History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 94

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

USA > Ohio > Lake County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 94
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio > Part 94

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).

Returning again to our subject, we find young Amherst battling with the mighty forests and daily strengthening his nerves and muscles by using the axe and helping to prepare this almost unbroken wilderness for the plow.

On the 12th of November, 1822, while he and his brother Benjamin F. were chopping down a tree, a limb fell, striking Benjamin on the head, killing him instantly.

Amherst continued working for and with his parents till about the year 1825, when he began business for himself, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land on what is now known as the " Call farm," in Perry township. The consideration paid for this land at that time was six hundred and thirty-eight dollars. This same land after his death, forty-four years later, was sold for sixteen thousand dollars. Shortly after he purchased this farm his parents decided to make their home and spend the remainder of their lives with their son Amherst, Accordingly they sold out their place and moved into the house with him, where they found an ever-welcome home. His mother died October 15, 1856, at the age of ninety-one, and his father, who survived him twenty-one days, died March 6, 1869, aged ninety-nine years, seven months, and twenty-three days.

Sunday, September 15, 1833, he married Miss Olive Sinclair, and the next day they began housekeeping.

Olive Sinclair was born in Danville, Caledonia county, Vermont, January 5, 1804, where she lived till 1826, when she with her parents moved to Peacham, in that State, and two years later they removed to Perry, then Geauga County, Ohio. Her parents, Joseph and Olive Sinclair, built what is still known as the Sinclair tavern, on the north ridge in Perry. Here Olive made her home, work- ing at the tailor's trade, which she had learned and worked at since she was twelve years of age. At the age of nineteen she became a professor of religion and joined the Methodist Episcopal church, since which time she has ever been a faithful and devoted follower of Christ. Her education was good for those times.

September 15, 1833, she was married to Amherst Call. Endowed with those qualities of head and heart by which the true woman is everywhere known and recognized, Mrs. Call is still living, surrounded by her children and grand- children, dearly loved by them, and greatly esteemed by all who know her. Her life has been a useful one, and when her summons comes she will be prepared to respond to it with that feeling of resignation and cheerfulness which is alone ex- perienced in that hour by the true Christian.

Their children are as follows : Statira C. Call, born July 23, 1834 ; Corlista A. Call, born November 4, 1836; Aril B. Call, born December 6, 1838; Addison D. Call, born April 11, 1841 ; Amherst W. Call, born April 25, 1843; Solon W. Call, born November 13, 1845.

In the year 1838 he built the house, a view of which is shown in this volume, in which he lived till the time of his death.

Amherst Call died February 15, 1869, aged sixty-four years, eleven months, and twenty-one days. For the last twenty years he had been a professed follower of Christ and a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church, during which time he, on every appropriate occasion, proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation, ever inviting and pointing sinners to Christ.

In his domestic relations he was everything that could be desired,-a tender and affectionate husband, a loving and devoted father, a kind and faithful friend. As a citizen he was generous and public-spirited. His influence was ever on the side of Christian morality and good order, and anything designed to increase the happiness or promote the prosperity of his fellow-citizens was sure to receive his patronage and encouragement.

He was not destitute of ambition, but his was not that low and groveling pas- sion which seeks its gratification in the present, but rather that nobler and purer and loftier sentiment which is directed to higher ends and higher aims, which strives for the welfare of his fellow-men, and looks forward to the future, trustful and hopeful of a sure reward and a crown with Christ in heaven.

He was a sound and careful thinker, clear-headed, practical, and discreet. His mind was evenly balanced and well disciplined. Success was not followed by a lack of caution, and danger did not intimidate him. Like the sturdy Alpine hunter with the mountain-torrents dashing beneath his feet, and the dreaded avalanche thundering in the distance, he was not indifferent to peril, but firmly and calmly prepared to meet it. Religion appeared to him as worthy the best energies of his mind, and he sought in his life and conduct to give it that elevated character which it deserves.

By this their sudden bereavement may his children, to whom he was so en- deared, take warning, and may all be admonished of the uncertainty of life. No vigor of physical ability, no mental endowments, add to the security of our exist- ' ence. We have a most melancholy example before us. In the midst of his years, in the days of his greatest usefulness to society and the church of Christ, with prospects as bright as those in his earlier years, Amherst Call was cut down.

