History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 67

Author: Williams Brothers
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 443

USA > Ohio > Lake County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 67
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 67

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

From 1848 to 1853 Rev. William Potter was the pastor. The Rev. E. D. Taylor assumed the pastorate in 1853, and labored for several years. The church is now in the hands of Rev. E. D. Barber, well esteemed.

The Sabbath-school referred to is in a flourishing state. In 1831 it numbered ninety pupils, with a library of two hundred and fifty books.

Among her other products, Claridon has produced several Congregational min- isters. Rev. Horace A. Taylor, the subscriber of one dollar and fifty cents in farm produce to Rev. Mr. Tracy ; Rev. Sherman D. Taylor, his brother ; Rev. Horace S. Taylor, a cousin, who died in his eastern mission; and his son, Rev. Horace; Rev. Charles M. Preston and Rev. Austin L. Preston ; and two Metho- dists, Rev. Philo Pinney and Rev. Lyman Wolworth.

H. H. Wells says that Rev. Mr. Beard was the first Methodist minister who preached in Claridon. The first class and church organizations were in 1825. I have had no access to the records, which, and not indisposition, must explain the absence of details and accurate information in this interesting matter. In 1837 their church edifice was erected at the centre. In 1867 it was moved to East Claridon, placed on lot three, and generally revised and reconstructed, at an expense of three thousand dollars. Among the pastors occur the following names : Revs. Messrs. Prosser, Baird, Aiken, Chandler, Henry, Fagg, Torry, Fairbanks, Hammond, Radcliffe, Vance, Latimer, Collier, and Warner. The present pastor

is Rev. Mr. Hemscher. Church officers : C. Fletcher and John Cleater, class- leaders ; A. B. Knapp, superintendent of Sunday-school; A. B. Knapp, James Leslie, and William Chase, stewards; A. B. Knapp, Samuel Haldeman, E. H. Chase, James Leslie, John Cleater, C. Fletcher, and Lucius Merriman, trustees. Present membership, sixty-three.

THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

was organized at East Claridon, in January, 1878, with a membership of thirty- seven. A. H. Ober, Edgar Hathaway, and Mrs. Lucy Hathaway, trustees. Meetings holden in a school-house alternate Sundays.

BURIAL-PLACES.

These, now called cemeteries, were early laid off for the dead. One in the western part, of an acre of dry, sandy land, now well fenced and planted with evergreens. All the surroundings are cared for by the township. The first in- terment there was a daughter of Aranda and Laura Kellogg.

At the centre, a like quantity of ground is devoted to the same purpose, planted with trees, and well fenced. The first burial there was a child of Chester and Belinda Treat. This cemetery also belongs to the township.

At East Claridon, the ground contains one and a half acres, laid with gravel- walks, and planted tastefully with evergreens, under the direction of the township trustees. Captain Wood was the first interred here.

ORNAMENTAL TREES, PAPERS, ETC.

It may further be remarked, that the public square, as well as the cemeteries, and many of the private grounds of Claridon, are planted with trees and shrubs, with a taste and care in advance of any other township of the county. For this the people are largely indebted to the example, care, and perseverance of their townsman, Judge Taylor. It was by his exertions that their " Centennial Central Park Association" was organized, under the presidency of Mr. Julius Chidister, which is doing much, and furnishes a hint to other places.

In this connection it may be mentioned that while the people of the northwest corner do their postal business at Chardon, the returns of the Claridon post-office show the present yearly reception of two hundred and sixty-eight weekly and six daily newspapers, and sixty-five monthly periodicals.

TAVERNS.

The first tavern was built by Mathias Bushnel, at East Claridon, in 1826, and he carried it on till 1835. The building is now used by A. B. Knapp as a dwell- ing-house.

In 1833, Milton McIntosh erected another on the southeast corner, at East Claridon, which was occupied by a score of landlords, and was finally closed. The present, only hotel in the township, is owned and run by J. M. Mastic, who has presided over its destinies since 1847.

STORES AT EAST CLARIDON.

Stephen Wood built the first dwelling-house at East Claridon, in 1829. It was removed, and became the first store at that point, in 1832. The next store was by J. M. McIntosh, succeeded by several others.

Of the physicians, the first at East Claridon was Dr. Erastus Jewett, who located there in 1829 or 1830; said to be a skillful and learned man. Drs. Harriman, Cox, Dow, and others followed. To these may be added, as residing in the township at different times, Drs. Taylor, Guy, Blodgett, Brown, Alden, Miner, and Chappel.

