USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 26
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During the same month in which Benjamin Tappan and his party arrived in Ravenna, Ebenezer Sheldon, of Suffield, Conn., came into Aurora Township, and with the assistance of Elias Harmon and his wife, made a settlement on Lot 40. After the erection of a cabin and making a small clearing in the prim- itive forest, Harmon and wife moved to Mantua Township, where they ever afterward resided. Sheldon then returned to Connecticut, and in the following spring, 1800, came out to his new home, bringing his wife, four sons and two daughters. They rode the entire distance in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and leading a pair of young horses. They came safely as far as War- ren, which at that time consisted of a few log structures, but after leaving there a storm overtook them in the woods and they were very near perishing from falling trees. They managed to avoid all accidents, however, but were literally penned in and had to remain in the woods all night, only being released the next day by getting assistance and cutting a road out. One of the daughters of this sturdy old pioneer, the year following their arrival, married Amzi Atwater, of Mantua, one of the surveyors who accompanied Cleveland in the survey of the Western Reserve, and who afterward became one of the Asso- ciate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and a leading citizen of the county. Ebenezer Sheldon and his family were the only inhabitants of Aurora for three years after they arrived there, but in 1803 quite a number came in, among whom were Samuel Forward and his family, from Granby, Conn. The next year came James M. Henry, John Cochran, Jr., David Ken- nedy, Sr., Ebenezer Kennedy, Samuel Ferguson and several others. Within a year or two afterward came Moses Eggleston, father of Gen. Nelson Eggles- ton; also Joseph Eggleston, brother of Moses, together with Capt. Perkins, Col. Ebenezer Harmon, Isaac Blair and others from Massachusetts and Con- necticut.
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Early in April, 1799, two months before any settlers had arrived in Ravenna or Aurora Townships, and only six months after Honey had made his clearing in Mantua, six persons made their way into what is now Atwater Township. They came from Wallingford, Conn., and were Capt. Caleb Atwater, Jonathan Merrick, Peter Bunnell, Asahel Blakesley and Asa Hall and his wife. This party, headed by Atwater, surveyed the township into lots, and in the fall all of them, with the exception of Hall and his wife, returned to their homes in the East. From the time of the arrival of this first settler till the spring of 1801-two years-Hall and his wife were the only persons in the township, his nearest neighbor being Lewis Ely, over in Deerfield Township, who had come out with others shortly after Hall's arrival. Although having a lonesome time during those two years in the wilderness, an incident happened within Hall's household that was calculated in a measure to relieve the tedium of, whilst it imposed additional cares upon, the life of this pioneer couple. The "incident" was a child born to them in the spring of 1800, which was promptly and appropriately named Atwater Hall, and had the honor of being the first white child born in Portage County. Hall was considerable of a hunter, and as may well be supposed, had ample opportunity and game to gratify all his taste in that direction, but he eventually got tired of his lone- some life and moved in 1801 to near the Deerfield Township line, where he could more easily reach the settlements in that township. About the time Hall moved from his first location, David Baldwin, Jr., came in from Walling- ford, Conn., and settled about two miles south of the Center of Atwater Town- ship. These two families for the next three years were the only persons in the township, but after that period settlers came in rapidly, most of whom were from Connecticut and Massachusetts, but about 1807 quite a number of persons from South Carolina settled here, among whom were Enos Davis, whose son Isaac, then a boy of ten years is still living, nearly ninety years of age; also, from the same State, came William Marshall, John Hutton and John Camp- bell. Among the arrivals shortly before and about the year 1806-07 were Jere- miah Jones, Josiah Mix, John H. Whittlesey, Caleb Mattoon, Asahel Blakesley and Ira and Amos Morse. David Baldwin, Jr., was the agent of Capt. Atwater, who owned not only the entire township, but several others and portions of others on the Reserve, he being one of the original members of the Connecticut Land Company. Maj. Ransom Baldwin, now residing, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, on the original land located by his father, is the son of David Baldwin, he being born in 1802, the second male child born in the township of Atwater. The settlement of this portion of the county was very rapid, as the land was considered by most of the early comers to be better in the southern than in the northern portions of the county.
