USA > Ohio > Lake County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 4
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 4
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The survey of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga was completed October 17, 1796, and the surveyors began their journey homeward, of which Mr. Holley's diary furnishes very interesting descriptions. We are indebted for the extracts here given to Mr. Whittlesey's " Early History of Cleveland." They began the journey by water, and there were fourteen men in the party, as follows : Augustus Porter, Seth Pease, Richard Stoddard, Joseph Tinker, Charles Parker, Ware- ham Shepard, Amsi Atwater, James Hacket, Stephen Benton, George Proudfoot, James Hamilton, Nathan Chapman, Ralph Bacon, and Milton Holley. The first night they rowed about seven miles and a half, and encamped for the night.
They started on Tuesday, October 18, the day after the survey was completed. We make the following interesting extract from Mr. Holley's journal, made
" Thursday, October 20, 1796 .- Started half after six in the morning; no wind. About nineteen miles by the lake-shore from the Cuyahoga a creek comes in, which forms a large marsh lying a mile along shore, and on the average one hundred rods wide. At twenty-seven miles comes Grand river. This stream is almost always a good harbor for boats, the outlet into the lake being about two or three rods wide, and two or three feet deep. Just above the sand- bar, made by the washing of the lake, the river is nearly twenty rods wide, and the depth sufficient for large vessels to anchor in. It continues this depth almost a mile, and is navigable for any boat four miles from the mouth, up to the Indian settlement, where are rapids which now obstruct the passage, but with some ex- pense might be made navigable for boats a great distance,-I suppose forty or fifty miles at least. The general course is north till it approaches within eight miles of the lake, when it runs twenty miles due west before it empties itself. About thirty-six miles is a burning spring in the lake, two or three rods from shore, which is very perceptible, as you stand upon the beach, from its boiling motion. Mr. Porter told me that he, with General Cleaveland and Mr. Stow, had made a trial to know if it really was inflammable, which they found to be the case, although it was a very unfavorable time when they did it. The waves ran high and the wind blew hard. They held a torch, well lighted, very close to the water, when there appeared a flame like that of spirits burning, but as it was so much mixed with other air, and the water so deep over it (four feet), the flame would go out immediately. About eleven o'clock the wind began to blow from the northeast, and came so hard that we put ashore, and encamped near the spring at one o'clock P.M."
THE APPOINTMENT OF AN EQUALIZING COMMITTEE.
After this survey was completed, the land company, in order that the share- holders might share equitably as nearly as possible the lands of the Reserve, or to avoid the likelihood of a part of the shareholders drawing the best, and others the medium, and others again the poorest of the lands, appointed an equalizing com- mittee, whose duties we will explain.
The amount of the purchase-money, one million two hundred thousand dollars, was divided into four hundred shares, each share value being three thousand dollars. The holder of one share, therefore, had one four-hundredth undivided interest in the whole tract, and he who held four or five or twenty shares had four or five or twenty times as much interest undivided in the whole Reserve as he who held but one. As some townships would be more valuable than others, the company adopted, at a meeting of shareholders at Hartford, Connecticut, in April, 1796, a mode of making partition, and appointed a committee of equaliza- tion to divide the Reserve in accordance with the company's plan. The com- mittee appointed were Daniel Holbrook, William Shepard, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford, and the committee who made up their report at Canandaigua, New York, December 13, 1797, were William Shepard, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford.
The directors of the company, in accordance with Article III. of the Articles of Association, selected six townships to be offered for sale to actual settlers alone, and in which the first improvements were designed to be made. The town- ships thus selected were numbers eleven, in the sixth range; ten, in the ninth range; nine, in the tenth range; eight, in the eleventh range; seven, in the twelfth range ; and two, in the second range. These townships are now known as Madison, Mentor, and Willoughby, in Lake County ; Euclid and Newberg, in Cuyahoga county ; and Youngstown, in Mahoning. Number three, in the third range, or Weathersfield, in Trumbull county, was omitted from the first draft made by the company, owing to the uncertainty of the boundaries of Mr. Par- sons' claim. This township has sometimes been called the Salt Spring township. The six townships above named were offered for sale before partition was made, and parts of them were sold.
Excepting the Parsons' claim and the seven townships above named, the remainder of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga was divided among the members of the company as follows :
MODE OF PARTITION.
