USA > Ohio > Erie County > History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 107
USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 107
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16
11
6
11
19
8
Nathan Mansfield
3
10
..
3
10
6
Johiel Forbes
173
13
1
Johiel Forbes' heirs 173
13
1
Daniel Lyman
368
..
181
3
10
Rev. McWilliston
Committee
21
8
1
John Woodward, Jr. 740
19
11
233
18
Footing of Classification No. 2, £1,344
0
CLASSIFICATION No. 3, SECTION 3.
Original Grantees.
Am't Loss. Classified by.
Am't Classed. £
Cor'l's Cunningham Joanna Beebe
62
14
716
Gny Richards & others 3 Ebenezer Avery, Jr., and others 59
14
11
Joseph C'heels
75
11
6
45
6
11
Ann Hancock
1-40
8
6
46
1-4
6
Owen Neal
91
6
2
9]
1
6
James Stewart
13
18
..
8
116
James Tilley
1533
10
3
=
12
11
Rebecca Church
52
10
..
..
..
5
4
0
"ath'l Hempstead
1
10
8
10
Thankful Stanton
Roswell Saltonsiall 1800
0
0
John Kinsman
81
13
2 114
Joanna Short
276
14
0
Joanna Short
35
15
10
Robert Gallup
=
6
Robert Gallup
11
6
6
John Barnes
84
6
Benjamin Trumbull
50
12
Jereminh Miller
2595
18
John S. Miller
414
7
Footing of Classification No. 3, ₺1,344 0
CLASSIFICATION NO. 4 SECTION 4.
Original Grantees. Am't Loss.
Classified by. Am't Classed.
Sarah Harris
170
7
5
Sarah Harris' heirs 177 15 John S. Miller . .
1
814
Ephraim Minor
318
17
4
348
17
Seth Sears
13
19
Heirs of Seth Sears
13
19
Rufus Avery
132
18
4 Committee 6.
50
11
10
Amos Prentice
566
1
6
Robert Latham 566
1
6
Footing of Classification No. 4, £1,344
7 0
ANCIENT REMAINS.
When and by whom the strange earth-works and fortifications, scattered through America, were made, will ever be a matter of conjecture, but from their nature and the fact that there are, or were, no Indian traditions concerning them, it has become a common belief that they were the work of a superior race, which has passed away and left no other sign of its existence. They have, therefore, the interest of the romantic, and to every mind form a more or less fascinating subject for reflection and wonder-a sub- ject upon which nothing ean be known, and which is, therefore, rich in suggestion for the imagination.
In the township of Milan there were three clearly- defined fortifications when the first settlers came into the country, and they are still not entirely leveled by the plowshare. All three were upon the high banks of the Huron; the first in the second seetion, near the north line, and on the west side of the river; the second in the first section, on the east side of the river, and the third in the fourth section, on the Daniels farm, more lately ocenpied by MIrs. Morrill. F. W. Fowler, one of the pioneers of Milan, describes these earth-works. as first seen by him, to have been from two to four feet above the surface of the ground. Large trees were growing upon some of these em- bankments. Near these forts were mounds or hil- locks, which were found to contain human bones, promisenously thrown together, as if a large number of bodies had been buried at one time. The skull bones, when found entire, were shown by measure- ment to be larger, upon the average, than those of the present race, and all exhibited marks that would indicate that life had been taken in deadly combat. Scattered among the skulls and vertebræ, and arm and leg bones, were stone pipes and fragments of burnt clay. Other than these poor mortal remains. and the few trinkets, three was nothing in the ancient sepulchres to testify of the nature of the vanished race.
THE INDIANS AND MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES.
" What tales, if there be tongues in trees, These giant oaks could tell
Of beings horn and buried here."
The fertile lands along the Huron afforded subsis t enee to the Indians long before the advent of the
(458)
£
S.
d.
£
8. 6
d
Abigail Hughes
37
5
9
William Mansfield
17
17
9
John Whitney Esq 158
16
3
15
0
8
d
8
d
Ruth Harris
63
0
38
Bathsheba Skinner
180
60
0
0
Matthew Griswold
10
0
0
Elizabeth Holzworth
26
12
7
d.
S.
5
Jeremian Miller 2535
€
8.
d.
Amos Ledyard
142
7
10
142
£
8
d.
S.
d
5
17 3
Thomas Gardiner
Henry York
13
0
Nehemiah Smith
9
12
Jlatthew Oaks
19
6
8
8
William Greenough
27
10
0
William Mansfield
17
236
6
0
18
61/4
8
408
0
.