The first settler in that division of the county known as Palmyra Township was David Daniels, who left his home in Grattan, Conn., in the spring of 1799, and arrived there in June, locating on Lot 21, about one and a half miles south of the Center. At the drawing of the Connecticut Land Company, Palmyra Township fell to the lot of eight persons, Elijah Boardman being the principal owner, and these gentlemen, as an inducement to its settlement, gave Daniels 100 acres of land to go there, make a clearing and build a cabin, which he accordingly did. He put in a small crop of wheat, which was duly harvested the following season, and after threshing his crop carried a bushel of the grain on his shoulders to Poland, about, thirty miles away, had it ground and returned with it to his humble cabin. Daniels was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary Army and died in 1813, having been highly respected. He was the first Justice of the Peace of Palmyra Township after its organization. Not
James , Tunn.
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
long after the settlement of Daniels, Ethelbert Baker came in and located about half a mile south of the Center on the west side of the road, and the next year, 1800, in the spring, William Bacon arrived and located one and a quarter miles south of the Center. In 1802 came a son-in-law of Nehemiah Bacon-E. Cutler-who located two miles south of the Center, and in 1804 James McKelvey, of Pennsylvania, and Amasa Preston arrived. In 1805 quite a delegation came in from Connecticut, among whom were David, Silas and Asahel Waller, John Tuttle, Jr., and Capt. John T. Baldwin; the latter, who was from Litchfield County, Conn., bringing his wife and three sons, one of whom, Squire Alva Baldwin, still resides upon the farm originally owned by his father. Capt. Baldwin for many years kept a tavern at the Center of Palmyra. In 1806 Truman Gilbert, Sr., also, from Litchfield,, Conn., arrived and settled west of the Center. He brought his wife, seven sons and one daughter, the latter still living at the age of eighty-six.
In the spring of 1799 Lewis Day and Horatio Day, of Connecticut, came to their purchase of land in Deerfield Township. They came through in a wagon drawn by horses, selected their locations, made a clearing and put out a crop of wheat. The first actual settler, however, was Lewis Ely, who came in July, bringing his family and settling down to business at once, while the Days in the fall returned to their homes in the East. Ely located on Lot 19, just east of the old grave-yard. The following year, 1800, was marked by the arrival in Deerfield of several men who afterward became prominent in the history of the county. In February Alva Day, John Campbell and Joel Thrall started from their homes in Connecticut and walked the entire distance, arriving here in March, after an exceedingly rough time, as the mountains over which they had to pass were covered with five or six feet of snow, subject- ing them to much suffering from the cold. Provisions were exceedingly scarce at this time, and Lewis Ely and Alva Day were compelled to make a trip to the Ohio River to procure some bacon and meal. They constructed a canoe from a log, floated it down to the Ohio River, and at a point opposite Steubenville, procured what they needed and brought it back with an ox team. James Laughlin also came this year from Pennsylvania. In July Lewis Day returned bringing out his wife and six children: Horatio, Munn, Seth, Lewis, Jr., Solomon and Seba Day. During the next three or four years following 1800 the township filled up very rapidly, many of the settlers coming from Penn- sylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Ephraim B. Hubbard, of Connecticut, came about this time, and in 1803 Daniel Diver and his family. Noah Grant, the grandfather of Gen. U. S. Grant, is supposed to have settled in Deerfield about 1804-05, where he opened a tannery and followed shoe-making. Noah brought his wife and little son Jesse, aged about ten years, father of the now illustrious Gen. U. S. Grant, to whom the country owes so much, for to him is largely due the conception of the proper mode to crush out the modern python of armed secession. Rev. Shadrack Bostwick, son-in-law of Daniel Diver, came in 1803. This gentleman was one of the early circuit-riders of the Methodist Church, and was a physician as well.
In the spring of 1800 there arrived in Nelson Township, from Becket, Mass., Delaun, Asahel and Isaac Mills, sons of Deacon Ezekiel Mills. The first two were married and brought out their families; the latter was single. They came in covered wagons and several weeks were occupied in the trip, during which time their money had dwindled down to less than 25 cents. Falling in with Urial Holmes, the principal proprietor of Nelson Township, the brothers engaged with him to serve as ax-men to the surveyors, who were under charge of Amzi Atwater. After finishing their job, Delaun settled on a lot of 100
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
acres which had been donated to him by Holmes. It was on the north side of the road just west of the Center. Asahel settled on a 100 acre lot on the north and south road. Delaun, or Capt. Delaun Mills, as he was afterward known, was looked upon as the Daniel Boone of this section, and a full account of him will be found in the sketch of Nelson Township. For nearly three years the two brothers, Delaun and Asahel (Isaac having returned to the East) and their families were the only white inhabitants of Nelson Township; but in the spring of 1803 seven families came in, they being Stephen Baldwin, Benjamin Stow and two sons, John Bancroft and four sons, Daniel Owen, two Stiles brothers, William and Thomas Kennedy and Asa Truesdell. In July, 1804, Col. John Garrett, who founded Garrettsville, or rather built a mill at that point, and for whom that enterprising little town is named, came into Nelson, and about the same time Abraham Dyson and a German named Johann Noah, all coming from the State of Delaware. In the following year, 1805, came John Tinker, Nathaniel Bancroft, Martin Manley and Daniel Wood.
