History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c., Part 64

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c. > Part 64

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).

According, then, to Mrs. Baughman's recol- lection, the first cabin was built on the north- east corner of the public square, where stands the old brick dwelling-house belonging to the Hedges family. Mrs. Baughman, however, did not live with her father at the time he occupied this dwelling, for she says in the same letter : " My father was married to Margarett Myers, his present widow, in 1808, and came to this conntry soon afterward ; but I remained with my grandfather, Michael Stateler, until 1819, then came to this county, where I have since had my home." It must be considered that James Cunningham, her father, moved into that

house in October, 1809. and moved out during the next year; so that he only occupied it a short time ; and if his information was given to his daughter years afterward, he might have been mistaken, or she might have misunder- stood him.

That she was mistaken seems evident from the following, taken from the lips of James Cunningham himself, and written down at the time by Rev. James McGaw : "In Octo- ber of the same year (1809), he (James Cun- ningham), moved into the only log cabin then standing in Mansfield, which had been built some months previously by one Samuel Martin. This cabin stood on the corner lot of E. P. Sturges-Lot No. 97." It would seem as if the statement of Mr. Cunningham, which was writ- ten down in his presence, and must, therefore, have been carefully given. ought to be conclu- sive. He was a very early settler, was well known to all the pioneers, and a very intel- ligent man. He was afterward a Captain in the army.

The following is an extract from a letter of Margarett Cunningham, wife of James Cunning- ham, dated January 31, 1873 : "August 23, 1809, we had a daughter born to us in the town of Mansfield, when there was but one log cabin in the place, built by a Mr. Martin for a board- ing-house. Mr. Martin lived in this cabin but a short time, and left abruptly, having sold whisky to the Indians, contrary to law. Some one threatened to prosecute him for the offense, and he left."

From this extract is ascertained what became of the first actual settler in the town, and the builder of the first cabin. He was evidently a trader ; whether he kept anything more than whisky is not told ; but he might be called the first merchant in Mansfield ; and this first cabin was also the first boarding-house, the first store and the first dwelling.

The following extract is from a letter of Nancy Shively, written March 3, 1873. She

447

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

was also a daughter of James Cunningham : " My sister, Matilda Cunningham, was born in the town of Mansfield. in a house built by a Mr. Martin, near the corner of the square near- est the big spring." This was what she heard her parents say, and corresponds with the evi- dence of her sister, Elizabeth Baughman ; but contradicts that of her father. The following testimony on this point is from Jacob Brubaker. who was a man of high character. and of good memory when his evidence was given, in 1858 : "When I was eighteen years old, I was em- ployed, with others, in surveying and cutting ont a road between Canton and Wooster. I was em- ployed by Joseph Larwill, of Wooster, when the town of Mansfield was run off into lots ; I was engaged in cutting the logs for the first cabin lace, Joseph Middleton, James Cunningham and Andrew Pierce. These arrived, some with their families, mostly in the year 1809, and all came to stay. George Coffinberry built the sec- ond cabin, on the North American corner. Gen. Harrison stopped at this tavern. on his way to the siege of Fort Meigs. in which siege Gen. James Hedges was engaged. Winn Winship, who was a single man, built the first frame house in the town, across the street from the cabin of George Coffinberry, on the corner where the Farmer's Bank was. for some time, located. He was one of the most important of these early settlers, being Postmaster at that time, and not only the first Postmaster in Mansfield, but the first Postmaster in Richland County ; and was also Register and Receiver of Virginia Military that was built in Mansfield, it being built for School lands, having been appointed to that of- one Martin, who had removed from New Lisbon to this place. This cabin was erected on the lot now owned by E. P. Sturges." This testi- mony of one who cut the logs and assisted in building the house, agrees with that of Capt. James Cunningham, who lived in it after its first tenant, Martin, moved out. There is much other conflicting testimony regarding this mat- ter. which. could space be allowed for its admis- sion. would not present the matter in any clearer light. The weight of evidence seems to place the first cabin on the northwest corner of the square, where the Sturges Block now stands, or very near that spot ; some evidence being given to show that it was a little north of the lot upon which that block was erected.