0
10
459
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
white man. The early settlers speak of having found fine fields free from timber all along the river, and say that the underbush was so cleared from the forests that the deer, as they bounded along, could be seen half a mile off through the steady vistas. The princi- pal Indian village was where the town of Milan was since located, but there were smaller settlements ex- tending from the north line of the township as far as Ridgefield. There were. undoubtedly, a thousand red men in this group, principally of the Delaware and Ottawas,-the latter commonly called Tawas. Here, to a greater extent than in most other localities where the Indians have been known to have had permanent villages, they followed in a rude way the arts of peace during the intervals between their ex- tended hunting journeys; here was to be seen the domestic side of the savage nature; here burned the council fires of the chiefs, and here were celebrated the religious rites of a race that is now scarcely known, except through scanty historical savings, and the vague, often unreliable traditions of the early whites, transmitted through the generations of their descendants.
To this village and its outlying settlements, lying upon the high banks of the Huron, and surrounded by charming natural scenery, more beautiful, then, than now, came the Moravian missionaries in 1787. Their old mission stations upon the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers being broken up by the persecu- tion of the white settlers, they had wandered from one place to another, and finally a few of them under the guidance of the Rev. Christian Frederick Dencke started a new mission on the spot where Milan now stands. The Indian name of the village was Pequot- ting, and the mission was regarded as a branch of the Gnadenhutten mission. The mission house was upon the lot adjoining that, on which the Presbyterian Church was afterwards built. The chapel, sur- mounted by a bell, stood near by. Indian David oc- cupied a honse in the immediate vicinity, and there were fifteen other houses belonging to those interested in the mission,-the Christian Indians. The Rev. Christian Frederick Dencke who had charge of this mission, has been described by those who knew him, as a man of great learning and most thoroughly de- voted to the canse in which he labored. He taught his followers the rudiments of education as well as the tenets of his religion. According to all accounts, he was a very kind, warm-hearted man, courteous, generous and hospitable. He was a native of Iceland, and his father was a missionary in that country.
The Indians who belonged to this mission, it should be borne in mind, were only a small part of the num- ber living in the settlement. Comparatively little seems to have been accomplished in making converts among the mass of these savages, though some of them were christianized. Doubtless, many more might have been added to the little flock, had it not been for the disturbing influence of the white man's arrival. The Indians, shy always of their pale faced
brother, though treated here with the utmost friend- liness, began to leave the settlement when the pioneers came, in the year 1809, and by the following year only a very few remained. Those belonging to the mission removed to Canada.
There was also another Moravian missionary, with a small band of Indian followers, in the township from 1787 to 1793. Their settlement was upon the east side of the Huron, about three-quarters of a mile north of the old county seat, and was known as New Salem. David Zeisberger, of whose life and works, as well as those of Dencke, much is said elsewhere in this history, was the missionary in charge of this settlement.
THE PIONEERS AND THE WAR OF 1812.
Two years after the survey was made, David Abbott bought a tract of eight hundred acres of land lying in section number two, and upon both sides of the river. Jared Ward became the first resident of Avery, now called Milan, settling upon this tract of land in the same year, and immediately beginning preparations for farming upon the Indian bottom. John Walworth, of Cleveland, purchased the same year a large tract of land, which he soon after sold to Charles Parker, who moved in with his family in 1810. Seelick Comstock came the same year. A number of families located as squatters upon the lands that had been occupied and in a measure tilled by the Indians. Three of them-Starr, Laughlin, and Burdue, after- wards bought lands in Berlin township, but most of them moved away during the war, not to return. Three settlements were formed which made the points of a triangle, of which Milan afterwards formed the center. Another settlement was commenced in 1811, in the northwest corner of the township, by Thomas Jeffrey, Josiah Smith, Dydimus and Elijah Kinney, and George Colvin. These settlements filled up rap- idly, so that prior to the war of 1812, the number, including unmarried men, was not far from two hun- dred and twenty-five. Following are the names of those who were heads of families, as given by the Hon. F. W. Fowler, of Milan. In section one: Hos- mer Merry, Reuben Pixley, G. Harvey. Section 1 wo: David Abbott, David Barrett, Jared Ward. Elijah Pollock, James Leach, Nathaniel Glines, Alexander Mason, A. Collins. Section three: Thomas Jeffrey, Josiah Smith, William Smith, Phineas Tillottson, George Colvin, Dydimus Kinney, Elijah Kinney, Stephen Kinney, David Smith. Section four: Charles Parker, Winslow Perry, James Payne, W. Hubbard, James Guthrie, William Howard, A. Wilson, Eldridge. With a beautiful location and a fertile soil, an unusually large number of settlers, and nearly all of them of the class qualified to make the commu- nity one of good character, the pioneers naturally looked forward to a pleasant and profitable residence in their new homes. But their hopes were blasted by the declaration of war on the part of Great Britain, which caused the wildest alarm and utmost anxiety
460
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
throughout the sparsely settled frontier, and created grave apprehensions in the older settlements, more remote from the probable scene of the strife.