MOSES THOMPSON.

Captain Thomas and Amy Thompson, who were the parents of the gentleman whose life is briefly sketched in the following lines, were both natives of Ply- mouth county, Massachusetts. They were of Puritan extraction. Captain Thomas was a soldier of the Revolution, and participated in several engagements, among which were those of Monmouth and Saratoga. He died in the East, March 1, 1827. The mother eventually came to Ohio, and died at the house of her son, Moses Thompson, on January 15, 1852. Moses Thompson was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, March 15, 1800. He removed with his parents in 1816 to Stowe, Washington county, Vermont. On the 5th day of December, 1822, he was united in marriage to Rachel Dutton. The children by this marriage were Ormond C., born October 10, 1823; died in infancy. Matthew D., born Octo- ber 29, 1824; died July 14, 1845. He was a very worthy young man, noted for his integrity of character and uprightness. He was amiable and affectionate;

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was a promising member of the Congregational church. Charles M., the next child, was born April 19, 1826. He married Angeline Gibbs, and resides in Perry township. Louisa E. was born October 5, 1827 ; married Newton J. Watts; resides in Perry. Lois was born March 23, 1829 (deceased). Thomas was born October 8, 1831 ; married Corlista Call, and lives in Perry. Elizabeth was born June 16, 1833; married Alonzo Wheeler; lives in Perry. John D. was born December 27, 1834. He married Mary Tyler, and lives on the old home- stead; and Mary Ann, the fourth daughter, was born February 26, 1842 (de- ceased). During the winter of 1830 and 1831, Mr. Thompson disposed of his property in Vermont, and in the following June he started with his family to seek a home in the West. He came to Mentor, and upon the solicitation of a relative concluded to tarry in Ohio. Accordingly, a house was procured some two miles west of Painesville village, and, moving in, lived there until December of the same year. During this time he bought the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Perry township, where he now lives. There were a few acres cleared, and a block-house and barn built in this clearing; and in December, as above stated, he took possession of the property. But a very small portion of the farm was dry enough for cultivation. By a systematic course of ditching he has brought the farm into a high state of cultivation. At first he managed as best he could, but by hard labor, and the assistance of the frugal New England wife, he has acquired a competency of this world's goods, and with his family about him " enjoys the happy reflection of a well-spent life," and " lives with the hope of a glorious immortality." On July 21. 1861, his wife, the companion of his youth, died, and on January 21, 1863, he was again married to Miss Aurilla Johnson, of Albany, Vermont. She was an estimable woman, but was taken from him by death on April 25, 1870. September 21 following he was united to his present wife, who was Miss Permelia C. Crandall, of Hardwich, Vermont. During the Rebellion his youngest son was three years in the army, and both his other sons were in the one hundred days' service in 1864, leaving the aged father to manage two farms and a dairy of some sixty cows. Mr. Thompson has served a number of years as trustee of the township. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and politically a stanch Republican.

ELI B. HASKELL.

The Haskells in this country-or at least those of them who spell the name with two I's-trace their ancestry to three brothers who were emigrants from England at a very early date. We have, however, no definite knowledge of the ancestors of the family of which the subject of this writing is a member farther back than the grandfather, Samuel B. Haskell. He was a native of Plymouth colony, Mas- sachusetts, and was born in the year 1734. Of his seven children Silas was the fifth, and was born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, August 31, 1772. He was united in marriage to Sarah Bond, of Brimfield, Massachusetts, who was born December 9, 1775. To them were born the following-named children : Samuel, February 16, 1800, died March 23, 1878; Silas, Jr., February 17, 1802; Fer- dinand, April 14, 1804 ; Hiram, June 19, 1806, died in infancy ; Eli B., August 31, 1808; Lucy Ann, November 19, 1810, died September 15, 1874; Chauncey, September 15, 1813; Sarah, April 9, 1816, died June, 1877; and Harrison, October 8, 1818, deceased.