Ephraim Root, principal proprietor of Rootstown Township, in company with a young man named Harvey Davenport, came out in the spring of 1800 to survey his land, which was done, he returning in the fall, but leaving his companion in the wilderness, the unfortunate young man having suddenly died. In the spring of 1801 Mr. Root again came out, bringing his brother David, and they together made a settlement in the northeast corner of the township. They erected a two-story log-cabin not far from where now is Campbellsport. Nathan Muzzy, of whom frequent mention is made in several of the township sketches, came to the county about this time, and did the car- penter work for the Roots. Muzzy discovered the little lake which has ever since borne his name. Poor old Nathan! His life-story was a romance: A graduate of Yale, brilliant young minister, crossed in love, reason dethroned, a wanderer in the West, decrepit and penniless, buried by the hand of charity. In 1802 Henry O'Neill, an Irishman of fine education and a pioneer Justice of the Peace, and Samuel McCoy came in and together erected a cabin on Lot 3, but McCoy, also an Irishman, afterward moved to Lot 28. In the fall of this year Michael Hartle and Frederick Caris, originally from Northumberland County, Penn., and the following year John Caris came in, also Arthur Anderson. In 1804, in addition to a number of others, the Chapmans made a settlement on Lot 4. Jacob and Abraham Reed settled on the south west cor- ner of Lot 15. In the fall of 1805 Beman Chapman, brother of Ephraim, arrived with his wife and brother Nathan. Stephen Colton came about this time, and Gersham Bostwick in 1806.
Bela Hubbard and Salmon Ward, natives of Middletown, Conn., in the year 1802 removed with their families to Randolph Township, from Jefferson County, N. Y., where they had resided since 1799. These two old pioneers made a halt about half a mile west of the Center, and the first night camped under a large tree, but the next day built them a cabin. Ward was taken sick, and upon recovery returned to his Eastern home. He, however, made three other trials at settling here, and as many times gave it up. The last time he started for the East was the last ever heard of him by his friends. For six weeks Hubbard was the solitary inhabitant of Randolph Township, and a lonely time he must have had of it, but in July came Arad Upson, originally from Ply- mouth, Conn .; also Joseph Harris, from the same State. In the fall came Calvin Ward and John Ludington. In the spring of 1803 Josiah Ward, wife and six children moved in, and during the summer Jehiel Savage and Timothy Culver arrived from Atwater, where they had at first located. In the fall Salmon Ward, on his third return trip, brought with him Aaron Weston, Levi Davis,
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
and two young men named Carey and Smith, the latter two simply coming to trade with the Indians. In November, 1804, Ebenezer Goss, and in Decem. ber following Eliakim Merriman, the first from Plymouth and the last from Wallingford, Conn., came in. July 17, 1805, Oliver Dickinson and family, from East Granville, Mass., arrived. He was a blacksmith by trade, and one of the most useful members of the first settlement. During this same year Isaac Merriman from Connecticut, Archibald Coon from Pennsylvania, John Goss, and Jeremiah Sabin and his son Abel located in the township. In 1806 came Hiram Raymond, Thomas Miller, Nathan Sears and son Elisha, and Rev. Henry Ely, all of Connecticut, William Thornton from Pennsylva- nia and Daniel Cross from Vermont. In 1807 Deacon Stephen Butler and Caleb Wetmore moved in from Connecticut, but removed to Stow Township in a few years. Dr. Rufus Belding, from Cattaraugas County, N. Y., settled here this year, where he practiced his profession for nearly thirty years. Among the leading names of settlers in the few years succeeding the last date are those of Nathaniel Bancroft, Sylvester Tinker and Deacon James Coe.
