History of Lorain County, Ohio, Part 76

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 626

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After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Street Goodyear set- tled in Northford, Connecticut, where four of their children were born, viz: Jane Ann, born March 27, 1836; Gilbert L., born June 25, 1837; Francis R., born October 12, 1841, died October 29, 1849; and Edward S., born August 29, 1843.

In the fall of 1844, the family removed to Penfield, Lorain county, Ohio, establishing a new home amid the wilds of an unbroken forest, where wild beasts roamed at night in search of prey. After settling in this pioneer home, two more jewels were added to the mother's crown, viz: Donglas J., born June 14, 1846; Lucy Ann, born January 4, 1851. Jane Ann mar- ried Hiram Witbeck and settled in Penfield; number of children seven. Gilbert L. married Nettie Stew- art, of Hinkley, Medina county -only one heir. Edward S. married Miss Mary Crane, of Pentield: they have two children. Douglas J. married Miss Mary E. Ecker, of Rousburg, Ashland county, Ohio, three heirs; Lucy Ann remains single, ministering to the wants of the many. Like a sister of mercy, doing good as opportunities are presented.

Politically Mr. Goodyear is a strong and earnest republican.

Mr. and Mrs. Goodyear, early experiencing a change of heart, they became members of the Congregational church in Northford, Connecticut, remaining in good. and regular standing until their removal to Ohio.

After a short sojourn in their pioneer home they united with the Methodist Episcopal church, becom- ing active and efficient members, and workers in the vineyard of the Lord.

The toils and struggles consequent upon a pioneer life, and the many cares laid upon willing hands, have quite unfitted Mrs. Goodyear for enjoying the blessing of health. She being an invalid, is dependent upon others to guide the faltering footsteps along the shore of time. Of a quiet and pleasing address, and social temperament, she wins affection, and binds with cords of love the hearts of her household.

Although Mr. Goodyear's life has been one of almost constant toil, he has ever been personally a stranger to sickness, and yet remains an active, ener- getic man for one of his years. His persevering industry has yielded a competence sufficient for all necessary wants, and he is wont to compare the pres- ent with the past, when immediate wants compelled him to work for his more fortunate neighbors, receiv- ing his pay in grain, which he was forced to take upon his back (for want of an easier conveyance) and go

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HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OIIIO.

to mill in order to secure sustenance for the loved ones at home.

To procure money necessary to pay taxes, he was compelled to fell trees, pile them in immense heaps, then burn to ashes, and convert into black salls, they being the only article that would command cash on delivery in the pioneer days.

How little the sons and daughters of the present time know of the toils and struggles cudured to secure the independence now enjoyed by them. It they would seek for enlightenment, let them question such men as Mr. Goodyear, whose life lessons were learned in the fread-mill of experience.

LA GRANGE

LA GRANGE is township number four, range seven- teen. It presents to one who drives through its ter- ritory an appearance of thrift and plenty. Broad, well tilled fields, huge barns, almost bursting with their store, snug farm houses, and beautiful villas meet the eye upon all sides, and silently attest the wisdom, the energy, and the cultivated taste of their owners.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

The township is almost perfectly level, except in the extreme eastern and western parts, where it is traversed by small streams. Here the surface is some- what rolling, The east branch of the Black river flows from south to north, through the eastern por- tion of the township, and Wellington creek, a small rivulet, diversifies the western part, and adds a pleas- ing element to the landscape. The soil is, for the most part, clay, or a clay loam, though there are small areas in which sand and gravel appear. Deep down, under all, is the solid sandstone, which, had it lain nearer the surface, would have proved a vast element of wealth. It only appears at the surface in the northwest corner of the township, where it is quarried in a small way.

THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS

of La Grange township were Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs, the former having drawn two-thirds and the latter one third of the land. These men also had three thousand, seven hundred acres in tract eight, range nineteen, now in Brighton and Camden. In 1825, Champion conveyed his portion of the lands to his son-in-law, Elizur Goodrich, of Hartford, Con- nectient. Goodrich was not long in possession of his western estate, for he began exchanging it, in the summer of the same year, for New York State prop- erty. Nathan Clark, Roger Phelps, Noah Holcomb, and James Pelton, of Jefferson county, were the first. to obtain land of him, and soon others followed their example, the " westward, ho!" fever extended, and so it came about that a colony of New Yorkers was located in the wilderness of southern Lorain county.