Lawyers .- Claridon has produced three lawyers,-C. D. Taylor, and the two Blakesleys, though their father, in 1831, ranked lawyers with groggeries, and H. E. Humphrey.

SOCIETIES AND ORDERS.

Claridon is rather noted for its various efforts in the way of social improve- ments. From the earliest days it had lively lyceums and debating societies. One of these was in the form of a young bachelors' club, which wisely refrained from tobacco, unclean drinks, and impure words. For the rest, they carried canes, and were careful not to go astray with the sex, to the edification of both.

Temperance associations found in Claridon fruitful soil to aid this cause, little need as has there existed for them. Men always drank, and at an early day even in Claridon. I have noted that the Rev. Luther Humphrey built a barn in Claridon in the olden time; that was the first building raised without whisky in the township. It created much excitement, was gravely discussed in the church, and old pious heads were wisely shaken over it. That was the first open movement against the common enemy. I get this from H. H. Wells, who furnishes a list of temperance organizations in the township.

The first association was the Claridon Temperance Society, formed in 1828,

Digitized by „Google

In cash. $2.50

In produce.

172

HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.

followed by the Young People's, the Washingtonians, Good Templars, Sons of Temperance, and the Murphy movement.

Geauga Lodge, No. 171, I. O. O. F., was instituted December 3, 1850, by Horace Beebe, Grand Representative and Special Deputy. The charter members were J. S. Cleveland, T. W. Ensign, Warren Heaton, S. Hathaway, C. C. Field, and A. E. Ensign. First officers, Warren Hathaway, N. G .; T. W. Ensign, V. G .; Emory Ensign, R. S. ; and C. C. Field, P. S. The officers for 1878 are N. C. Woodard, N. G .; E. J. Eggleston, V. G. ; W. M. McCalmont, R. S .; D. B. Ladd, P. S .; and W. H. Hathaway, Treas. Present membership, thirty- six. Regular meetings, Tuesday evenings of each week, in Odd-Fellows' Hall, at the P. & Y. R. R. depot. This society has a library of nearly one hundred volumes, and is financially prosperous.

Claridon Grange, No. 1187, P. of H., was organized May 16, 1875, with the following charter members : C. L. Taylor and wife, F. Hodges and wife, L. D .. Taylor and wife, E. H. Treat and wife, W. E. Spencer and wife, Clinton Douglass and wife, A. B. Wells and wife, T. D. Ladd and wife, and T. C. Wells and wife. The first oficers were L. D. Taylor, Master; A. B. Wells, Overseer; E. H. Treat, Sec. ; C. L. Taylor, Lecturer; and T. C. Wells, Treas. Meetings on Fri- day evenings of each week, in the Agricultural Hall. Present membership, thirty-three. Officers for 1878, O. C. Douglass, M .; Homer Clapp, O .; F. G. Wells, Sec .; Emogene Wells, Lecturer; and T. D. Ladd, Treas.

ROADS.

The State road leading from Painesville to Warren, through East Claridon, was laid out in 1798, by Colonel Thomas Sheldon, of Suffield, Connecticut. The same party, the same year, also laid another, passing near the northwest corner of Clar- idon, crossing the Cuyahoga above the pond, and running north of the centre, known as the " Old Girdled Road," from the deadening of the timber by the hands of the unknown axemen of that day. I think the former was also called by the same name.

The leading roads of Claridon were laid more with reference to certain points to be reached out of its boundaries than the points of compass, or tract and lot lines. I think no road traverses the entire township which observes either, al- though it is amply provided with well made and kept roads.

Asahel and Avanda Kellogg were the first wagon-makers.

G. L. Gibbs carries on the business at the centre, and A. Anzer has a black- smith-shop there.

STATISTICS FOR 1878.

Wheat.

236 acres.

3,691 bushels.

Oats ....

593

18,474

Corn.

375

19,273

Potatoes.

8,779

Orchards .

368

2,758

Meadow ..

1969

2,119 tons.

Butter.

35,049 pounds.

Cheese.

181,680

Maple-sugar.