"In the southwestern corner of the county a settlement was made in May, 1802, by Royal Pease, a native of Suffield, Conn., who owned a considerable portion of the land comprised in the township now known as Suffield. Pease settled on what is now known as the Kent Farm, and made a clearing, built a cabin and put out a crop of wheat. This old pioneer remained alone at his settlement for nearly a year, but the following spring after his arrival Ben- jamin Baldwin made his appearance, and soon after him David Way and
family. In 1804 John Fritch, a Pennsylvania German, located at the little lake that has since borne his name. In this year also came from Connecticut Daniel Warner, Ezekiel Tupper, Bradford Waldo and Champlin Minard. In 1805 Martin Kent and family and Jonathan Foster came in; also, Samuel Hale and his sons Thomas and Orestes. During the next few years settlers were quite numerous, and among the most noted was Moses Adams, from Mas- sachusetts. Many Germans have from time to time settled in Suffield Town- ship, and form a large portion of its present population.
In Charlestown Township a man by the name of Abel Forsha, from Mary- land, about 1803, squatted on a piece of land afterward known as " Farnham's Hill," where he lived for a short time, afterward removing to Ravenna; but the first permanent settler was John Campbell, who moved here from Deerfield Township in 1805, and remained throughout his life one of the leading citi- zens of the county. A company from Blanford and Granville, Mass., com- posed of thirteen families, gave the township an impetus in 1809.
Hiram Township, which originally comprised the territory now known as Hiram, Mantua, Shalersville, Freedom, Windham and Nelson, received its first settlers in 1802, when Elijah Mason, Elisha Hutchinson and Mason Til- den came in and settled respectively as follows: Mason, who was from Leba- non, Conn., selected the west half of Lot 23; Hutchinson, who was from Her- kimer County, N. Y., also selected a portion of Lot 23, and Tilden, from Con- necticut, selected Lot 22. In the fall they all returned to their homes in the East. John Fleming came about the same time, but remained only one year. In 1803 the three first-named persons again came out and made improvements on their land. Mason cleared twenty-two acres, built a cabin, and put out a crop of wheat. They all then again returned to their homes. Three men whom Mason and Tilden had in their employ, liking the country, remained. These men were Richard Redden and Jacob and Samuel Wirt, all from Pennsylvania. In 1804 William Fenton and Cornelius Baker settled on Lot 38, the first on the east half of the west half, and the other on the
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
west half of the same. Roswell Mason, son of Elijah, and some others, came out in 1807, but as late as. 1809 the number of inhabitants was only twenty. In 1811 the Youngs came from Connecticut; also Elisha Hutch- inson. For five or six years after the last date many settlers came in, and an enumeration of them will be found in the sketch of Hiram Township.
John Haymaker, a native of Pennsylvania, from near Pittsburgh, in the fall of 1805 made the first settlement in Franklin Township. He brought his wife and three children, and at first located on the Cuyahoga, just west of where the upper bridge now is in Kent. The following spring George Hay- maker, a brother of John. and their father, Jacob, arrived. The next year the Haymakers built a mill, the Cuyahoga River at the point where they settled affording ample water power. Settlement in Franklin was rather slow for many years, considering the natural advantages of the township. Jacob Reed, who had settled in Rootstown in 1804, came to Franklin in 1811, and purchased the Haymaker Mill, and ran it for several years, when it was in turn purchased by George B. DePeyster. For a more extended account of the early settlement of Franklin, the reader is referred to the two chapters on that township.
The first settlement in Shalersville Township was made in the spring of 1806 by Joel Baker, from Tolland County, Conn. He brought his wife and one child and located on Lot 46, erecting his cabin and digging a well nearly opposite where the hotel at the Center now stands. For two years Baker and his family were alone in this part of the wilderness, but in 1808 Simeon Belden and Calvin Crane, from Saybrook, Conn., came in, located their future homes and then returned to Trumbull County, Ohio, where they had resided several years, but the following spring came out for permanent residence. Hezekiah Hine, Daniel Keyes and his son, Asa D. Keyes, also came in 1808. In 1810 William Coolman, Sr., and family came from Middletown, Conn .; also, Daniel Burroughs, and his sons, Asa K. and Greenhood, from Vermont, and others. In 1814 Silas Crocker, then a lad of fifteen years, came in with Job and Benoni Thompson. Gen. David McIntosh and Sylvester Beecher came later. These three last-named were all poor boys, but they each left their impress on the county of their adoption.
