inaugurated the nursery business in Brooklyn, in 1840, but did not develop it to any ex- tent until he placed it in charge of Wm. Curtiss, who, after expanding the trade and making it profitable, became Mr. Fish's partner. He afterward bought him out, extending the business still more and eventu- ally establishing numerons nurseries in the township, to which he gave the general name of the Forest City Nurseries. In 1859 he took in his brother, J. M. Curtiss, as a partner, who upon the death of William Curtiss, in 1860, assumed control of the business, and ro extended it that between the years 1865 and 1875 his annual sales reached as high as sixty thousand apple and peach trees alone.

In 1815 he sold his interest in the nurseries to M. A. Wilhelmy, who has since then controlled them.

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THE TOWNSHIPS OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY.

RAILWAYS.

Brooklyn is crossed in a diagonal direction, from northeast to southwest, by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad, its only station in the township being at Linndale. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad crosses West Cleve- land, and also bears southwestwardly, but not so far to the sonth as the former road. The Rocky River railroad runs along the northern end of the township, parallel with the lake, to Rocky river. A street rail- way connects Brooklyn village with Cleveland.

The Valley railroad, to run from Cleveland to Can- ton, is now in process of construction, passing across the eastern portion of this township. The entire dis- tance is graded, and it is now expected that trains will run between Canton and Cleveland by the first of January, 1880. The owners have donated thirty- one acres of land in Brooklyn to the company, as a site for its car-shops, depot, etc., and it is confidently be- lieved that the completion of the enterprise will bring a decided increase of prosperity to the township.

GLENN LODGE, I. O. O. F.

Glen Lodge, No. 263, was organized in Brighton, March 21, 1855, with ten charter members. The present membership is one hundred and thirteen, the officers being as follows: George Schmehl, N. G .; J. (. Wait, V. G .: Walter II. Gates, R. S .: William Treat, P. S .; George Reidel, treasurer.

GLENN ENCAMPMENT, I. O. O. F.

Glenn Encampment, No. 181, was organized at Brighton in 1844, with ten charter members. h June, 1879, it was removed to Cleveland, and named Cleveland Encampment, after an organization which had previously existed in that city, but which had been suspended. The present officers are J. J. Quay, C. P .; J. S. Wood. H. P .; P. Shackleton, S. W .; W. Il. Newton, J. W .: Wm. Treat, seribe; C. Stick- ney, treasurer.

BROOKLYN LODGE, F. & A. M.

Brooklyn Lodge, No. 454, was organized October 18, 1871, with the following charter members: E. T. Ellsworth, Henry Richardson, Samuel B. Root. C. ; II. Babcock, G. R. Davis, John Lane, Frederick Wirth, Wm. Willson, Wm. Woodard, Ozias Fish, Chas. Mueller, C. W. Quirk, J. IL. Storer, E. II. Bush, I. N. Turner, Thos, Quirk, Henry Fish and Theodore M. Towl. The Worshipful Masters of the lodge have been E. T. Ellsworth, C. H. Babcock, Hlenry Fish, R. Il. Wirth, T. M. Towl, George R. Davis and D. W. Hoyt, the latter serving two terms. The present membership is thirty-eight, and the ofli- cers are as follows: D. W. Hoyt, W. M. ; T. S. Davis. S. W .; A. L. Sansman, J. W .; G. R. Davis, treas. ; J. Il. Storer, secy .; F. Cosgrove, S. D .; W. C. Towns. J. D .; Geo. J. Duncan, tyler; E. 11. Bush, chaplain. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Wed nesdays of each month, in the Masonic Hall, Brook- lyn village.

MILITIA COMPANIES.

The Brooklyn Light Artillery was organized by C'apt. Sidney Andrews in 1858, with twenty-eight men and one gun-a brass six-pounder. The com- mand built, in 1858, the structure in Brooklyn vil- lage, still known as "The Armory," and occupied by Davis & Wirth as a shoe factory. After two years existence as a militia company, it entered the three months service in 1861, as a part of the First Ohio Light Artillery. Mention of the services of that regiment are made in the general history. After be- ing mustered out, so many of the men volunteered into other commands that the company could not be kept np.

