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 57

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company
Number of Pages: 726

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 57
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 57

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).

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

Butler. D. M. Pratt, local preacher, Mary Pratt, Es- ther Roberts, Cornelia Johnson, Jude Vandusen, Ann Eliza Vandusen, James Buck, Lettie Buck, Thomas Crawford, Chloe Crawford, Hannah Mead, Hannah Farrar, James M. Ward, Abbie J. Ward, S. L. Mead, Mary A. Mead, Almina Mead, Ambrose Royce, Bet- sey Royce, Rhoda Buck, Caroline Royce, John Owens, Nancy Owens, Richard Owens, Ann Eliza Buck, Lo- vina Miller, John D. Cheney, Elizabeth Cheney.

The meetings were first held in the Baptist church, which had been kindly offered to them by that society, and subsequently in the small frame building of the Presbyterians, the Methodists using the house in the forenoons and the Presbyterians in the afternoon. The pastors that officiated for the church were the circuit preachers of that period. Some of the earliest are the following: James McIntyre, True Pattee, John Hazard, Shadrach Ruark, Cyrus Carpenter, Jacob Ragan, Ebenezer Chase, Adam Minear. The present pastor is Rev. E. J. V. Booth, who also preaches at other points. The church building was completed and dedicated in March. 1860, Rev. William B. Disbro, preaching the sermon on the occasion. Rev. Ralph Wilcox was the pastor at that time. Rev. Mr. Richards and E. Y. Warner were then on the Fairfield circuit, and Edward R. Jewett was presiding elder of the Sandusky district. The building cost about sev- enteen hundred dollars. The church membership at the present time is eighty-five. The class-leaders are Jared Pond, Anson Newman, William Pond and Ed- ward Butler; stewards, Jared Pond and Matthias Hester; trustees, Edward Butler, Jared Pond, David Holmes, Leander Mead and Anson Newman; local preacher, Rev. D. M. Pratt.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,

located on the west township line, in the northwest part of the township, was organized in the year 1831, and consisted of about eight families. At the time of organization there was no similar church nearer than Canton. The first building was a frame, erected in the year 1832, and stood a short distance north of the present house. The stone church was built in 1851. The stone were obtained in Bronson, on lot number two, in the first section. The society now numbers about eighty-five families, a majority of whom reside in Peru township. The church is at present under the care of Rev. M. Dechant. The Catholics erected a large brick school house just west of the church during the past year.

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

At a meeting of the commissioners of Huron county, (Frederick Falley, Ebenezer Merry and Bildad Adams, ) held on the 18th day of February, 1817, on petition of David Gibbs and others, the townships of Bronson and Norwalk, numbers three and four in the twenty- second range, were set off from the township of Hu- ron, to be organized as a separate township by the name of Norwalk. The election for township officers

was held at the house of Hanson Read, in Norwalk township, in April, 1817, Robert S. Southgate, Sam- uel B. Lewis and Abijah Comistoek constituting the board of election. There was no one present who could lawfully qualify the board, and Esquire Little- field was brought from Ridgefield for that purpose. The squire's duties were so new to him that he was unable to administer the oath, and had to repeat it after Abijah Comstock, a former justice of the peace, and a member of the election board on this occasion.

On the 4th of March, 1822, the county commis- sioners (Eli S. Barnum, Robert S. Southgate and Amos Woodward, ) "ordered, on the petition of Edward C. Cole and others, that townships number two and three, in the twenty-second range (the first Fairfield and the second Bronson), be organized with township privileges, and that the same be known by the name of Bronson." The election for township officers was held at the house of Ezra Herrick, April 1, 1822. Robert S. Southgate, John D. Hoskins and Timothy Taylor were chosen judges, and Martin Kellogg and Abel Brownell clerks of election. Township officers were elected as follows: Martin Kellogg, clerk; Abijah Rundell, Timothy Taylor and Philip Moffit. trustees; Eben Guthrie and Ezra Herrick, overseers of the poor; Daniel Warner and Thomas Hagaman, fence viewers: Abel Brownell and Jonas Leonard, appraisers of property; Jonas Leonard, lister; E. W. Herrick, constable; Henry Terry, treasurer: Edward L. Cole, Nathan Sutliff, Lester Clark, Abel Brownell, John Crawford, Benjamin F. Taylor and Eliphalet W. Day, supervisors of highways. The number of votes polled at this election was forty-four, the names of the elec- tors being as fellows: Halsey Clark, Eben Guthrie, Jr., Martin Kellogg, Ephraim W. Herriek, John Craw- ford, John G. Taylor. Ezra Herrick, Edward L. Cole, Henry Terry, Abel Brownell, Carlos Keith, Job T. Reynolds, Alvan Munsell, Daniel Warren, Bryant Johnson, Amos Harkness, John Sample, John De Witt, Eliphalet W. Day, William Baker, Isaac DeWitt, Thomas C. Wilson, John D. Hoskins. Robert S. Southgate, Henry Sifert. Philip Moffit, Abel Herrick, David Conger, Thomas Ervin, Spencer Baker, Jabez Deming, Nathan Sutliff, Wm. W. Beckwith, Jonas Leonard, Timothy Taylor. Lester Clark, Benjamin F. Taylor, Eben Guthrie, Nathan Tanner, Simon Am- merman, Perry G. Beckwith, Abijah Rundell, Thomas Hagaman, Ezra Herrick, Jr.