Eber Abbott, of Tolland County, Conn., in the spring of 1811 came to Edinburg Township and settled on Lot 2, Subdivision 5, and shortly after him his brother-in-law, Lemuel Chapman, located near him. In 1813 a man by the name of Howard came in and located on Silver Creek. In 1815 Alan- son and Justin Eddy, from Williamstown, arrived with their families, having come the entire distance in sleighs. Justin made his settlement on the now fine farm of Mr. Theodore Clark. Alanson settled on the farm afterward owned by C. H. Rowell. Robert Calvin, a Virginian, came about 1816, and settled on Lot 8. He was the father of Mr. John Calvin, who now resides in the northeastern portion of the township. David Trowbridge and Sylvester Gilbert also came at this time. Richard M. Hart came in 1817, and Adnah H. Bostwick in 1819.
In 1810 the Becket Land Company was formed in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., for the purchase and settlement of the lands now embraced in Windham Township, most of which then belonged to Gov. Caleb Strong, of that State. The company consisted of sixteen persons, viz. : Bills Messenger, John Seely, Jeremiah Lyman, Aaron P. Jagger, Benjamin C. Perkins, Elijah Alford, Alpheus Streator, Benjamin Higley, Elisha Clark, Isaac Clark, Ebenezer N. Messenger, Thatcher Conant, Nathan Birchard, Enos Kingsley, Dillingham Clark and Gideon Bush. Early in 1811 the company sent out four young men-Elijah
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
Alford, Jr., Oliver Alford, Ebenezer O. Messenger and Nathan H. Messenger- to make some preparation for the coming population. On their arrival in Windham, March 15, the Alfords began an improvement on Lot 84, and erected a cabin, which was the first built in the township. The Messengers. built a cabin on Lot 82. These two cabins constituted Windam Township in March, 1811, and the population up to the 2t7h of that month consisted of the four pioneer boys previously mentioned. On the 27th Wareham Loomis and family moved in from Nelson. This was the first family in the township. Loomis put up a cabin on that part of Lot 92 subsequently owned by Daniel Jagger. Hiram Messenger, a son of Bills, one of the Becket Land Company, arrived with his family in June, 1811, being the first installment of the pro- prietors. He settled on Lot 76. His father came with him, and stayed sev- eral months, assisting Hiram in making improvements, and then returned to his home. In July, 1811, Alpheus Streator, Benjamin Higley, Ebenezer N. Messenger, Gideon Bush, Thatcher Conant and Jeremiah Lyman arrived and settled on their lands, and the following October Deacon Elijah Alford joined the settlement. From this time forward settlers continued to arrive at inter- vals, and this portion of the county rapidly increased in population.
In consequence of a certain reputation for an almost uninhabitable swamp- iness, Paris Township, although excellent land, was not settled very early, at least not as early as it should have been under the circumstances. Richard Hudson, a Pennsylvanian, however, ventured in about June, 1811, and drove his stakes on Lot 21. John Bridges, son-in-law of Hudson, came the next year, and about the same time John Cox and John Young. In 1815 Chauncy Hawley and William Selby, in 1816 Brainard, Newton and Thomas Selby, and in 1817 Austin Wilson and John Smith arrived.
The first permanent settler in Brimfield Township was John Boosinger, who removed from Ravenna Township in 1816, settling on Lot 39. In November of the same year Henry Thorndike and his family, with his brother Israel, arrived. In the employ of the Thorndikes was Abner H. Lanphare, who lived to an advanced age. The following January Deacon Alpheus Andrews settled near the Center. In the year 1817 many settlers came, whose names will be found in the chapter on Brimfield.
Charles H. Paine, son of Gen. Paine, of Painesville, who had married a daughter of Elijah Mason, of Hiram Township, settled in Freedom Township in the spring of 1818, on Lots 31 and 41, and from that time till 1822 himself and family were the only inhabitants of Freedom. In the spring of the year last named, however, thirteen persons arrived, all in one family: Thomas Johnston, wife and eleven children. In 1823 came Newell Day, and Enos and Asa Wadsworth; in 1824, Rufus Ranney, father of Judge R. P. Ranney, and in 1825 Paul Larkcom, father of A. C. Larkcom, still a resident of Freedom Township.
Streetsboro Township settled up very rapidly from the time the first settler made his appearance in 1822, that person being Stephen Myers, who located on Lot 82. He made a clearing and put up a distillery. In 1824 a number of other persons came in and rapidly filled up the township.
Col. John Garrett, of Delaware, as noticed elsewhere, was the first settler of what is now Garrettsville Township.
For the purpose of keeping the remembrance of the old pioneer days fresh in the minds of the present generation, and as a humble monument to their deeds, an association was formed a few years ago, entitled "The Portage- Summit Pioneer Association." From the eighth annual report of the Secre- tary, Dr. A. M. Sherman, of Kent, we glean the following:
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