Phelps, Holcomb, and Pelton, in the autumn of 1825, came ont to examine the land. After a short stay, they returned, and made so favorable a report that others, among whom were David and Asa Rock- wood, Fairchild Hubbard, Joseph Robbins, Sylvester Merriam, and Levi Johnson were induced to purchase farms. They, too, exchanged lands with Goodrich.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT

was made by Nathan Clark, on the 14th day of No- vember, 1825. Clark was a native of Harlem, Con- necticut, and was married in 1816, to Ann Loomis, who came with him to Ohio. HIe settled near the east branch of Black river, and resided there for some time, but afterward bought lot number fifty-one, upon which he remained until 1855, when he removed to Michigan, in which State he died in 1860. His first wife died in 1833, and he subsequently married Lucy Barnes.

As soon as the season of 1826 opened so as to allow journeying over the rough roads, and through the almost unbroken woods, the families of Noah Hol- comb, Sylvester Merriam, James Disbrow, Joseph A. Graves, James Pelton, Levi Johnson, Curtis Hastings, Charles Rounds and two sons, Joseph Robbins, David and Asa Rockwood and Henry Townsend came into the township, and each established a rude and primi- tive home. Fairchild Hubbard came in November, from Brighton, where he had been living for several months.

There were, in the latter part of the year 1826, sev- enty persons within the present limits of LaGrange, some in the east, some in the west, some at the center and still others in the northern and southern portions of the township. All however were neighbors. Men living five miles apart in those days knew more of each other than do many now-a-days who occupy the same city honse, and felt more truly friendly concern for each other than exists at present, in most cases, be- tween neighbors whose gardens adjoin. Half a cen- tury ago there was a vast deal of sincerity in the daily greetings of the people, a sincerity which the Amer-

& A Messiam Ph. A.

Mrs & D Merriam

RESIDENCE OF DR. E. D. MERRIAM, LAGRANGE, LORAIN Co., O.

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HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

ican of 1879 has met so seldom as scareely to reeog- nize.

Although there was now quite a settlement, people who had been accustomed to the more advanced con- ditions of life upon the farms or in the villages of New York, felt an almost unbearable sense of loneli- ness. The comparative isolation in which they dwelt was new to them, and their hearts turned fondly back to the old love, to the place of their birth and carly life, around which hung the halo of the dearest asso- ciations and memories. At this period, there was scarcely a man or woman in the little colony who would not have gladly returned to the old home, had it been feasible to leave the new without sacritieing everything. Several did leave. Those who remained overcame more obstacles, and in the end accomplished more than their fondest hope had ever painted. The country, they found, was not all that the first enthu- astie writers had represented it to be. The soil was of a nature difficult to handle with the rude imple- ments they had; teaming was difficult. on account of the wet condition of the undrained ground; and the timber was of extremely large growth, rendering the clearing of the forest a greater task than in many other portions of the country. There were many hardships to be endured. Food was at certain seasons hard to obtain. Leeks grew in abundance, and were for a time about the only edible vegetable that the settlers could procure. The cows fed upon them, and their milk was tainted by the pungent bulbs. Cattle were too valuable to be slaughtered for food: and when game failed, some of the hardy pioneers were driven to expedients which their grand-children or great-grand-children of to-day would fancy they could not endure. It is related of the children in one family, that in a time when the provision store was low, they obtained their principal sustenance from basswood buds, which they climbed the trees to get. Murrain attacked the cattle, and often the pioneer was obliged to lose the value of considerable time expended in preparing the soil for a crop, because his oxen were suddenly stricken with this disease, to which they generally succumbed. There were few vehicles of any kind in the settlement. One man owned a wagon, of which he frequently made two carts, which he rented to the neighbors. The price paid for the loan of one of them to make a journey to Elyria was a day's work in logging.

There was every thing to overcome, and but very little at hand to do it with. The men who persevered in the long. hard struggle, and hewed out homes for themselves from the primeval forest, made the begin- ing of what is now one of the most thriving, wealthy and respectable communities in the county. Every pioneer who entered the Reserve, was a hero who should be reverently and thankfully remembered by those whom he prepared the way, and as fully as the limited knowledge of the facts and the limited force of words will permit.