The family, except Samuel, who remained in Massachusetts, came to the town- ship of Perry, August 20, 1822, at which time Eli was about fourteen years of age. When quite a lad, he was employed as a porter in his brother's hotel in Boston. After coming to this country he remained with his father on the farm until he was nearly eighteen, when he was permitted to commence business on his own account. With about seventeen dollars' worth of " personal property," which was all the pecuniary aid he ever received from his parents, young Eli started out to begin the battle of life, and, notwithstanding such adverse circumstances as are incident to a newly-settled country, such as sickness particularly, of which he had his full share, yet, by reason of his energy and industry, he was soon pos- sessed of a farm of his own, his first purchase being the eighty acres now owned by Thomas Thompson. After selling this he bought the adjoining west half of his present farm, containing eighty-two acres, and erected a log house thereon. He was united in marriage, December 29, 1833, to Elvira Smith, who was born in Sandis- field, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, May 15, 1809. Her father died when she was seven years old, her mother afterward marrying Elder Jesse Hartwell, who was a man of strong temperance principles ; in illustration of which it may be.mentioned that he had a barn " raising" in 1829 without the use of liquor,-a thing hitherto unknown in the township. To Mr. and Mrs. Haskell were born ten children, five of whom are living. They lost a son in the war of the Rebellion. He re- ceived a wound at the battle of Chickamauga, which resulted in his death twenty days afterwards.

Mr. Haskell united with the Baptist church in 1834, his wife having previously

joined. With regard to their church relationship, we take the following extract from a pamphlet which has come under our observation, containing the minutes of the sixteenth session of the Ashtabula Baptist Association : " Of the eighteen constituent members (of the Perry Baptist church) only Brother Eli B. Haskell and Elvira Haskell, his wife, remain. These two have stood in and by the church during the forty-one years past. After sharing the joys and sorrows, the defeats and triumph, of the church 'these forty years,' they are strong yet in faith, faithful in doing, and worthy in their example, for it is never too hot, cold, rainy, ' stormy, or dark for them to attend all the meetings of the church. Verily, they shall have their reward." Mr. Haskell has held the offices of deacon and clerk of the church, the former twenty years. He is a man of more than ordinary force of character, much intelligence, and practical sense. Mr. and Mrs. Haskell are now living with their daughter, Mrs. Lucy Manchester, with whom they pur- pose spending the years that may be in store for them,

OTIS M. WOOD

was the son of Lewis and Lydia Wood, and the eldest of the family. He was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, November 29, 1801. His father came to Ohio in the spring of 1816, Otis following with the remainder of the family in the fall of that year. They made a settlement in Perry, near the lake, on a farm

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OTIS M. WOOD.

now owned by the heirs of David Parmly, and subsequently erected a saw-mill there. The subject of this sketch afterwards came into possession of this farm.

In April, 1831, he was united in marriage to Electa Lyman, of Concord, (then) Geauga County. The fruit of this union was the following-named children : Marion A., wife of James L. Parmly, of the city of Painesville; Lavinia L. (de- ceased); Ann, who became the wife of James Cook, and resides in Perry ; Eliza Jane (deceased) ; and Electa, now Mrs. John Casler, who resides near Eaton Rapids, Michigan.

In 1864, Mr. Wood sold his farm in Perry, and purchased in the eastern part of the township of Painesville, where he resided at the time of his death, which occurred in December, 1866. His widow survives him, and resides in Perry, in the sixty-seventh year of her age.

JAHIAL PARMLY

was the sixth of ten children of Eleazar and Hannah (Spear) Parmly, and was born in Braintree, Vermont, July 14, 1799. The first of the family to penetrate the woods of Perry was his sister Hannah, who, with her husband, Samuel Bur- ridge, made a settlement in 1814. The father arrived in the fall of 1816, and the remainder of the family followed the next spring. Their first location was on the road known as the " River road," on the Datus Abel place. They remained here until December of that year, and then purchased of Captain Granger a farm in the north part of the township, near the lake. Captain Granger, the owner of the land, resided in Canandaigua, New York, and Mr. Parmlyg, Sr., walked all the way there to make the purchase, after which he returned in the same manner.

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HISTORY OF GEAUGA AND LAKE COUNTIES, OHIO.

. The subject of this sketch remained on the farm with his father until his majority, when he decided to enter the profession of dentistry, and, with that end in view, accompanied his brother, Levi S. Parmly, who was then a practicing den- tist, to London, where he remained two years engaged in the study of his chosen

JAHIAL PARMLY.

profession. At the end of that time he returned to this country, and began prac- ticing in Washington, D. C. He subsequently practiced in Charleston, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia. In May, 1826, he married Miss Eliza A. Pleasants, of the last-named city. To them were born seven children, all boys. Jahial lives in Perry, and is a farmer : James L. and Leo L. reside in the city of Painesville, the former engaged in hardware, and the latter in general merchan- dise ; Henry C. and Samuel P. are residents of Chicago, and are engaged in real estate; David is deceased.