In the spring of 1823 Fairfield was detached from Bronson, and organized for independent action. The following township officers for Bronson were elected in April of the current year, to wit: N. H. Spencer, clerk; James Stone, Charles L. Warren and Thomas Beach, trustees; Norman S. Hakes, treasurer: J. E. Buffington, assessor; John Buffington and Martin M. Hester, justices of the peace.

POST OFFICE.

The first post office was established at the center of the township about the year 1829 or '30. John Lyon

N. S. HAKES.

MRS . N.S. HAKES.

RESIDENCE OF N. S. HAKES , BRONSON TP., HURON CO., 0

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

was the first postmaster, who served a number of years. Since Mr. Lyon, Ezekiel Morse, J. A. Nichols, Isaac Sanford, Christian Conger and Amos Deming have successively officiated as postmasters. The office was vacated in 1861.

The office at Olena was originally located in the northwest part of Fitchville township, and was called North Fitchville. It was established about 1832, with a Mr. Morgan as postmaster. The office was moved to its present location in 1841, where it was first kept by Andrew Godfrey. His successors have been, re- spectively, Joseph L. Smith, C. W. Manahan, William King, Dr. L. Johnson, Walter Gallup, B. W. Green, Dr. G. W. Stetson, Orlando Gifford and N. H. Spencer, the present incumbent.

MILLS.

No grist mills have ever been built in Bronson. In the early settlement of the township, the settlers obtained their grinding, usually, at the grist mill of David Mack, at Macksville, sometimes at Carkhuff's mill in Greenfield, and, occasionally, even at Mans- field.

There have been a number of saw mills erected in the township. There were formerly five in operation on High Bridge creek at the same time. The names of their builders, beginning at the first, near Olena, and going down stream, were Jacob Hicks, Picket Latimer, Prince Haskell, Messrs. Sears and Herrick, and Martin Kellogg. These mills did an extensive business.

There was also a saw mill on the branch of the Huron, farther north, but the name of the builder is not known. Major Guthrie also built one on the east branch of the Huron.

There is now but one mill in the township-the saw mill of Addison Heath, at the center.

The only cheese factory in the town is situated on the south line, and was established in the spring of 1877, by Messrs. Pratt and Tucker, by whom it is still owned.

OLENA VILLAGE.

In the southeast part of the township, on the Hart- land line, is the village of Olena, the first house in which was built by Wm. H. Burras, in 1832. He pur- chased sixteen acres of land on .the southeast corner of the cross-roads, and put up a log house where the dwelling of Dr. D. A. Wood now stands. He mar- ried Ruth Palmer, daughter of Abijah Palmer, of Fitchville, September 22, 1835, and moved into his log cabin, previous to which he had occupied with his parents. Mr. Burras located at the corners with the intention of subsequently opening a tavern; but his wife's opposition on temperance grounds, induced him to give up the project, and after a residence there of some three or four years, he moved just across the

line into Hartland, and settled on one hundred and thirty acres on lot number one of the fourth section of that township, where he afterwards resided. He died in July, 1876, aged sixty-eight. Mrs. Burras subsequently moved to Olena, where she now lives with a married daughter. They had six children, only three of whom are living, as follows: Abijalı, on the farm in Hartland, where his parents formerly re- sided; Mrs. Joseph Lazell, in Fitchville, on the old homestead of her grandfather; Abijah Palmer and Mrs. David Summerlin in Olena.

Samuel Burras, an older brother of William, came with his family from the State of New York a short time afterward, and first located on the old state road, but soon after bought a short distance southeast of Olena, and erected a log house, where his widow now lives, which was one of the first buildings in the place.

Among the earliest houses built at Olena, besides those mentioned, were those of Joel Wooley, on the southwest corner of the cross-roads; Hiram Allen, on the northwest corner, and John Moore a short dis- tance west of Allen.

The first tavern at Olena was kept, in a small way, by Benjamin Drake, in a log house, some twenty rods south of the corners, about the year 1835. In 1840 Daniel Angell bought out Drake, and his son, Ephraim Angell, continued the tavern about two years, when he bought the sixteen acres of William H. Burras, and erected a framed hotel on the southeast corner of the cross-roads, and kept a tavern there for ten years. Andrew Godfrey built a frame tavern on the south west corner, which is still standing, in 1841, or about that time, and kept the first post office there. The tavern business at this point, in the olden times of wagon trade, was something immense. Mr. Angell reports that he used frequently to keep over a single night more than a lfundred teams and teamsters. The rate was fifty cents, including supper and breakfast for a man and four-horse team.