fice by the Legislature of Virginia. some two years before. He is thus described, in a letter written by Mrs. Margarett Cunningham. in 1873: "This Winn Winship was a singular little man, short, round face. dark complexion. very talkative. wore a cue, quite a fop. was not very particular what he ate so that he got milk. and after we discharged him. he went to Mr. Coffinberry's to board. He used to send little George Coffinberry down to our house, every day, with a great tin quart cup. for milk, with a silver sixpence always in the cup." He seems to have been a little out of place in this wild region. and had a repugnance to boarding or living with other people, and in a log house : so he built a neat two-story frame, and lived hewed and split out, saw-mills being rather scarce. He was afterward appointed Clerk of the court, by the first Judges in the county. Thomas Coulter. Peter Kenny and Hugh Me- C'luer.

The first sale of lots occurred in October, ' by himself. The lumber for this house was 1808, Joseph Larwill having pitched his tent above the " big spring " and opened the sale on that day. It is not stated whether any lots were sold. but probably a few were. as it is found that purchasers came from "Knox, Col- umbiana, Stark, and other partially settled Rolin Weldon came from Delaware, built a cabin, and started the first blacksmith-shop in the town. on the McFall corner, the northwest corner of Third and Main streets. This is. counties." Among the first settlers in the new town were George Coffinberry, Winn Win- ship, Rolin Weldon, J. C. Gilkison, John Wal-

448

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

however, disputed by M. H. Gilkison, who says the first blacksmith was John Fogelsong, who built a shop in the alley connecting Main and Walnut, below the Wiler House. Mr. Win- ship and Levi Jones boarded with Weldon for a time. Jones was afterward killed by the In- dians, a full account of this being given in another chapter.

John Wallace remained in town but a short time. He bought and cleared up a farm two miles east, which has since been known as the ' Wallace farm. J. C. Gilkison was a printer, and started the first printing office. He was also an officer of the militia. He married a daughter of George Coffinberry, and lived for some time in the Coffinberry house on the North American corner, where his son. Mansfield HI. Gilkison, who is still living, was born. This son was the first white male child born in the town or county.

Much controversy has arisen in regard to the first child born in Mansfield. The friends of Matilda Cunningham, of whom many are yet living, claim that honor for her ; while Mans- field II. Gilkison and his friends are equally persistent and positive that he was the " very first." That he was the first male child does not admit of question ; whether he was the first child, each one must judge for himself after reading the testimony. The statements are so conflieting, and the time so far back, that the truth is hard to find. For nearly sixty years this honor was borne by Mr. Gilkison. with no one to dispute his title ; but in an nn- fortunate moment, at a pioneer meeting, a new claimant suddenly appeared, and created some feeling among the pioneers and those inter- ested. The following extracts from letters, and such other testimony as is at hand, may be of some assistance in forming a correct conclu- sion :

Gen. R. Brinkerhoff. in his centennial ad- dress to the pioneers of Richland County, July 4, 1876, says : " The first white child born in

Mansfield was Mansfield H. Gilkison, who is still living and with us to-day. He was born February 2. 1811, in the building on the North American corner. His father was John C. Gil- kison, and his mother a daughter of George Cof- finberry."

The controversy began in 1869. It seems, therefore, that, seventeen years afterward, Gen. Brinkerhoff had not been convinced that he was in error regarding this matter. Mansfield H. Gilkison gives his understanding of this in the following words, an extract from his letter to the Shield and Banner in 1873: "They did so (speaking of Hedges and New- man) and entered three, if not more, quar- ter-sections of land from the Government, one of which Gen. James Hedges selected as his own farm, Jacob Newman taking a quarter-sec- tion for his farm, and upon the third quar- ter-section they laid off the present town of Mansfield. A short time after this, a portion of Mr. Newman's family came out, and occu- pied the cabin on this farm of Mr. Jacob New- man's. immediately south of Mansfield .* Shortly after this, the Cunningham family came out and found their way to the Newman cabin ; as yet, upon the site of Mansfield. no cabin had been erected. In this cabin. it is claimed, Ma- tilda Cunningham was born. If this be true, then it is not possible for her to have been born in Mansfield at all. I think, in the fall of 1810, a cabin was erected where the North American now stands, by George Coffinberry, my mother's father, and in this cabin I was born, the 2d day of February, 1811, being the first white child born within the limits of the present town of Mansfield. Gen. James Hedges requested of my parents the privilege of naming the child, saying he would deed to me a town lot, to which request they acceded, and he named me for the town and himself, Mansfield Hedges Gilkison, and deeded to me

* This was one of the first cabins built. It was on the east side of North Main street, across the bridge over Ritter's Run, in what is now South Addition, just outside of the original town plat.