The " Brooklyn Blues " were organized in February, 1876, by S. G. Cosgrove, as an independent company of infantry. It then numbered forty men. The first officers were S. G. Cosgrove, captain; R. W. White- man, first lieutenant; B. F. Storer, second lieutenant. Upon the organization of the Fifteenth Regiment Ohio National Guards, the " Blues " joined that com- mand as Company B, and as such are still known. The company now numbers thirty-five men, its officers being T. K. Dissette, captain; W. C. Towns, first lieutenant: B. F. Storer, second lieutenant. Com- pany B is equipped with Springfield breech-loading muskets, and owns its armory at Brooklyn village.

BROOKLYN HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY NO. 1.

Brooklyn village boasts a fire company, numbering thirty uniformed men, and having for apparatus a Babcock tire-extinguisher and a hook and ladder truck. No. 1 was organized in 1876, with thirty men. William Beaser was the chief; Frederick Wirth, the first assistant, and John Sweisel, the second assistant. William Beaser is the present chief: John Sweisel, the first assistant, and II. B. Wallace, the second assistant.

ABEL S. IHINCKLEY.

Abel S. Hinckley was born at Chatham, Middlesex county, Connecticut, on the 5th of April, 1803. He is descended from Samuel Hinckley, who came from England in 1635, and settled at Barnstable, Massachu- setts, and whose grandson. Gersham, removed to Leh- anon, Connecticut in 1712. John Hinckley, a son of Gersham, settled at East Hampton, Connecticut, and died there at an advanced age, leaving a large family of children. Isaac, the oldest of this family was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born at Chatham, on the 31st of May, 1773. Ile removed to Brooklyn, Ohio, in 1814, and became prominently connected with the interests of the town, holding va- rious local offices and positions of trust. lle was one of the founders of the Congregational church of Brook- lyn, and for many years was one of its deacons. IIe died on the 9th of March, 1851, respected and regret- ted by all who knew him. His wife was Sarah Shep- ard, daughter of Abel Shepard, of Chatham, Connee-

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CHAGRIN FALLS.

tient. They were married on the 12th of December, 1799, and had a family of seven children, of whom the subject of this notice is the second.

Abel & Hinckley

He came with his father to Brooklyn, and, although but eleven years of age, assisted his parents in making a comfortable home in the wilderness. There was then but one house in what is now known as the South Side of Cleveland, and the surrounding country was an unbroken forest. Young Hinckley remained at home until twenty-four years old, working indns- trionsly in clearing and cultivating the farm, and re- ceiving in the meantime a limited education.

On the 18th of January, 1827. he married Sarah Dennison, daughter of Daniel Dennison, of Brooklyn. He then engaged in farming upon his own account, and continued in that business until 1823, when he sold his farm and removed to the village of Brooklyn, where he has since resided. He is a Republican in politics, but has never sought publie notice nor otlice. As a citizen and a neighbor he is highly respected, being a valued member of the Congregational church. in which he holds the office of deacon.

To Mr. and Mrs. Hinckley were born five children. viz., Lucy, (deceased); Aurelia W., at home: Sarah L., wife of Henry J. Brainard, of Hazelhurst, Mis- sissippi; William II., who died in infancy, and Louisa M., also deceased. Mrs. Hinckley died in February, 1862. Mr. Hinckley married his second wife, Miss Sarah Foote, daughter of Edom Foote, of Brooklyn, on the 21st day of May, 1863.

CHAPTER LXXII. CHAGRIN FALLS .*

Serenus Burnet Two Dollars and a Half per Acre for Land-Other Early Settlers A Log Gristmill An Unfinished Bridge-Adamson Bentley Bentleyville - Beginning at Chagrin Falls Village - Noah Graves and Dr. Handerson Newcomers in 1837-A Tavern in a Barn -The Old Deer Lick-Griffithsburg-Bentleyville's Prosperous Days Dr. Viueent- A Primitive Bank-A College Chartered Lively Times Sidney Rigdon The Financial Crisis Early Mail Facilities-Asbury Seminary-The Tippecanoe Campaign-Whig Riffemen and Demo- cratic Indians-First Paper Mill Annexation of Nine Hundred Aeres to Orange Deacon White's Ax Factory-More about Bentleyville- Formation of Chagrin Falls Township-First Officers-Enterprise of the People - Champion's Scheme - A Pleasant Village-The excite meut at the Outbreak of the Rebellion-The Soldiers' And Society- Since the War Business Interests-Chagrin Falls Paper Company - Adams & Co.'s Paper Mill-Williams' Foundry-Gauntt's Machine Shop-Ober's Planing Machine-Other Manufactures Congregational Church - Methodist Church -Disciple Church - Free Will Baptist Church Bible Christian Church-Golden Gate Lodge-Chagrin Falls Lodge-Township Officers-Sketch of H. W. Curtiss.