The four best townships in the eastern part of the Reserve were selected and surveyed into lots, an average of one hundred lots to the township. As there were four hundred shares, the four townships would yield one lot for every share. When these lots were drawn, each holder or holders of one or more shares par- ticipated in the draft. The committee selected township eleven, in range seven, and townships five, six, and seven, in range eleven, for the four best townships. These are Perry, in Lake county, Northfield, in Summit county, Bedford and Warrenville, in Cuyahoga county.
Then the committee proceeded to select from the remaining townships certain
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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.
other townships that should be next in value to the four already selected, which were to be used for equalizing purposes. The tracts thus selected, being whole townships and parts of townships, were in number twenty-four, as follows: six, seven, eight, nine, and ten, in the eighth range; six, seven, eight, and nine, in the ninth range; and one, five, six, seven, and eight, in the tenth range; and sundry irregular tracts, as follows : number fourteen, in the first range; number thirteen, in the third range; number thirteen, in the fourth range; number twelve, in the fifth range; number twelve, in the sixth range; number eleven, in the eighth range; number ten, in the tenth range; number six, in the twelfth range ; and numbers one and two, in the eleventh range. These tracts are now known as Auburn, Newbury, Munson, Chardon, Bainbridge, Russell, and Chester townships, in Geauga County ; Concord and Kirtland, in Lake County ; Spring- field and Twinsburg, in Summit county; Solon, Orange, and Mayfield, in Cuyahoga county. The fractional townships are Conneaut gore, Ashtabula gore, Saybrook gore, Geneva, Madison gore, Painesville, Willoughby gore, Independ- ence, Coventry, and Portage. After this selection had been made, they selected the average townships, to the value of each of which each of the others should be brought by the equalizing process of annexation. The eight best of the remaining townships were taken, and were numbers one, five, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, in the first range; twelve, in the fourth range; eleven, in the fifth range; and six, in the sixth range. They are now known as Poland, in Mahoning county ; Hart- ford, in Trumbull county ; Pierpont, Monroe, Conneaut, Saybrook, and Harpers- field, in Ashtabula county ; and Parkman, in Geauga county. These were the standard townships, and all the other townships of inferior value to these eight, which would include all the others not mentioned above, were to be raised to the value of the average townships by annexations from the equalizing townships. These last named were cut up into parcels of various sizes and values, and annexed to the inferior townships in such a way as to make them all of equal value in the opinion of the committee. When the committee had performed this task, it was found that, with the exception of the four townships first selected, the Par- sons' tract, and the townships that had been previously set aside to be sold, the whole tract would amount to an equivalent of ninety-three shares. There were therefore ninety-three equalized townships or parcels to be drawn for east of the Cuyahoga.
THE DRAFT.
To entitle a shareholder to the ownership of an equalized township it was necessary for him to be the proprietor of twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents of the original purchase of the company, or in other words, he must possess about three and three-tenths shares of the original pur- chase.
The division by draft took place on the 29th of January, 1798. The town- ships were numbered from one to ninety-three, and the numbers on slips of paper placed in a box. The names of shareholders were arranged in alphabetical order, and in those instances in which an original investment was insufficient to entitle such investor to an equalized township, he formed a combination with others in like situation, and the name of that person of this combination that had alpha- betic precedence was used in the draft. If the small proprietors were, from dis- agreement among themselves, unable to unite, a committee was appointed to select and classify them, and those selected were compelled to submit to this arrange- ment. If after they had drawn a township they could not agree in dividing it between them, this committee, or another one appointed for the purpose, divided it for them. That township which the first number drawn designated belonged to the first man on the list, and the second drawn to the second man, and so on until all were drawn. Thus was the ownership in common severed, and each individual secured his interest in severalty. John Morgan, John Cadwell, and Jonathan Brace, the trustees, as rapidly as partition was effected, conveyed by deed to the several purchasers the lands they had drawn.
The following is an abstract of the drawing of lands lying within the counties of Geauga and Lake.
It will be borne in mind that it required twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents to entitle a shareholder to one of the equal- ized townships or an average township. It frequently happened that a number united and drew several townships together. As, for example, in draft No. 61, Gideon Granger, Oliver Phelps, and Phelps and Granger united their joint money, being ninety thousand three hundred and twenty-two dollars and sixty- one cents, or seven times twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents, which entitled them to seven townships.