But little need here be said of the incidents of that war, for a chapter elsewhere is devoted to the subject. The wild and hurried flight of the people from Milan township, and all of the country adjacent and north- ward, though from a false alarm, was none the less terrible, for the flying people had every reason to be- lieve they were pursued by the British soldiers and their red allies. After Hull's surrender the red coats were seen landing men upon the lake shore, and im- mediately those who saw this sight, becoming panic stricken, fied through the country southward, carry- ing with them the terrible tidings. The flight was instantaneous and universal, all going in the direction of Mansfield. By the time they reached the State road, leading south, the only one then open, night had come on. The company had increased to such an extent that the road was thronged for half a mile. Many had left without sufficient clothing, or food for their needs, abandoning everything, that they might. save life. About midnight the panic was arrested by the appearance in the rear, of men carrying packs but not armed. It was not long before they were discovered to be Hull's surrendered and disarmed soldiers, who by the terms of the capitulation were landed that they might return home. In the morning, after consulta- tion, a greater part of the crowd who had left their homes continued upon their way to Mansfield, and the remainder, returning to Avery, (Milan), secured their effects the best way they could, and then passed down the lake to Black River and other points. The men then made up a company and returned to Huron. Joseph Quigley, of Black River, was elected captain of this company, and David Barrett, of Milan, lieutenant.
After the arrival of some scattering companies and the main army, General Perkins established Camp Avery on the east side of the Huron river, on lands owned by Ebenezer Merry. Those among the soldiers who lived in the immediate vicinity, were then dis banded that they might attend to their home duties, though it was conditioned that they should still re- main subject to call in case of need.
The soldiers remained at this camp until the fol- lowing winter, a company of rangers also being stationed at a block house that was built in section four, of Milan township, upon the farm of Charles Parker. They had the double duty to perform of protecting themselves from the British soldiers and the property in the vicinity from the roving plun- derers, who were mostly Indians who had formerly lived in the vicinity. Many times the settlers had to abandon their homes and take shelter in the fort. Once a portion of the army was dispatched after the enemy to the peninsula. They found and attacked them there. It was in this engagement that Alex- ander Mason lost his life, as did also Mr. Ramsdell and Daniel Mingus. Two men, by the names of Sey- mour and Pixley, who went out from Parker's block
house one morning, to eut down a bee-tree, were over- whelmed by Indians who lay in ambush. Seymour was killed and his companion taken prisoner. He afterwards said that most of the Indians had been among the residents of the village. Indians were constantly lurking about, and danger was present upon every side. The settlers were in constant anxiety, and every unusual sound was feared to be the signal for a terrible onslaught and massacre. Fortunately there was no such general attack, though almost every day there was some minor evil deed committed, or some occurence to cause alarm. When peace came it bronght such a sense of relief that most of those who had remained away, during the war, re- turned to this favored locality of their adoption. Other settlers came in from the east, society was formed, religious organizations - sprang into being, a village was laid out, industry progressed in old and found new channels, too. Then began the period of Milan's prosperty. The growth and development of the farming interests were as rapid as was usual in other townships, and the progress of the village its and manufacturing and commercial interests some- thing quite phenomenal.
FIRST EVENTS.
There is reason to believe, but not positive knowl- edge, that' the first white child born to any of the permanent settlers of Milan, was a daughter of Lazarus Young, afterwards the wife of Amherst Mil- liman, of Townsend, Huron county.
The first physicians were Doctors Goodwin and Guthrie. Before their arrival in the settlement, people in need of medical attention were obliged to send to Cleveland, from which place a Dr. Long frequently came to Milan.
The first military company upon the Fire-lands, was formed in the fall of 1811, and met for its first muster on April 1st. following, at John B. Flem- mond's. David Barrett, of Milan, was elected captain of this militia organization.
Two deaths occurred in the township in the summer season of 1811. Both were children. one from the family of George Miller, and the other from that of David Barrett.