Of all who came to La Grange in 1826, Joseph Rob-

bins alone remains to tell of the privation and toil of the early settlers. Ile is still living at the age of ninety years, the father of eight children, three of whom, Nicholas L., George H. and Mrs. Delos Der- nier reside in the township. Nicholas L. lives upon a farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres, a mile or more west of the center, with his wife Harriet Lamoure, daughter of an early settler, and is prob- ably as well preserved a man of three seore years, as the county contains. George HI. is a merchant, and it is under his roof that his aged father's later years have been spent. Josiah, or Deacon Robbins, as he is generally known, came from Champion, Jefferson county, New York, in 1826, and settled one mile west of the present village, upon the farm now owned by Allen Sanders. He lived here with his wife, Mchit- able flurlburt, for thirty-five years, and then came to the corners. He is a man whom all revere, and his long life has been spent for the good of all who have been within the reach of its influence. Mehitable, his wife, died in 1848.

Of the other settlers who came at the same time Deacon Robbins entered the county, and all of whom are now dead, but little can be learned. Noah Hol- comb settled upon a farm on the southeast corner of the township: Sylvester Merriam in the eastern part. on what is now the River road. He died in 1862, May sixth. James Disbrow settled on the same road in the southern part of the township. Joseph A. Graves located on the east and west road near the boundary of Grafton. Fairchild Hubbard settled near the center, led a long and useful life, and was widely known and respected for his many good quali- ties. He died in 1859, at the age of eighty-eight. years.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

David Rockwood, born in Manchester, New Hamp- shire, October 4, 1722, married Roba, daughter of Charles Rounds, of Champion, New York, and came to LaGrange in 1826, arriving on the 5th of June. Hle was the oldest man in the township when he died. having reached the age of one hundred years one mouth and twenty-tive days. He died November 28, 1877, having been a resident of LaGrange for over half a century. "The helpmate who came with him had an experience of pioneer life in strange dispro- portion to his. She died the year after coming into her new home and was the first person who passed over to the silent majority from the little settlement. Mr. Rockwood married Polly or Patty Graves in 1828, and she died in 1844. Two years afterwards he mar- ried Mrs. Lindsley, of Elyria. David Rockwood was the father of thirteen children, three of whom live in La Grange. F. W. Rockwood lives upon a farm in the northwest corner of the township, near the one upon which his father settled. There are also two daughters-Mrs. Emeline Gott and Mrs. Palina Bussell. There are twenty-two grandchildren, de- seendants of David Rockwood, and thirty-eight great-grandchildren.

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IHISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

The one hundredth birthday of this patriarch and pioneer was celebrated by his friends and neighbors, and was a memorable occasion.

The funeral was held December 2d, four days after the decease of the eentennarian pioneer, and was one of the most impressive ceremonies ever witnessed in the vicinity. The sermon was preached by the Rev. John Mitchell, before a very large audience composed of the people of LaGrange and the aged friends of the deceased from adjoining and distant townships. After its conclusion the masonic fraternity, of which Mr. Rockwood had been a member for over seventy years, took charge of the service and conducted their solemn burial rite. David Rockwood well illustrated the truth of the old saying, that the longest life is too short. He said upon the one hundredth anni- versary of his birth that as he looked back upon his pilgrimage it seemed brief, very brief.

Asa Rockwood, who came into the country about the same time as his brother David, remained in LaGrange but a short time and then removed to Pittsfield. John Rockwood, a nephew, came to the township in 1828, and made the first settlement ou the street north of the center, on the farm now owned by W. W. Noble.

David Gott came also, either late in 1826 or in the early part of the following year.

In 1837 there were a number of additions to the population of the township, prominent among whom was Rev. Julius Beeman, of Otsego county, New York. He was promised by Goodrich fifty acres of land on condition that he would move into the town- ship and officiate as a minister of the gospel for ten years. He accepted, and after the lapse of ten years, during which he had done good service in the settle- ment for his religion, received a deed of the property. He was the first preacher who settled in the neigh- borhood and the only one for miles around. His work was not confined to LaGrange, for he rode into all of the adjoining territory and held services in a number of localities at considerable distance from his home. He died in 1853, at the advanced age of eighty, retaining his faculties in a marked degree of excellence to the last. He was a native of Warren, Litchfield county, Connecticut, and was born Jannary 28, 1713. Ile commenced preaching when twenty- eight years old, in Rensselaer county, New York, having been ordained in 1803.