IN the month of May, 1815, immediately after the war of 1812, Serenus Burnet brought his wife and little son, Stephen, and located himself on the west side of Chagrin river, about two miles north of the present village of Chagrin Falls. There he built a rude log-house, and became the first resident of the present township of Chagrin Falls. The nearest neighbors were in the Covert neighborhood, near Willson's Mills, in the present township of Mayfield. For six months after their arrival Mrs. Burnet did not see the face of a white woman.

Mr. Burnet paid two dollars and a half per aere for the best river-bottom land, and the proprietors were willing enough to sell even at this rate, for Burnet's was for a long time about the end of settle- ment in the Chagrin valley. During the next ten years the lower part of the valley slowly settled up, and between 1820 and 1825 Jacob Gillett, Caleb Al- son and James Fisher became residents of what is now the township of Chagrin Falls, in the immediate vicinity of Serenus Burnet.

But it was not until the year 1826 or 1822 that any settlement was made in the vicinity of the present village of Chagrin Falls. At that time John Wood- ward and Benjamin Carpenter built a dam across the Chagrin river, below Williams' foundry at Chagrin Falls, and at the north end of it crected a small log gristmill. The stones were drawn by eight yoke of cattle from a still older mill, situated near where Edmund Burnet now lives, in Orange.

About the same time Gen. Edward Paine, who owned the land west of the present Franklin street, undertook to build a bridge across the river at the falls, and put four stringers across as a beginning. The work was not completed at that time, however, and the stringers remained, affording a precarious passage to the few footmen who occasionally ap- peared in the vicinity. Mr. W. T. Upham men-

*Many fanciful stories have been told abont the origin of the name "Chagrin, " applied first to the river, and then to the falls, the township and the village: it being often supposed that it comes from the "cha- grin" felt by somebody, about something, on its banks. It is, however, undoubtedly derived from the old Indian word "Shagnin," which is to be found applied to it on maps issued before the Revolution. "Sha- guin" is supposed to mean " clear, " but this is not so certain,

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THIE TOWNSHIPS OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY.

tions seeing them, in 1822 or '28, when hunting in company with his brother, E. B. Upham, Alfred Utley and Joel Burnet. The falls were then marked by shelving rocks, which have since been blasted away, and the youngsters cut down a tree, growing on the bank, for the fun of seeing it topple over the precipice.

In the month of February, 1831, Rev. Adamson Bentley, a noted Disciple minister, then forty-six years old, having purchased a large tract of land at the junotion of the two branches of the Chagrin river, moved to that point, and immediately began important improvements there. That same year he built a sawmill, and that year, or the next, he erected a gristmill; both being situated near the present res- idence of his son, Martin Bentley, about a quarter of a mile below the forks of the river. He built a card- ing machine and cloth-dressing establishment at the same point a little later, and thus made the beginning of a thriving hamlet, which flourished under the name of Bentleyville for over twenty years, and at first seemed likely to be the principal village in that part of the county.

But in 1833 a new village was begum, which soon threw Bentleyville entirely in the shade, and has long maintained an unquestioned supremacy over the va- rious little burgs in the southeastern part of Cuyahoga county. It will be remembered that at this time that part of the present township of Chagrin Falls lying east of the line of Franklin street, in the village of that name, was in the town of Russell, in Geanga county, while the portion west of that line was in Orange, Cuyahoga county, except a small fract in the southwest corner of the village, which was in Solon, in the same county. The land in Geauga county was owned by Aristarchus Champion, of Rochester, New York,* while that of Orange was the property of Gien. Edward Paine, the founder of Painesville, but then residing at Chardon, Geauga county.

In the year 1833, Noah Graves, a Massachusetts Yankee, on the lookout for a good investment, after examining the water power at the Falls, went to Gen. Paine and purchased two hundred and ten aeres of land there, for what was then considered the large sum of two thousand dollars. Dr. S. S. Handerson was either connected with Graves at the time of the trade or became so immediately afterward, and together they at once made the preliminary move- ments to start a city. Lots were laid out and offered for sale, and preparations were made for building mills.