21,440

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

SAMUEL C. DOUGLASS,

who was the first white child born in Claridon township, was born April 21, 1812. He was the oldest of a family of four, the children of Elijah and Betsey Douglass, who removed from New Hartford, Connecticut, in 1811. His educa- tion was derived at common schools, and his life-work that of a farmer. In the township and county he was often called to positions of trust, and ever was a faithful and conscientious officer. Among these we mention trustee of the town- ship for several years, and director of the county infirmary for three years. He was united in marriage on December 3, 1835, to Miss Susannah, daughter of Childs and Althea Taylor, of Claridon. From this marriage were born six chil- dren, four of whom are now living. Oscar C., the eldest, was born August 14, 1836; he married Calista Clark, of Concord; now resides in Claridon. Idelia S., born June 21, 1839; she married Cyrus Cramton, and resides in Chardon. Althea, born April 19, 1841 (deceased). An infant daughter, born January 28, 1848, died soon after. Nancy, the next child, born March 28, 1849, married Warren Spencer, and resides on the old Col. Spencer homestead; and Clinton, who was born November 14, 1853. He married Laura Little, and now resides in Montville. Mr. Douglass' first purchase of land was made the year subsequent to his marriage, and consisted of sixty-four acres. This property is now occupied by John Smith. He eventually purchased additional land in Claridon township. Mr. Douglass was a prominent member of the Congregational church, having united with this church in Claridon a few years prior to his marriage, and con- tinued a member until his death, which occurred February 17, 1875. He was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, a kind and indulgent husband and father, and a conscientious, honorable Christian gentleman.

ASHBEL SPENCER

is the youngest of a family of seven, the children of Ashbel and Dorcas Spencer, and was born in New Hartford county, Connecticut, in June, 1796. He was the only member of the family who emigrated to Ohio, the date of his arrival being about the year 1823. He settled in Claridon on the farm now occupied by him. For perhaps two seasons subsequent to his settlement he was engaged in the manufacture of brick. December 1, 1825, he was united in marriage to Maria C., the sixth child of Asa and Sybil Cowles, who were also natives of New Hart- ford, and among the pioneers of Claridon, having settled there in 1811. Mr. Cowles is said to have erected the first log house in that township. Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, all are deceased. Nelson was born March 13, 1827, and died in early manhood, October 18, 1853. The other children were George Ralph and Delia Minerva, who died young, of that dreaded disease scarlet fever, and were both buried in one grave. Mr. Spencer began in the woods, and by dint of hard work and good management has brought his farm of one hundred and eighty-two acres to its present highly-cultivated condition. During all these years of toilsome labor Mrs. Spencer has been to her husband a true helpmeet. He was a Whig formerly, but when the Republican party was formed became an ardent member of it, and so remains to-day.

TIMOTHY TAINTER

is the eighth of a family of nine children of Deacon Jonathan and Jemima (Root) Tainter, of Somers, Tolland county, Connecticut. He was born April 5, 1796. His father died when the subject of this notice was but a few years old. At the age of six he went into the family of William Cook (his guardian), of Somers, where he remained until he was fifteen. Soon after he was bound to John Hunt, of the same place, to learn the blacksmith trade. With him he came to Ohio in 1815, locating in Chardon, and remained with him two years. In February, 1818, he married Lois Peck, from Massachusetts. She died in May of the following year, leaving a daughter, Cordelia, born April 5, 1819, who be- came the wife of Orris Newcomb. In February, 1821, he married his second wife, Jemima Allen, daughter of Elijah and Jemima Pease Allen, also from Mas- sachusetts. In 1824 he built a saw-mill in Chardon, and carried on that busi- ness for fourteen years, when he sold, and purchased a farm, which he occupied seven years, and then exchanged for property in Pennsylvania, where he carried on a farm and a public-house at the same time for a period of six years. He then sold and returned to Ohio, purchasing a farm near the north line of Claridon, known as " the Root place," which farm he still owns. He resided here a year, when, leaving Mrs. Tainter with their son-in-law, Orris Newcomb, he shouldered his rifle, and betook himself to the woods in pursuit of game. He has always been extremely fond of hunting, and has lived for months alone in the wilderness, killing deer, trapping bear, and the various fur animals. His house, when engaged in his favorite sport, was a cabin made of brush, with hemlock bark for a bed. His bill of fare, while not of great variety, was at least wholesome. It consisted of venison, usually, and a little corn bread " wet-up" with water and baked on a chip. This kind of life would seem to be anything but agreeable to the present generation, but to him exposure was health.

The children of Mr. Tainter's second marriage were the following : Lovern, born November, 1821 ; Charles L., February 18, 1825, and Orvil E., June 16, 1827. The daughter married Eber Brown, of Bradford, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Montville. Charles L. married Orra Ann Newcomb, of Parkman. One child was born, and the mother subsequently died, and Mr. Tainter married May 3, 1857, Nancy Young, also of Parkman, and by this marriage has one child,- Orra.