Calvin Wilcox was another of the settlers of 1827. le was born November 2, 1796, in Charlestown, Montgomery county, New York, and came to Well- ington in 1825. Two years later he settled at La- Grange center, and married Harriet, a daughter of Fairchild Hubbard. He was a man who held deserv- edly the high esteem of his neighbors, and through their election held various offices of honor and trust. lle died in 1811.

Ephraim Lewis and brother, and Noah and Marcus Kellogg came in the same year as the above. Noah Kellogg settled on lot number forty.

Hewey Noble came in 1828 from New York, and made the second settlement upon the road north of the center, on the farm owned in 1878 by Mr. Black- well. He died upon this place in 1871.

Russell Loomis, now living aged ninety-two years, came in 1829, and took up a farm lying next the one upon which he now lives, which is in lot fifty. HIe was born in 1786, in Coventry, Connecticut. He has one son living in the same house with him, R. N., aged sixty-two years.

Jeremiah Filley was a noteworthy and eccentric genius, who came into the township in 1830. It is said that he cleared and caused to be cleared over two thonsand six hundred acres of land. He was a re- markably shrewd man in bargaining, an energetic, wide awake man in the now fast growing community, and a great hunter.

AN INDIAN INCIDENT

of eurious character, in which Filley played a prom- inent part, is always suggested to old settlers by the mention of his name. Most of the Indians had dis- appeared from the county by the time Filley arrived, but a few remained, and usually made their place of rendezvous Indian Hollow, in Carlisle township. They were occasionally to be seen sweeping through the woods upon their ponies, in pursuit of deer, and sometimes camped within the territory of La Grange. Filley had met them more than once, and had doubt- less resorted to various means to get them to leave the country. At any rate, they were known to enter- tain anything but friendly feelings toward him. One day while hunting, he came upon a party of them, and after a short conversation, succeeded in rousing the red men's ire to such a point, that they threatened to kill him. He saw that there was no lack of intention on their part, and resorted to a bold plan to make good his escape. The Indians' rifles were leaning against a tree, at a little distance from them, and in this fortunate circumstance, Filley saw his deliverance from danger. He drew his own rifle to his face, sud- denly, raised the hammer, and covering, with accurate aim, the little party of braves, told them that the first who moved would be the first to die. Keeping the gun to his shoulder, and his eye upon the Indians, he slowly retreated until he had gained a safe distance, when he changed his tactics, and ran for dear life. After that, he very naturally felt somewhat suspicious of Poor Lo. and avoided his society. Several weeks, or perhaps months, after his narrow escape from the tender mercies of the Senecas, the hunter had occa- sion to pass the scene of the unpleasant little ocenr- rence, and found blazed upon a large tree, his own portrait, full length and life sized, while upon other trees surrounding this one, were the figures of In- dians, all with their guns pointed toward the central figure. This hieroglyphic work, the hunter interpreted as a threat to take his life, should the Indians ever have the pleasure of meeting him again. The scene of the occurrence was in the woods, only a short dis-

PHOTOS. BY LEE ELYRIA 0.

Amanda. Freeman

Roman "Thruman

SOUTH SIDE OF ROAD.

NORTH SIDE OF ROAD

RESIDENCE OF BOMAN FREEMAN, LAGRANGE, LORAIN CO., OHID.

MRS. E.H. SANDERS

E. H SANDERS.

PHOTOS BI LEE ELYRIA HIO

RESIDENCE OF E. H. SANDERS, LAGRANGE, LORAIN CO , OHIO .

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HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

tanee northeast of what is now the village of La Grange. The representations of men ent or blazed upon the trees have been seen by many persons now living, and are said to have been remarkaly natural and suggestive. Filley gave up the life of a woodman and hunter, became a preacher, and went to Michigan.

The settlement grew fast from the year 1820. In 1831 there were fifty-seven families in the township. more than twice as many as in t828; in 1835 there were one hundred and seven, and in 1840 there were one hundred and thirty-four. The amount of public expenditures for the year ending March 2, 1829, was ten dollars and thirty-four cents,

Horace Sanders came to the township in 1830 or 1831, and is now represented by a son, Allen Sanders, who lives upon the old Robbins farm, lots fifty-eight and sixty-three.