449

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

the lot, according to his promise ; and I have recently been informed by H. C. Hedges, Esq., his nephew. that it was Gen. Hedges' intention to have it made a matter of record. But it seemed he had forgotten to do so. At that time, Gen. Hedges was a single man-in fact, I believe he never was married-and boarded at the Newman cabin, and it would seem strange that my parents and Gen. Hedges could be so much mistaken, considering the sparsity of the population and the fact that such an event was not of such frequent occurrence as to escape their memories."

The following extract is from a letter of C. S. Coffinberry. of Constantine. Mich .. a son of George Coffinberry, and is dated February 17, 1873 : " I notice in the Shield and Banner a note of Thomas B. Andrews addressed to you (R. Brinkerhoff), giving the date of the birth of the three daughters of Mrs. Cunningham, with the further statement of Mrs. Cunningham that Matild, was born in the town of Mansfield, in the first house built in the town, there being no other house in the town when they moved into it. Mr. Andrews further states, that Mrs. Cunningham informed him that she was at the house of Jacob Newman, which was the only house in Mansfield at the time. * * * The first house built in the town of Mansfield was built by George Coffinberry in 1809, in the month of August of that year, on the site now occupied by the North American Hotel, at the southwest corner of the public square. The building was a small log cabin, and was never occupied by any other family. It was ocenpied by Mr. Coffinberry until he pulled it down to make place for a frame building. On the 23d of August, 1809. the date of the birth of Ma- tilda Cunningham, this house was the only one in the town of Mansfield, and had not been erected over six days. The house of Jacob Newman. erected and occupied by him, was not within the original plat of the town of Mans- field, and was not erected for some consider-

able time after that of Mr. Coffinberry's, I think during the winter of 1809. Mansfield Hedges Gilkison was the first white child born in the town of Mansfield. This fact was well known to all the first settlers in the town-the Wel- dons, the Hedges. the Laflands, the Newmans, and others. If Henry Newman and John New- man still survive, they will bear me out in this statement. If Matilda Cunningham was born August 23, 1809, she was not born in Mans- field, for the house of George Coffinberry, my father, was then the only house in Mansfield, which was a thick and heavy forest."

Evidence he has already been given to show that Mr. Coffinberry must have been mistaken regarding the first cabin, and, if so mistaken, it impairs his evidence in this letter.

The following is from Robert Cairns. who is still living in Mansfield : " My father and mother moved to the town of Mansfield in the fall of 1813, and I have frequently seen them point out M. H. Gilkison, and say that he was the first child born in Mansfield. I further state, that I was long and intimately acquainted with Gen. James Hedges, one of the proprietors of the town, and frequently have had conversation with him, in which he stated to me, in speaking of the early settlers of the town of Mansfield. that Mansfield Hedges Gilkison was the first white child born in the town. He also stated to me that he had the privilege of naming said M. H. Gilkison, and for the privilege of doing so, agreed to give him a deed for a town lot, which he has done. *

* * Mr. Andrews, in his statement, says that Matilda Cunningham stated to him, that she was born in the cabin-house of Jacob Newman, and the only house in the town. Now, if her statement be correct, in whose house she was born, I boldly assert, with- out fear of contradiction, that Matilda Cunning- ham was not born in Mansfield at all. I now assert that this cabin-house of Jacob Newman was not built in the town of Mansfield at all. * It was located directly south of

450

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

Mansfield, upon a farm, and for many years Gen. James Hedges boarded in the same cabin- house with Jacob Newman."