Orvil is supposed to have died at sea. The farm of Charles Tainter, with whom the parents reside, consists of ninety-seven acres, and is situated on the road a short distance south of the infirmary.

HENRY H. WELLS

was born in Claridon, Geauga County, Ohio, March 11, 1816. He was the son of Timothy and Hannah Wells, who came from Connecticut in 1814, with a family of five children, nine in all, five of whom now survive. He is a farmer, and remained on his father's farm till 1840. He then bought a house, lot, and store at East Claridon, taking Charles Bolster as a partner. In October of 1840 he married Miss Eliza J. Beldin, from Genesee county, New York. In 1846 he sold out his interest in the store, and bought a farm at the centre. In 1850 he was employed as superintendent of a farmers' union mercantile store, in Claridon, for the term of four years, after which he bought a farm near the centre,

Digitized by Google

H. H. WELLS.

MRS. H.H. WELLS

TIMOTHY WELLS.

J. C. WELLS.

SAMUEL DOUGLASS.

MRS.SAMUEL DOUGLASS.

MRS.ASHBEL SPENCER.

ASHBEL SPENCER.

LITH BY L.N. EVERTS, PHILA, PA.

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.

173

known as the "Smith farm." In 1861 he received a commission as enrolling officer of the twenty-fourth military district, composed of Ashtabula, Geauga, Portage, and Mahoning counties, reporting to the board of drafting commissioners at Warren, composed of Darius Cadwell, Dr. Howe, and C. S. Field, which position he faithfully filled during the war. In 1873 he bought a house at the centre of the township, where he and his family now reside. They have two children,- A. B. Wells, who married Miss E. T. Taylor, and Carrie M. Wells, who married J. M. Wariner.

He has been called upon to hold many township and other public trusts, all of which he has honorably discharged.

Mr. Wells is one of the best known and most public spirited of the men of his township. He was prominent in the independent county fairs, and was president of the association. He was an earnest and useful assistant in collecting the pioneer history of Claridon.

THE WELLS FAMILY.

Long years ago when the New World was a land of promise among the many who turned their backs on the mother country, were two or three brothers of the Wells family, who, after landing, separated and went their different ways, settling in various States. From them have sprung all of that name in our country.

Passing more than half a century from the time of their landing, which we conclude to have been in 1650, we find in Connecticut a lad, Thomas Wells, of whom little is known; his boyhood and manhood were passed on a farm in the simple and primitive pursuits of those primitive days. It is not until we come to his son Timothy, that we have any record of the family.

Timothy, born in 1747 in West Hartford, was one of three children ; he had a fair education for the times, but was a restless lad, and when the first blow for freedom was struck, he was off with his musket to the front.

Just how long he was with the army is not now known. He was in the divi- sion under the immediate command of Washington ; was at the battle of Ger- mantown in 1777 ; passed the next long, terrible winter with the army at Valley Forge; fought at Monmouth, and in all the battles that followed. He was the first sergeant of his company, suffered from the smallpox which affected his sight so that he was unfit for further duty, and he was discharged " for loss of eyesight in the service of his country," the paper ran. He never applied for a pension, thinking it unpatriotic and unmanly to want any reward for serving his country.

He returned to his home in West Hartford, where, in 1780, he married Esther Clark. Of this marriage there were three sons born,-Timothy, Ebenezer, and Chester. After thirty years spent in the old home, they, in 1810, exchanged their farm in Connecticut for five hundred acres of wild land in Claridon, which the old soldier equally divided among the three sons, the only stipulation being that the parents should always be provided for. The war of 1812 delayed their emigration to the new home.

In December, 1820, Timothy died, at the age of seventy-four, and Esther, the daughter of Solomon Clark, survived him several years, and died January 30, 1838, aged eighty-seven. Of these three children, Ebenezer, the eldest, was born in 1784. His chances for education were such as the common schools offered. In that day boys were at school till they were old enough to be of use to their parents, then were bound out or put somewhere to learn a trade. So it was with Ebenezer. At fourteen he worked the farm ; at twenty-four he married Diantha Coe, of good New England stock, and a true helpmeet. Shortly after this mar- riage, the exchange of the New England farm for the wild land in Ohio was made. On the arrival in Ohio, a large double log house was built, into which they all moved, the seniors, Timothy, Jr., wife and five children, Ebenezer, wife and two children, and Chester, then unmarried. In a few years they grew too many for one family, and Ebenezer, who had been at work on his own land, built a log house of his own. Industrious, thrifty, a good axeman, things prospered with him, and in a few years the log cabin disappeared, and a fine framed house rose up in its place. In 1828 an addition to the barn-" the cow-house"-was raised -- the first without whisky,-an event in the history of Claridon. In 1831 he and his wife made a visit to Connecticut. They traveled by the lake and Erie canal. In October, 1832, after a useful and active life, Ebenezer died suddenly of apoplexy, and being widely known, he was widely mourned. He died at the age of forty-nine. Few men left a better record. His widow lived in the same house, honored, till April 9, 1873, when she died, at eighty-seven. Of their five children, two were born in Connecticut and three in Claridon. Calvin died in infancy. The others, Goodwin, Mary E., Jason C., and Anna D., grew up and were married. Good- win, an esteemed and respected mau, lived in the old home till his death, in 1871. Anna married Elisha Taylor, was left a widow, and Esther, unmarried, resides with her.