The first log house was built by a party of young men, - Barrett, Nathaniel Glines, Seth Hayes, Ebenezer Hayes, F. W. Fowler, Stephen Worthington and L. Durand, in 1810, and was located in section two. This was the first improvement by white inhabitants in the township, except the beginning made on the opposite side of the river, by Jared Ward.
The first framed building was a barn built by David Abbott. The first framed dwelling was also built by Mr. Abbott. This is also said to have been the first residence, other than a log cabin, upon the Fire-lands.
ORGANIZATION.
The township of Avery was originally connected with Huron, and included under that name. The
461
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
first election was held at John B. Fleman's (or Flemmond's), on the east bank of the river, and about two miles from the lake. Jabez Wright and David Abbott were elected justices of the peace; F. W. Fowler, constable, and Almon Ruggles, recorder.
THE OLD COUNTY SE.AT.
The legislature passed, February 7, 1809, an act authorizing the erection of Huron county-embrac- ing all of the Fire-lands. Upon the 29th of Janu- ary, 1811, the legislature appointed as commissioners to fix the seat of the county: E. Quinby, of Trumbull county, Stephen Clark, of Geauga, and Solomon Griswold, of Ashtabula. They were ordered to make returns or reports, of the action they had taken, to the court of common pleas, to be held in Cuyahoga county, and, in pursnance to this order, they, upon ' June 15, 1811, reported that they had fixed upon Avery township for the seat of justice. The exact location was at Camp Avery, about a mile below the site of Milan village. The first court was held at this point, or at the residence of David Abbott, in the fall of 1815 (in which year the county was organized). Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed by those who attended this court, because there was no good water procurable, and it was suggested by somebody, familiar with the country, that there was a fine ridge running through Norwalk township, and that, in all probability, good water could there be found. Thus was begun the movement that resulted in the removal of the county seat from Milan township, which was accomplished in 1818, by a process similar to that by which it was originally located. [It is needless to say anything further upon this subject, in the history of Milan, as the facts are fully set forth in the chap- ter upon Norwalk. ]
A court house was was commenced in 1817, upon the Abbott farm, but was never finished. It stood for many years.
RELIGIOUS.
The earliest religious meetings in Milan other than those held by the Moravian missionaries were irregular gatherings at barns and private houses addressed by various itinerant preachers. Among them was the Rev. Milton Badger who preached in the Abbott settlement before the war, and was chaplain at Fort Avery during the war. The Methodists organized a class in the Jeffrey neighborhood as early as 1816, and Thomas Jeffrey was its leader. The Rev. Father Gurley, Rev. Manger, the earnest and eccentric James McIntyre, Rev. Mr. Tillottson, "who spoke under the influence of spirits-from a bottle", were among the early preachers of this denomination.
The Presbyterian Church was organized under the name of the First Congregational Church of Huron, April 25, 1818, in a log house at Spear's corners, the preachers presiding upon that occasion being the Rev. William Williams and Rev. Alvin Coe, of the Con- necticut Missionary Society. The first members of
the church, all of them deceased many years ago, were William Spears and his wife, Love, Gilbert Sex- ton and his wife Deborah, William and Philo Adams and their mother, Eleanor. In 1819, the church re- ceived a number of accessions. Religious services were held every Sunday, alternately at the houses of Mr. Spears and Seth A. Adams, and later at the log houses built in the neighborhood. In 1823, the church removed from Spears' corners to Milan, and changed its name to the First Congregational Church of Milan. The first officers-two deacons-were ap- pointed in 1824. They were Heury Buckingham and Joseph Demond. In the following year, the church changed the form of its government to the Presby- terian, and elected three ruling elders: William Spears, Joseph Demond and David Everett. At this time there were thirty-seven members. After the removal of the church to the village, meetings were held in a school house which stood on the lot now occupied by the town hall, and subsequently in the yellow school house. The call for services was the blowing of a horn. An era of unwonted prosperity dawned npon the church in 1829, beginning under the preaching of Rev. Everton Judson. A new impulse was given to the church which had lapsed somewhat from its past prosperous condition, and a strong feeling of interest was awakened in the village which had, then, about four hundred inhabitants.