BY WHOM THE DIFFERENT TOWNSHIPS OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES WERE DRAWN.
In Geauga County the following townships were selected for equalizing pur- poses : Auburn, Newbury, Munson, Chardon, Bainbridge, Russell, and Chester.
Parkman was one of the standard townships, and the remaining eight townships of Thompson, Troy, Huntsburg, Middlefield, Claridon, Burton, Montville, and Hambden were each considered below an average township in value, and equal- izing parcels were annexed to each. To Thompson township (No. 10 of the sixth range) was annexed lot No. 1 in tract fourteen of the first range, containing twenty-one hundred and fifty acres, and the participants in the draft were as follows :
Investment. $400.00
Reuben and Andrew Bardwell.
Ebenezer King, Jr ...
2,415.75
David, Ebenezer, and Fidelio King ..
1,434.98
David and Ebenezer King ...
626.50
Joseph Pratt, Luther Loomis, David King, John Leavitt, Jr., Ebenezer King, Jr., Timothy Phelps, and Fidelio King
2,195.00
Same parties as last named.
1,097.50
Martin Sheldon ...
2,595.00
Asahel King and Simon Kendall
305.75
Asahel King, John Leavitt, Jr., and Erastus Granger
1,125.00
Oliver Sheldon
50.00
Sylvanus C. Griswold
100.00
Matthew Thompson and Reuben Bardwell.
557.75
Total.
$12,903.23
To Troy (No. 6 of the seventh range), containing sixteen thousand three hun- dred and forty-three acres, was annexed lot 6, in tract two, of the seventh range, containing nine hundred and sixty-eight acres ; also lot 11 in tract one of the same range, containing eighteen hundred and seventy-eight acres. The following drew this township :
Investment.
Robert Buck ..
$1,311.54
John Welch and David Henckley
6,000.00
John Worthington
1,600.00
Seth Porter
3,000.00
Asa White.
991.69
Total.
.$12,903.23
To Huntsburg (No. 8 of the sixth range), containing fifteen thousand three hundred and sixty acres, was annexed lot No. 1 in tract thirteen of the fourth range, containing two thousand two hundred and eighty-four acres. The drawers were :
Investment.
Robert Buck
$7,206.46
Ebenezer Hunt ...
5,696.77
Total. .$12,903.23
To Middlefield (No. 7 of the range), containing sixteen thousand four hundred and eighty-two acres, was annexed lot 1 in township 10 of the eighth range, con- taining five thousand one hundred and ninety-four acres. The drawers were :
Investment.
Penuel Cheney.
$1,630.00
Lynde McCurdy
2,777.00
Erastus Huntington.
3,000.00
John Kinsman
3,508.23
Thomas Huntington
1,988.00
Total
.$12,903.23
To Claridon (No. 8 of the seventh range), containing fourteen thousand two hundred and eighty-three acres, was annexed lot 2 in tract thirteen of the third range, containing three thousand and fifteen acres. Those who drew this town- ship were :
Investment.
Daniel L. Coit
$7,176.47
Uriel Holmes.
4,733.14
Martin Smith.
640.00
Nathaniel Patch ..
353.62
Total
$12,903.23
To Burton (No. 7 of the seventh range), containing fifteen thousand two hun- dred and seventy-four acres, was annexed lot 1 in township nine of the ninth range, containing five thousand four hundred and sixty-seven acres. Those concerned in this draft were :
Investment.
Benjamin Doolittle, Jr
$796.00
Samuel Doolittle.
40.00
Titus Street ...
3,471.50
William Law.
3,461.50
Turhand Kirtland.
1,875.00
Andrew Hull
1,134.23
Daniel Holbrook
1,000.00
Turhand Kirtland and Seth Hart.
500.00
Levi Tomlinson ..
625.00
Total
.$12,903.23
To Montville (No. 9 of the sixth range), containing fifteen thousand five hun- dred and thirty-six acres, was annexed lot 7 in township one of the tenth range, containing three thousand two hundred and sixty-six acres. Those concerned in this draft were :
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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.
Thomas James Douglass ..
Investment. $2,000.00
Oliver Phelps and Gideon Granger.
5,031.89
John Morgan
3,545.34
John Parish
2,126.00
Hezekiah Huntington.