The following is from James Cunningham, father of Matilda Cunningham. It was taken down in writing by the Rev. James McGaw, in a conversation with Mr. Cunningham. "Capt. James Cunningham was born in the State of Maryland, and, in 1776, emigrated with his father to Westmoreland County, Penn., and afterward to Monongalia County, Va., where the father died. In 1804, James emigrated to Licking County, Ohio, and from there to Rich- land in 1809, in the month of May, and landed on the Black Fork of the Mohican, where he found Samuel Lewis, Henry McCart, Mr. Shaeffer and Andrew Craig. who had landed there only a few weeks before him. After landing, he put out a crop of corn, then went back, brought out his wife, and put her down in the woods along- side of a camp fire, and commenced building a shanty over her head. This he completed in about three days, having in his employ three hands. In the following August, his wife gave birth to a daughter, being the first white child born in Richland County. In October of the same year, he moved into the only log cabin then standing in Mansfield, which had been built some months previously by one Samuel Martin. This cabin stood on the corner lot of E. P. Sturges."

The above very direct testimony of the father of the claimant goes to show that she was born on the Black Fork of the Mohican.

The following two letters are given as much for their historical interest, as for their bearing on this case. The first, written by Henry New- man, a son of Jacob Newman. is dated March, 1873 : " I think it to be an unmixed truth, that Mansfield Hedges Gilkison was the first child, as the truth and veracity of the very early pioneers of Mansfield and vicinity cannot be questioned or denied. They were Gen. James Hedges, my father, Jacob Newman, John Wal-

lace, George Coffinberry, Rolin Weldon. Michael Newman, James McClner (one of the first Asso- ciate Jndges), Capt. David Newal and John Chapman, the last better known as Johnny Appleseed, and others I could mention-all re- spectable first-class pioneers, settlers in Mans- field and vicinity. They could not have been mistaken with regard to the fact, that Mansfield H. Gilkison was the first white child born in the town of Mansfield. I pronounce all the above- named gentlemen (now deceased), in their day, men of truth and veracity, and that judgment will be affirmed by many yet living in Mans- field and vicinity. I have heard most, if not all of them, speak of the fact that Mansfield H. Gilkison was the first white child born in Mans- field. How is it possible those first pioneers could be mistaken ? How is it that I never heard the first intimation to the contrary until lately, and yet lived in Mansfield and the county of Richland over forty years ? * * *

The venerable old lady, and others who advo- cate as a fact that Matilda Cunningham was born in Mansfield, in the cabin built by Jacob Newman, or built by a Mr. Martin, are most certainly mistaken. *

* I never knew but one Mr. Martin in Mansfield, and he was a contractor under Gen. Crooks, in the war of 1812-13, and had his headquarters during the winter in Mansfield. The cabin spoken of, which they claim Martin built, was close to and north of where the Sturges Block now stands. When I first came to Mansfield, Joseph Middle- ton and wife lived in that cabin ; after they left it. the cabin became a trading-shop for Lewis Jones, who kept groceries and whisky, and dealt out the same to whites and Indians. * Our family was frequently annoyed by drunken Indians, from the effects of the whisky sold them by Jones. This was yet while we lived on the farm, sold to Beam in 1810 or 1811."

The following is from Harriet Hedges : " I have read the communication of my brother,

451

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

Henry Newman, and fully agree with him in all the statements made by him. I came to Mans- field in 1814; made the acquaintance of Gen. James ledges ; afterward was married to his brother, my late husband, Ellzey Hedges, and, during all their subsequent lives. always under- stood from them that you (M. H. Gilkison) ' was the first white child born in Mansfield."

With this the case for the defense will close. Much other testimony is given, but none that would add any material weight to the foregoing.

The following extract from the report of a " Pioneer Committee " is signed by R. Brinker- hoff, Henry Hedges and R. C. Smith. "Said committee further find that Margaret Cunning- ham, of Worthington Township, is entitled to the chair, she having settled in Mansfield, in said county of Richland, May 1. 1808." They must have meant 1809, as the town was not laid out May, 1808. The following letter is from Thomas B. Andrews, dated February 3. 1873: "On the 31st day of January, 1873. I visited Mrs. Margaret Cunningham for the purpose of ascertaining from the family record. the true age of Matilda Cunningham, said to be the first white child born in the county of Richland, and in the town of Mansfield.

" I found the record well written, in a plain, legible hand. in a large family Bible. The first entry is the birth of Elizabeth Cunningham in 1805. The second is Matilda Cunningham, born August 23, 1809. The third is Mary Cun- ningham, born November 16. 1810.

" Mrs. Cunningham says that Matilda Cun- ningham was born in the town of Mansfield. in the first house built in the town. there being no other house in the town when they moved into it, and where the first child was born."