We cannot learn. however, that any houses were built on the site of the village until 1834. In that year Noah Graves. S. S. Handerson, Chester Bush- nell, Napoleon Covill, A. A. Hart and Ebenezer Wil- cox, all took their families and settled in the new city. In October of that year, Mr. Henry Church, the old- est survivor of the original pioneers of the village,

moved thither with his family. Ile found the fami- lies already mentioned, but only three framed houses those of Graves, ITanderson and Hart. Mr. Wilcox lived in the house of his brother-in-law. Mr. Graves and Mr. Covill lived in a log house north of the river, while Julius Higgins dwelt in a shanty near by.

Chester Bushnell built a barn that season on the site of the Union House, in the upper part of which he lived with his family and kept tavern, the horses of the travelers being stabled below. Mr. Graves also built a dam that year, but did not erect his sawmill until the next year, 1835. Mr. Church, as soon as he arrived, went to blacksmithing, his being the first shop in the new village. Ilis partner was Luther Graves, (a nephew of Noah) who had come with Mr. Church.

I. A. Foote, a resident almost as early, came on the 19th of October, 1834. ITe remembers but two framed houses, those of Graves and Hart. There was still no bridge, and Paine's old stringers afforded the only means of passage. Ira Sherman lived near by.

There was an old deer-lick near the location of the upper paper mill, and when the first settlers came there were still bark hammocks to be seen hanging in the tops of the large, low beech trees, where the In- dians had been accustomed to lie in wait for the deer as they came to drink the brackish waters of the "lick." There was a tineture of mineral in the water, besides salt, and the neighboring stones were glazed by a shining substance, deposited on the evap- oration of the water.

The Indians had then ceased to visit this part of the connty and the deer abandoned the lick as soon as the white people began to settle in the vicinity. They were still abundant in the neighboring hills, and many a fine careass was brought in by the early settlers. A. Il. Ilart was especially noted as a hunter, and Mr. Church was almost equally devoted to the chase, and was a frequent companion of Mr. Ilart on his hunting excursions.

In 1835 there was a marked improvement in the new village. Several new houses were put up, the projected sawmill was built, and the woods cleared away for several rods around the buildings. Still there were no roads of any value in the country around. and all kinds of business were of course extremely difficult of transaction. Mr. Church mentions having frequently gone up into the settlement of Solon, got a bag of wheat and carried it on his back to Bentley's little gristmill; carrying it thence, in the same man- ner, home to Chagrin Falls.

The next year, 1836, the erection of a gristmill at the falls made it unnecessary to go elsewhere for grinding, but the wheat had still to be brought over most execrable roads.

But those were the celebrated " flush times, " when everybody was bent on speculation, when paper money was as free as water, and when unbounded riches were consequently expected by the whole community.

*Aristarchus Champion died at Rochester only a few years since at the age of over niuety years.

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CHRGRIN FALLS.

Scarcely an enterprise could be suggested in which men were not ready to engage. About this same time, 1836, Gen. James Griffith found a water power on the Aurora branch of the Chagrin river, and bought the upper part of it. Ten men, mostly from Aurora, in Portage county, bought the lower part. Griffith built a sawmill and he and the others planned a village to be called Griffithsburg, which, like Bentleyville, was within the present township of Chagrin Falls, Cap- tain Archibald Robbins, the celebrated sailor, who with Captain Riley was taken prisoner on the coast of Africa, and who is mentioned in the history of Solon, bought an interest at Griffithsburg, built a store there and remained three or four years.

Meanwhile, for several years, Bentleyville kept ahead, not only of Griffithsburg, but of its more promising rival, Chagrin Falls, John Oviatt came thither in 1834 or '35, built a trip-hammer shop, and made scythes, axes and similar instruments in large quantities-that is, large for that time and place. This establishment was kept up for tive or six years. Another, erected about the same time, was the tan- nery of William Brooks, In 1835 or 36 Mr. Bentley erected and opened a small store at the same point, being the first store in the present township of Cha- grin Falls.

In 1835 Dr. JJustus Il. Vincent located in the northwest corner of Bainbridge, Geauga county, being the first physician who practiced to any extent in Chagrin Falls. In 1836 and '37 he was a member of the legislature. All the property holders of the vi- cinity, with Dr. Vincent at their head, applied for a charter for a bank at Chagrin Falls. This institu- tion, however, did not get fairly under way. The nearest approach to it was a shanty in which one of the residents lived, which was set into the bank of a hill. This, in consideration of its position, was dubbed the "bank," and the resident was breveted the cashier.