200.00
Total
$12,903.23
To Hambden (No. 9 of the seventh range), containing fourteen thousand three hundred and twenty-three acres, was annexed lot 5 in township one of the tenth range, containing sixteen hundred and ninety-nine acres. Those concerned in this draft were :
Investment.
Gideon Granger, Jr.
$1,814.29
Oliver Phelps
6,743.00
Oliver Phelps and Gideon Granger, Jr ..
4,343.94
Total ...
$12,903.23
Russell township (No. 7 of the ninth range), containing sixteen thousand one hundred and three acres, was divided into three parcels, one containing two thou- sand nine hundred and thirty acres, annexed to township two of the fifth range, and became the property of Joseph Barrell, William Edwards, and others ; another con- taining seven thousand and fifty-two acres, annexed to township eight of the fourth range, and became the property of Jabez and Asahel Adams, Moses Cleaveland, and others; and another, containing six thousand one hundred and twenty-one acres, annexed to township five in the fourth range, and became the property of Henry Champion (2d) and others.
Auburn (No. 6 of the eighth range) was divided into three tracts,-one of them was annexed to township one of the second range, and became the property of Caleb Atwater; another was annexed to township six of the third range, and . Turhand, Jared, and B. Kirkland became the owners of it; the third parcel was annexed to township ten of the second range, and became the property of Heze- kiah Clark and others.
Bainbridge (township six of the ninth range) was divided into two tracts,- one of which was annexed to township six of the second range, and became the property of Judson Canfield ; the other to township six of the fourth range, and became the property of Nathaniel Gorham, Warham Parks, and others.
Newbury (No. 7 of the eighth range) was divided into three tracts,-one of them annexed to No. 5 of the ninth range, and drawn by Andrew and Reuben Bardwell and others; another, annexed to four of the fifth range, and became the property of Jonathan Brace, E. Perkins, and others; and the third part annexed to township two of the ninth range, and became the property of Ephraim Root and others.
Chardon (No. 9 of the eighth range) was divided into four parts,-one of them was annexed to township one of the fourth range, and became the property of Daniel L. Coit and others ; another, to township four of the eleventh range, and became the property of Nathaniel Gorham, Parks, and others ; another, to township seven of the fourth range, and became the property of Peter C. Brook, Gorham, and others; and still another, annexed partly to township two in the fourth range, and partly to township two of the third range, and became the property of Gideon Granger, Oliver Phelps, and others.
Chester (No. 8 of the ninth range) was divided into two parts,-one of them annexed to township three of the eleventh range, and drawn by William Billings, Oliver Smith, and others; and the other to township four of the tenth range.
Munson (No. 8 of the eighth range) was divided into two parcels,-one of them annexed to township one range nine, drawn by Samuel Hale and others ; and the other annexed to township four of the ninth range, and drawn by Titus Street.
Parkman was one of the average, or standard, townships, and became the property of Joseph Williams, Samuel Parkman, and William Shaw.
In Lake County Perry was one of the four best townships selected by the com- mittee of equalization, divided into one hundred lots and distributed among the shareholders.
Le Roy was drawn by Benjamin Bates, Moses Kingsley, Amasa Clapp, Samuel and James Hamilton, Benjamin Parsons, and Nathaniel Edwards, whose share in the draft was represented by six thousand dollars; Ezekiel Williams, Jr., whose share was represented by three thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents ; and Ebenezer Parsons, whose share was represented by three thousand dollars. To Le Roy was annexed lot 14, in tract one of the eleventh range, containing seventeen hundred and ninety-six acres.
Mentor was surveyed into sixteen tracts by John Milton Holley, and these be- came the property, one of them, of Caleb Atwater, another of Pierpont Edwards, another of George Blake, another of Samuel Fowler.
Willoughby and Madison and Mentor were three of the six townships selected by the equalizing committee to be offered to actual settlers alone, and in which the first improvements were to be made. They were surveyed into lots, which became the property of various individuals.
Painesville was an equalizing township, and William Eldridge and Simon Gris- wold became owners of one tract, Samuel Fowler of another, Gideon Granger and Oliver Phelps of another, and Henry Champion (2d) of another.
Concord, an equalizing township, was divided into four tracts,-one of them was annexed to township nine of the fourth range, and became the property of Henry Champion (2d) and others; another was annexed to township seven of the sixth range, and became the property of Penuel Cheney and others; another part was annexed to township three of the second range, and became the property of Moses Cleaveland and others ; and another part was annexed to township ten of the first range, and was drawn by Andrews, Atwater, and others.