This evidence, coming from the mother, her- self, would seem to be conclusive, though it must be remembered this testimony was taken about sixty-four years after the event happened: however, much of the testimony on both sides is open to the same criticism. This testimony,

it will be seen, contradicts that of her husband before given. Who. therefore, is able to decide where Matilda Cunningham was born, when the testimony of the father and mother is con- tradietory ? Mrs. Elizabeth Baughman, who has been quoted in regard to the first cabin, says in the same letter regarding the first child: "And in that same cabin, on the 23d day of August, 1809, my half-sister. Matilda, was born. My father remained there only about a year, then removed to the Greentown settlement on the Black Fork." As Mrs. Baughman is be- believed to be in error in regard to the location of the first cabin, so she may be in error in re- gard to Matilda being born in that cabin. She was not, as before stated, living with her father at the time. Mrs. Baughman in the same letter further says: " I have often heard father say that Mansfield H. Gilkison was the first white male child born in Mansfield. In fact it is of the male children that mention is generally made. For instance. we read that . George W. Cass was the first white male child born in the city of Allegheny.' Had father remained per- manently in town. or had the child been a boy. the fact. no doubt. would have been better re- membered. The first settlers have nearly all been called to their heavenly homes. and it seems very reasonable to me that their de- scendants-whose honesty I do not question- in speaking of the matter have learned to say the ' first child ' instead of the ' first male child.""

The following extract is from a letter to Mr. Andrews in 1873. signed by nine old citizens of Worthington Township. "We have been neigh- bors. and have known James Cunningham and Margaret Cunningham, of Worthington Town- ship. Richland County. for the thirty-five or forty years last past, and we have heard them both tell at different times, that their daughter Matilda was the first white child born in the county of Richland. and in the town of Mans- field. We never heard this disputed until 1869 at the county fair at Mansfield. when and where

453

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

a certain chair was awarded to Mrs. Cunning- ham as the oldest pioneer present at the picnic at their fair."

The following interesting extract, regarding this and other matters, is from the pen of Mrs. Margaret Cunningham, the mother of Matilda, written in 1873 :

" My husband and myself came to Mansfield in May, 1809 .* August 23. 1809, we had a daughter born to us in the town of Mansfield, when there was but one log cabin in the place, built by a Mr. Martin for a boarding-house. Mr. Martin lived in this cabin but a short time, and left abruptly, having sold whisky to the Indians contrary to law. As soon as he left, Mr. Jacob Newman, living near, or at what was more recently called Beam's or Camp- bell's Mill, came with his team and moved us from where we lived on a piece of land about one or two miles below said mill, belonging to my uncle. Henry Myers, to the aforesaid house, for the purpose of boarding those that might attend the sale of the school lands and town lots. Winn Winship, Mr. Wallace and a Mr. Pierce boarded with us. Pierce was the crier of the sale. Winn Winship boarded with us until Mr. Coffinberry came out and built a house, I think, on the angling corner of the square from our house. We used water from the big spring (our house was up the hill from the spring, on or near the corner of the square nearest the spring. * Mr. Coffinberry and a Mr. Bryson built their houses about the same time. These are the three houses said to be here at the time the father and mother of M. Il. Gilkison came (as claimed by Mrs. Gilkison in an interview I had with her at the county fair in 1869) to Mansfield."

That portion of Nancy Shively's letter relat- ing to this matter was quoted in the evidence regarding the first cabin. The venerable Mar- garet Cunningham, above quoted, died on the

13th of December, 1875. at her home in Worthington Township.

In a letter printed in the Ohio Liberal in July, 1873, M. H. Gilkison says : " I was born on the lot on which now stands the building known as the American Hotel, in the year 1811, on the 2d day of February, being the first male child born in the county, so far as known."

It will be seen by the above extract that Mr. Gilkison, in the last letter written by him re- garding this matter, does not claim to be the first child, but the first male child, born in the county. There is no dispute as to his being the first male child.

The lot which Mr. Hedges promised him was deeded to him when he was married in 1831.

It is hardly necessary to continue this evi- dence further, the most essential parts on each side having been given. It may not lead the searcher after the truth any nearer to it, and is not likely, in the least, to change the opinions of the friends of the "first child."

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.

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968