JASON C. WELLS.

The remaining son, Jason C., was born about three years after the family moved to their home in the wilderness, January 24, 1818, where the only thing that could do service as a cradle for the little one was a sap-trough. He was a sturdy, bright child, with quick perceptions and retentive memory.

He grew up a Claridon boy, with the advantages in the moral atmosphere of a primitive town of the Western Reserve, and shared the vicissitudes of life as met there. He went to school during the winters, and grew to manhood. After his majority he attended the academy at the centre, then under the instruction of the Rev. S. B. Canfield. He was quick, had a retentive memory, and usually the first in his classes. His father died when he was fourteen, leaving him to the sole care of his mother. At nineteen he took fifty acres of land in the Mills tract, in exchange with his brother, for his interest in his father's property. To this he added thirty acres, in 1844 built a house, and was married to Caroline Moffaat, January 22, 1845. After two years the young couple went to take care of the wife's parents. He afterwards became the purchaser of the homestead, where they still reside, about a mile south of the centre. "He was once or twice elected township trustee, and justice of the peace in 1873, and again in 1876, which office he still holds. Has been for years a member of the farmers' club, and was the first reporter of its debates voluntarily, and later by appointment of the club. In early manhood he began to write short sketches and essays upon various subjects in prose and also in verse, and for a non-professional literary man is a very creditable writer. He has been quite a contributor to the county press, and his sketches of the pioneer history of Claridon were freely drawn from in our history of that township. Mr. Wells is a man of fair intellectual endow- ment, much general intelligence, and generally esteemed. He may be regarded as a favorable specimen of the Puritan of these later years, the product of Western Reserve soil.

HIEL ARMSTRONG.

Among the biographical sketches of some of the older residents of this town- ship none deserve a better record than the subject of this notice. Hiel Armstrong is the son of James and Abigail (Ladd) Armstrong, and is the seventh in a family of ten children. He was born in Franklin, New London county, Connecticut, June 24, 1795. His father was a soldier of the Revolution, and served . the entire period of that war.

He enjoyed but slender opportunities for the acquirement of an education, which simply embraced a brief attendance at the common schools of his native township.

In September, 1819, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Dow, of same town and county, and the following-named children were born : Burton D., Jan- uary 12, 1820; Cheney, October 2, 1826; Lavias, February 10, 1830. Two younger children, Phebe and Eugene, died in infancy.

In the year 1833 Mr. Armstrong journeyed to Ohio, leaving his wife and children with his brother, who resided near Syracuse, New York. After his arrival in Claridon he purchased of Charles Johnson one hundred acres of land located in lot two, tract five, and then sent for his family, who were accompanied on the journey by a brother of Mrs. Armstrong, Thomas Dow. They arrived in the spring of the same year. Prior to his emigration to Ohio Mr. Armstrong and three brothers had come into possession of the old homestead in Connecticut, and were alike interested in some of the earlier purchases made by the subject of this sketch in Claridon, which included a grist- and saw-mill located on the east branch of Cuyahoga river. In 1844 the property was divided. To his share Mr. Armstrong has since added, and at present owns four hundred and three acres, less eight acres belonging to the Painesville and Youngstown railroad, which runs through the middle of his farm. Mr. Armstrong's life has been one of unceasing toil, until the infirmities of age compelled a retirement from active labor. His early political sentiments were those of the anti-slavery wing of the Whig party. He subsequently became a Republican, and is a stanch adherent of that party at the present time. His wife died July 25, 1841, and he married, November 30, 1842, Anua, oldest daughter of Captain Holder Chace (with respect to whom see history of township of Claridon). She was born April 15, 1815.

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

History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 67

Author: Williams Brothers Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 443

Author: Williams Brothers
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 443