H. C., or as he is commonly called, Casey Hastings, like most of the other settlers, came from New York. He first took a farm on the road running east from the farm of Mr. Adams, but sold out and bought in lots forty-four and forty-seven, a mile west of the center. He isat the present writing seventy-two years of age. He is the father of ten children, and they form a remarkable family. His five sons and himself aggregate a weight which makes their average over two hundred pounds apiece. Mr. Hastings has some lively recollections of the ferocity of the wild or "shack" hogs, which were quite numerous when he came to the country. He went out to hunt the next morning after his arrival, and was very skeptical when told about the savageness of the undomesticated porkers. Ile was soon convineed, however, that all he had been told was true, for a small herd charged upon him. and he only saved himself from their tusks by elimbing high up among the roots of a fallen tree, by which he was fortunately standing when the hogs made the onslaught. One of them fastened its jaws upon his boot-heel and bent it off. These will hogs were perhaps a greater cause of annoyance than the wolves were, to the early settlers of La Grange and its vicinity. They were certainly more savage, and un- like wolves, would never hesitate to attack a man in the woods. They were occasionally used for food, but the meat, was coarse, spongy and ill flavored.

The year 1832 was a good one for the settlement. as it witnessed a large increase in the population. During the year came the families of Adolphus Gott, Peter Gott, Joseph Lincoln, William Lamoure, Jona- than Olmsted, and others, and in the same or the following year Phineas and Harvey Powers arrived.

Adolphus Gott bought a farm one mile south and two miles west of the center and Peter Gott, a farm about a mile and a half northwest from the center upon which his son, William II. now lives. Ile has two other sons and a daughter living in the township. Jonathan Olmsted bought a farm adjoining Gott's. Joseph Lincoln bought two miles southwest of the center. Lamoure bought west of the center. William Ormsby came in the same year as the above. He is'

still living, aged ninety-six years, and as Deacon Ormsby, is widely known.

A silk enterprise engaged the attention of Phineas Powers. He came from Worcester, New York, bought land southwest of the center, made a clearing, and. conceiving the idea of establishing himself in the silk producing business, he planted in 1836 upon six acres of ground, twenty thousand mulberry trees. Ile erected a factory, procured silk worm eggs from Ashland, and was soon rewarded for his enterprise by having a quantity of skeins ready for the market. Ile was assisted in the manufacture by his sister, Mrs. Sibley, and the two seem to have brought a large share of good judgment and industry to bear upon the business. The county paid a premium of fifteen cents per pound upon all silk manufactured, and this, with the legitimate profit of trade, led Mr. Powers to anticipate success. But unfortunately the worms all lied the second year, and nearly all the money and labor expended in the enterprise was lost. Powers went to Ashland, remained there six years, returned to La Grange, and after a short time removed to Cleveland. Such, in brief, is the history of one among many failures in a business which, forty years ago, held out perhaps more inducements to the man of speculative turn of mind than any other.

The Freemans-Simeon and Olive-with their sons Boman, Glen J, and F. N., came in 1834, and the father settled upon lot forty-eight, at present owned by Boman, Sr. R. Freeman, Joshua E. Freeman, F. R. Freeman, and Henry Freeman, came about the same time. The heads of these families have all passed tway.

Prominent among the settlers of 1833 was Nathan P. Johnson, of Hartford, Washington county, New York. He married eleven years before coming into Ohio, Laura Waite, of Champion. Mr. Johnson was elected to the legislature, in 1844 and 1855, and elected senator in 1846. While serving in this capac- ity he took a strong stand against the repudiation of the State debt, a position which made him unpopular with his party at the time, but won respect for him in the end. His wife died in 1846, and he afterward married Mary Hart, of Elyria. In 1862 he moved to the center, and was appointed postmaster by Pres- ident Lincoln. He held this office until his death in 1874. Hle spent his life in doing good, and he was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

David C. Pelton came to the township in the same year. He has been married three times, and is the father of twenty-one children, two of whom, a son, Floyd, and daughter, Mrs. Lydia Crowner, live in the township.

Allen Sheldon and his wife, Anna Maria, settled also in 1833, on a farm one and a half miles west of the center, now owned by a son, Colonel L. A. Shel- don. There are two other sons, Wm. E. and F. V. L. A. Sheldon was colonel in the Forty-second regi- ment Ohio volunteer infantry, and was elected to congress three terms-1868, '70 and '72, from the

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History of Lorain County, Ohio, Part 76

Author: Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 626

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 626