In 1828, the legislature incorporated the First Presbyterian Society of Milan, but no movement was made to erect a church until 1835, when a few citi- zens convened at the suggestion of N. M. Standart, Esq., to devise measures to secure tIns object. The result was the completion, two years later, of the present substantial house of worship, the expense being about eight thousand dollars. The first minis- ter who labored with this congregation was the Rev. Lot B. Sullivan, who preached at Spear's corners and in the Adamis neighborhood. For some time after, the church was destitute of a pastor, and was sup- plied with occasional preaching by Revs. Alvin Coe, Caleb Pitkin, J. Seward, Alfred H. Betts, Wm. San- ford and J. Treat. The next regular pastor was the Rev. Thomas L. Shipman. Those who followed were Isaac S. Demund, W. M. Adams, Everton Jud- son, Newton Barrett, J. M. Hayes, Alanson Hart- pence, and the present pastor, Rev. J. H. Walters, who was installed October 7, 1856, although he began preaching to the society as early as May, 1855. The Rev. Everton Judson, who began his labor with the church in 1829, continued his relation until removed by death in 1848. and his services were very largely instrumental in building up the church to a condi- tion of prosperous and active life.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1830, and the house of worship erected in 1845. The church has increased to a membership of about one hundred and fifty persons.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church was organized in 1846, and a year later a house of worship was erected, which
462
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
was destroyed in 1864 by fire. A new building was immediately erected upon the site of the old one.
The Roman Catholic Church was built in 1866. More recently there have been formed two other churches in the township, the Lutheran and Re- formed Society of Friends. All of the churches ex- cept these two are in Milan village.
The first Sunday school in Milan, and one of the earliest in the Fire-lands, was organized at Spear's corners in the spring of 1818, and was afterward under the superintendency of Philo Adams. Sunday schools have been regularly maintained in the village since 1830, and also throughout the township during a portion of each year.
EARLY SCHOOLS.
The first school in the township was undoubtedly that in the Abbott settlement. taught. before the war. by a Miss Gilbert, from Newburg, afterward Mrs. Dr. Goodwin.
In the winter of 1817, a school house was built in the Spear settlement, and a school was held in it by Marshall Miller.
The first school in Milan village was opened in the spring of 1819, in a new barn owned by Ebenezer Merry, and was taught by Miss Susan Williams. In the fall of the same year, a school house was built upon the spot where many years later the Eagle tavern was located, and where the town hall now stands. In 1824. the old yellow school house was built.
HURON INSTITUTE.
Huron Institute, which owed its existence to the extensive revivals of religion in the churches of Huron Presbytery in the years 1830 and '31, was incorporated by act of the legislature iu 1832. It was proposed to raise four thousand dollars at the start for the pur- pose of securing a site and erecting a building for the nse of the institution, and the people of Milan, on condition that the school should be located in their village, promised to give one-half of this amount. The pledge was fully realized, and the expectation of the friends of the movement was more than satis- fied, for the school became a very thriving concern. The people being anxious that the school should be established at once and it being impossible that the institute building could be finished before the fall or winter of 1832, the first term was opened in April, of that year, in the office of J. Smith, Esq. Six stu- dents were present at the opening, and before the quarter was finished, twenty-five were enrolled. The Rev. E. Barber was made principal. The second quarter began with thirty-six pupils, and before the year was ended, over ninety names were upon the roll -forty-six males and forty-four females. During the third year, the building having before that time been furnished and ample accommodations thus afforded, the number of students was as high as one hundred and twenty-seven. It was the desire of the the trus- tee, of the institute to place education within the
reach of all who would avail themselves of it, and in this they succeeded as nearly as was possible. The tuition was fixed at four dollars per quarter in the classical department, and at three dollars in the Eng- lish and female department, and the principal took it upon himself to furnish instruction from the avails of the tuition bills. Board was furnished by many of the best families in Milan at merely nominal rates. No student was ever refused admission or dismissed because too poor to pay his way in the institute. Rev. Mr. Barber's assistant, during the first year. was Henry Ballentine, afterwards a missionary to India. Benjamin Judson succeeded him, and re- mained in the institute until 1835. Mrs. C. B. Stuart and Mrs. E. A. Hubbard were also connected with the school during this period. In the summer of 1835, Mr. Barber resigned, on account of sickness, his position as principal, and S. C. Hickok was ap- pointed in his place. He remained in charge until 1839. Henry W. Williams was elected principal in 1843, and Rev. Lemuel Bliss in 1848. Two years later, Robert Bliss, a Boston gentleman, was chosen to this place, but he resigned in a few days, and T. S. Bradley, of Auburn theological seminary, became the manager of the school in his stead. He was fol- lowed by Nathan Barrows, Dwight Sayles and John McKee. In 1858. the trustees leased the building to Rev. Asa Brainard and S. F. Newman for the pur- pose of a normal school. The school was successfully conducted by these gentlemen in partnership, and after Mr. Brainard's death, by Mr. Newman alone, until 18:1, when it came under the management of the present teacher, Miss Delia Palmer, who now has, in the old building. a flourishing school.
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