Shortly after his marriage, in July, Mr. Parmly returned to the old homestead in Perry, then his own, his father having met with an accidental death on the 4th of that month. He continued afterwards to reside here, but for thirty-two years spent the winter seasons (with two exceptions) in the south, during which he prosecuted his profession. In 1867 he removed to Painesville, where he died, May 23, 1873.

JAHIAL HURLBURT

is the third of a family of four, the children of Moses and Betsey Hurlburt, who were born in Braintree, Vermont,-the father in 1785, and the mother, who was

a daughter of Eleazar Parmly, in 1794. In 1816 they emigrated to Perry, where the subject of this sketch was born, April 8, 1820. He was joined in marriage to Eunice Spears, of Painesville, October 19, 1842. The children born of this marriage were Elizabeth Eugenia, born November 10, 1844, and died May 20, 1845. The child's death was caused by a tub of hot water being tipped over upon it,-its own act. Eugene R., born June 20, 1846, married Maria Gray, January 5, 1870, and resides in Philadelphia. Isaac S., born January 16, 1848, married, January 18, 1871, Sarah Lockwood, and lives in Perry. Royal G., born May 20, 1849, died April 20, 1851. Jennie L., born September 26, 1850, became the wife of Fayette Owen, January 12, 1871, and died November 1, following. Adelaide, born March 21, 1852, died unmarried, June 23, 1870. Leona P., born December 11, 1853, married Frank Frink, October 4, 1871, and resides in Perry.

November 19, 1856, he was again united in marriage to Sarah Bates, the youngest of eight children of Philip and Mary Bates, having previously obtained a divorce from his first wife. Of this union the following-named children were born :. Eva May, November 18, 1857; Nelly, March 4, 1861; Leverette J., June 26, 1863; Lovina P., September 23, 1873.

Eva, the eldest of these, met with a terrible accident, October 11, 1873, by which she lost her life the day following. One evening about ten o'clock, after having finished her work in the kitchen, she stooped down to close the door of the stove, holding a glass lamp filled with fluid in one hand and a cloth in the other. The edge of the cloth becoming fastened by the door closing upon it, she .endeavored to release it by giving a sudden jerk, when the door flew open against the lamp, breaking it in pieces and dashing the fluid over her arms, bare to the elbows, and also over her clothing. Instantly she was enveloped in flames, and with piercing cries fled to an adjoining room, in one corner of which the poor sufferer stood, all ablaze. Her father, hearing her cries, rushed to her assistance, and, seizing an overcoat, wrapped it about her, and soon extinguished the flames. But they had done their fatal work. Her clothing was almost entirely consumed, and her arms, the front part of her body, and lower limbs were terribly burned. The poor girl lingered in great agony for about twenty-four hours, when death came to her relief. She was about sixteen years of age, full of joy and hope, and possessed the love and esteem of all who knew her. Mr. Hurlburt, likewise, came near losing his life by lightning a few years since. He was driving a team and wagon into Painesville, in September, 1874, Duncan Card accompanying him. Just before reaching the covered bridge, near the Lake Shore road, it commenced raining. He hurried into the bridge, where he concluded to remain until the shower which was accompanying the thunder and lightning should be over. In a few moments a stroke of lightning hit the bridge about ten feet in the rear of his wagon, instantly killing both horses, while the occupants of the wagon were unhurt. The current, after striking the bridge, was carried forward by the timbers until opposite the horses, when it was attracted by the vapor arising from them. The escape, under the circumstances, was one of the most remarkable we have ever recorded.

A view of Mr. Hurlburt's pleasant residence is given on another page of this volume.

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KIRTLAND TOWNSHIP.

TOWNSHIP number nine of the ninth range of the original Connecticut Western Reserve was at the drawing of the lands of the Connecticut Land Company used as an equalizing township, the lands being drawn by tracts. Turhand Kirtland owned a number of lots in the north part of tract number three, and from him the township is said to have derived its name.