In March, 1836, the first religions society in the township was formed, being called the " First Con- gregational Society of Morense." There seems to have been a disposition to call the new village " Mo- rense," but it was soon given up. The year before this (1835) a college had been chartered, which was to stand on College Hill. There was to be no lack of great institutions, and it is a somewhat amusing illustration of the spirit of the time that the first dis- triet school was taught the same season the college was chartered. The teacher was Miss Almeda Vin- cent. afterwards Mrs. Aaron Bliss, of Chicago.

ller husband opened the first store in the village in 1836, in the bar room of the hotel, but soon after built a store on the corner of Main and Orange streets. These were perhaps the liveliest times the village has ever known, except during a short time at the outbreak of the rebellion. Soon after Bliss opened his store, B. H. and II. S. Bosworth also em- barked in the mercantile business. Joshua Overton and - Bennett bought and occupied the tavern.

William Fay set up a shingle machine. Chartes Waldron and William Pratt were in business as shoe- makers, William McGlashan and Dudley Thorp as tailors, and Ilenry Smith as a mason. George Fen- kel was building his gristmill, which was in running order by winter. Caleb Earl built a clothiers shop.

Among other residents already there, or fast coming in, were James Bosworth, with his sons, Freeman. Sherman, Milo and Philetus, and his sons-in-law, Jason Matthews, Robert Barrows, Justus Taylor, Jus- tus Benedict, T. N. West, Samuel Graham and Tim- othy Osborn, all with families; also, Huron Beebe, Roderick Beebe, William Church and Zopher Hol- eomb.

To add to the excitement, the celebrated Sidney Rigdon, who was then second only to Joseph Smith as a Mormon preacher, was displaying the glories of the religion of the Latter Day Saints in numerous sermons and speeches. That religion had not then assumed its offensive polygamous features, and Rig- don, who was known to be an eloquent speaker, was invited to deliver the oration at Chagrin Falls on the 4th of July, 1836. He did so, and among other glow- ing predictions, prophesisd that there would soon be one great city, extending from Chagrin Falls to Kirt- land, fifteen miles north, all inhabited by the saints of the Lord.

The next spring, 1837, the excitement was still intense, and the expectation of universal wealth through the medium of unlimited paper money and the immense rise in the price of land was yet un- abated. A Congregational church edifice was plan- ned, and the timber was drawn to the public square, which at this time was dedicated to the publie, and included all that block on which the town hall now stands. Two-thirds of it was afterwards given to the Methodist and Congregational churches.

Another grand celebration was gotten np on the Fourth of July, and was graced by a peculiar accom- paniment. The first marriage in the village, and probably in the township, took place on that day. the othiviating minister being Rev. Sherman B. Can- field, the orator of the day, and the parties being Aaron Bliss, the young merchant, and Miss Almeda, the daughter of Dr. J. II. Vincent.

But while all was thus going " merry as a mar- riage bell" in the financial and social world, the sound of approaching disaster came swiftly upon the ear. During the summer of 1832 the whole fabric of ap- parent prosperity which had been built up on a basis of worthless paper money, went down even more suddenly than it had been raised, and business all over the country came to a standstill. Chagrin Falls, like other ambitious, young villages, for several years, made very little progress,

Notwithstanding all the energy previously dis- played, there was yet no post office in the village. There was a mail route, however, ran by Seremus Burnet's place, where he had begun keeping tavern. From there the mail was brought once a week by

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TITE TOWNSHIPS OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY.

Marcus Earl to the house of his father in the village, where the people gathered to obtain their letters and papers, making it a post office by common consent.

The first fatal accident in the township occurred in 1839, when the young daughter of Mr. Overton was burned to death by her clothes catching fire. Mr. C. T. Blakeslee, to whose sketches in the Chagrin Falls Expositor we are indebted for a large number of the facts here set forth, mentions that there were no less than seventeen fatal accidents at Chagrin Falls be- tween 1839 and 1874. The same year Asbury Semi- nary was incorporated as a Methodist institution, Mr. Williams being the first principal.

Meanwhile Samuel Nettleton built a furnace, which in 1840 he sold to Benajah Williams, by whom and his son it has ever since been carried on. Mr. Wil- liams had moved to the village in 1832, with his sous Lorenzo D., John W., William MI., Francis S., Adam C. and Andrew J.

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History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 104

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