Kirtland (No. 9 of the ninth range) was divided into three tracts,-one of which was annexed to township three of the tenth range, of which Henry Cham- pion (2d) and others became owners; another of which was annexed to township seven of the seventh range, and became the property of Benjamin Doolittle and others; and the third parcel was annexed to township two of the eighth range, drawn by Ephraim Root and others.
OTHER DRAFTS.
The second draft was made in 1802, and was for such portions of the seven townships omitted in the first draft as remained at that time unsold. This draft was divided into ninety shares, representing thirteen thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents of the purchase-money.
The third draft was made in 1807, and was for the lands of the company lying west of the Cuyahoga, and was divided into forty-six parts, each represent- ing twenty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-seven dollars.
A fourth draft was made in 1809, at which time the surplus land, so called, was divided, including sundry notes and claims arising from sales that had been effected of the seven townships omitted in the first drawing.
QUANTITY OF LAND IN THE CONNECTICUT WESTERN RESERVE, ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY THEREOF :
Land east of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of the Parsons' tract, in nores .. 2,002,970 Land west of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of surplus land, islands, and Sufferers' Lands
Surplus land, so called.
Cunningham or Kelly's
2749
Bass' or Bay, No. 1.
1322
2
709
Islands
3
709
"
4
4
403
=
44
5
32
Parsons', or " Salt Spring Tract".
25,450
Sufferers', or Fire Lands ...
500,000
Total amount of acres in the Connecticut Western Reserve .. 3,366,921
CHAPTER IV.
GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND TOPOGRAPHY. GEAUGA COUNTY.
GEAUGA COUNTY is bounded on the north by Lake County, on the south by Portage, on the east partly by Ashtabula and partly by Trumbull, and on the west by Cuyahoga. It contains an area of three hundred and ninety-three square miles. Its capital town is Chardon, which is situated in latitude 41 degrees and 30 minutes, and in longitude 4 degrees and 30 minutes west from Washington.
It is divided into sixteen townships, whose names are as follows: Thompson, Montville, Hambden, Chardon, Chester, Munson, Claridon, Huntsburg, Russell, Newbury, Burton, Middlefield, Bainbridge, Auburn, Troy, and Parkman. The following is taken from Mr. M. C. Read's report on the geology of Geauga County, published in the State Geological Survey.
The geological formations of Geauga County, while simple and easily under- stood, afford an interesting example of the manner in which the geology and topography of a country determine the pursuits of the inhabitants and the bound- aries of separate communities. A line defining the western, northern, and east- ern limits of the conglomerate defines also the western, northern, and eastern limits of the county as accurately as it could be laid out without dividing town- ships. These boundaries are fixed with no reference to geology, but the latter has formed the tastes, determined the pursuits of the inhabitants, and grouped them into a civil community.
The same causes have so determined the direction of the water-courses that, after a little examination of the county and the adjacent territory, the student of its geology will find that an ordinary map will designate with great accuracy the limits of the conglomerate, which is the characteristic feature of the elevated table-land comprising the county. The Cuyahoga and Grand rivers and the
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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.
streams emptying into them above Cuyahoga falls and Parkman will be found in every instance to have their sources and beds on or above the conglomerate. All other streams in the county have their sources below the conglomerate, or so near its margin, if above it, that the general southern inclination of the rocks is counteracted by the agencies that have thinned down or cut into ravines the outer margin of this deposit. The waters of these streams also differ greatly. Those above the conglomerate, having their sources in swamps and ponds, are rendered foul and turbid by the vegetable and animal remains with which they are charged. Those of the others, derived largely from springs at the base of the conglomerate, are thoroughly filtered and freed from organic matter, and rendered clear and sparkling, but are often charged with minerals, especially iron, sulphur, and lime.
.
SOIL.
The soil is a tenacious clay soil, especially adapted to grazing, and the county has from this cause, and not from the choice of its inhabitants, become noted for the excellence and abundance of its dairy products. The elevated position of the county, added to the peculiarities of the soil, has especially fitted it for the pro- duction of fruits, particularly of apples, pears, quinces, and grapes, and these are now largely cultivated, notwithstanding the isolated position of the county.
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