SURFACE, SOIL, AND WATER-COURSES.

The surface of the township seems almost a succession of small hills, with a soil in which clay largely predominates. Along the course of the river-or on the bottom-lands, as they are called-the soil is of a sandy loam, the quality being very superior for farming purposes. The timber does not differ materially from that of the adjoining townships. The only water-course worthy of mention is the east branch of the Chagrin river. This enters the township near the south- east corner and flows in a general northwest course, and is a very crooked stream. It crosses the township line near the northwest corner. The farms in Kirtland are, the majority of them, well watered.

SETTLEMENT.

In the year 1808 or 1809 an improvement was commenced on lot number one, tract number one, by a person named Parsons. He made a small clearing on and about the spot now occupied by the dwelling of Mrs. Ezra Holmes. Returning to New England for his wife, Mr. Parsons was drowned in the Con- necticut river. Perhaps a year subsequent John Moore, Jr., located on lot number twenty-three of above tract, now owned by R. P. Harmon. There was also a beginning made about the same time by - Chandler on lot eighteen, and Charles Parker on lot nineteen. None of these were permanent settlers. Without doubt the pioneer settler in Kirtland township was Christopher Crary. He was originally from Hinsdale, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, emigrating from thence in the year 1811, and locating in this township in its southern por- tion on lots eighty-two and ninety-one in tract three, then some six miles by road to the nearest neighbor. The family of Mr. Crary consisted of a wife and nine children. Erastus, the eldest of these, was at the time a married man, and brought his family into the wilderness. We learn that Mr. Crary took an active part in the Revolutionary struggle on the side of his country, was twice incarcer- ated in British prison-ships,-once in Halifax, from which he made his escape, and again on board the " Old Jersey," in New York. Mr. and Mrs. Crary re- moved to Union county, this State, and there deceased,-the father in 1848, and the mother some ten years later. Christopher G. Crary, son of this pioneer family, still resides in Kirtland.

We take the following from a manuscript prepared by N. M. Whelpley, and kindly furnished us by Mr. C. G. Crary. It furnishes an account of the senior Crary and family's introduction to their wilderness home.

The Crarys made a temporary stay in Mentor during the time their cabin was being erected in Kirtland, seven miles distant. In early autumn of the year 1811 the building was ready for their use, and the family started for their wilderness home. We quote :

" We took the old Chillicothe road, which had been traversed scarcely at all, except by cattle and wild beasts. The trees on either side were so interlaced as to form a canopy overhead, which rendered it quite romantic, but gloomy. We forded the Chagrin river without difficulty, and supposed our worst fears removed, but on going a little farther our wagon broke, and night was fast closing around us.

" Mr. Crary unhitched his team, which he drove before him, taking his youngest child in his arms. His wife took the other by the hand, and the writer brought up the rear. Our way was dark and intricate, and the canopy of branches above, which had but recently been so beautiful, served now to hide the light of the stars from us. But the katydids cheered us with their ceaseless music. The latter part of our way we had no road, and nothing to guide us except marked trees, which, of course, were useless in the darkness. My father and the oxen knew the way, and we finally arrived there long after midnight, footsore and weary. A bright fire was burning near the cabin,-a necessary protection against the bears and wolves. Our beds consisted of hemlock boughs, which were, perhaps, better appreciated than beds of down might have been under other circumstances.

" Poets have sung of the beauties of the pathless forests, but they should have

seen and contemplated them in all their primeval grandeur in order to have fully appreciated them. The country for many miles around had been for centuries the hunting-ground of the Indians, and surely their most vivid imagination could have portrayed nothing 'more desirable or delightful concerning their celestial hunting-grounds.

"The forest-trees were of endless variety and of the tallest kinds. A thick growth of underbrush grew beneath, flowers of rare beauty blushed unseen, birds of varied plumage filled the air with their music, the air itself was fragrant and invigorating. Such was the scene that greeted our eyes the next morning after our arrival.

" The winter of 1812 was the coldest that had been known for many years. At this time we had no neighbors on our side of Chagrin river, and, to crown the gloom of those melancholy days, one of our number died. We had to send twelve miles for a physician, who arrived too late, and there was no clergyman nearer than the Harpersfield settlement. Those, indeed, were dark days."

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History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, Part 94

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

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