The first store at Olena was occupied by Noah Close, but at what date we are unable to determine. The business, however, was not extensively carried on until about 1850, when C. W. Manahan, now of Manahan, Taber & Co., of Norwalk, and Courtland Cannon es tablished a store on the southeast corner, in the build- ing formerly occupied as a hotel by Mr. Angell. They continued some two years, and until the death of Can- non, when Lewis Manahan became a partner of his brother. They afterwards erected the building now occupied as a general store by Mr. Knight, and con- tinned there some years. The village was formerly called Angell's Corners, and continued to be so called for several years, when, at a public meeting of the citizens, the name was changed to Olena. The village now contains about fifty or sixty families, with the following business places, to wit: one general store, one grocery, one millinery shop, one hotel, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, two shoe shops, one cooper shop, and one tile yard.

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

MR. SAMUEL S. NEWCOMB.

THE NEWCOMBS OF BRONSON.

The present representatives of the Newcomb fam- ily in Bronson are descendants of Benjamin and Stata Newcomb, who settled in that township in 1811. It is not definitely known where Benjamin Newcomb was born, as the old records of the family have been destroyed, but it is probable that his birth took place in 1286, as the fact of his baptism in that year is mentioned in the genealogy of the family. Benjamin Newcomb came originally from Durham, Connecticut, removed from there to Pennsylvania, thence to Trumbull county, Ohio, and from there to Bronson, as above stated, or rather at first to Nor- walk, just north of the township line. He had an experience of pioneer life that was seldom equaled upon the Fire-lands .* He was one of that small, brave band of settlers who endured, from 1812 to the close of the war in 1814, many of the severest priva- tions, suffered from the constant apprehension of a visit from the hostile Indians, and several times was actually obliged to seek safety in the block house at Mansfield. When the war was concluded, he had but a short time to enjoy the condition of peace and security which the people in the scattered settlements enjoyed. Only two years after the cessation of hos- tilities and the return of the settlers to their homes, Mr. Newcomb met with a violent death while return- ing from Truxville (now Ganges). He was killed almost instantly by the kick of a horse. IIis widow died in Mansfield in 1816.

MRS. ELIZABETH NEWCOMB.

Benjamin and Stata Newcomb were the parents of four children-Samuel Sterling, Clark, Mary and Timothy Jabez, the eldest of whom was more prominently identified with the progress and growth of Bronson than any of the others. Upon the death of his father the family were scattered, the children being compelled by necessity to separate, and Samuel was bound out to a farmer in Trumbull county, who treated him in a most shamefully cruel manner, until he was released, from what was really a condition of slavery, through the interference of relatives and friends. He afterwards worked in various places through Northern Ohio, and finally returned to Bronson, where he continued his industrious habits of labor, and eventually, through the close saving of his hard earned wages, was able to buy a farm. This was the piece, consisting of one hundred acres, upon which his son lives. His life was an almost ceasless grind of labor. He cleared up his farm with no other assistance than that which his son gave him, when old enough, and absolutely wrung a living from the soil that it took the greatest of efforts to bring into a state of cultivation. . Though he was a man of but little education, in the common acceptance of the term, he acquired. through observation, experience, reading and reflection, a good knowledge of men and affairs in the world at large. His was a character more truly worthy of admiration and emulation than most of those made famous by so-called great deeds, He was simple, manly, strong, honest, indus- trious-a good man, true to himself, and one who fulfilled, patiently and willingly, his humble destiny. HIe was born September 9, 1802. and passed to his

"As the events of his life in Bronson during and after the war are Fully spoken of elsewhere, it is unnecessary to enter into detail here.

BETSEY CONGER.

EDWARD CONGER.

DAVID CONGER .

SALLY CONGER.

RESIDENCE OF EDWARD CONGER, BRONSON TP., HURON CO.,O.

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

reward after the allotted three score years and ten, -a busy, useful life, December 12, 1826.

The sharer of his life and labor, Elizabeth, dangh- ter of Shubael and Betsey Newman, he married when in his twenty-seventh year, September 11, 1834. They had two children: Samnel Benjamin, born October 23, 1835, and Mary Elizabeth, born April 23, 1838.

Samvel Benjamin Newcomb lives upon the old homestead. He married Margaret, danghter of John and Agnes Kennedy, of Bronson. Mary Elizabeth Newcomb, also resident in Bronson, married William Kennedy, a brother of her brother's wife, and is now a widow, her husband having been killed by the bursting of a boiler several years since.

DAVID CONGER

was born in the township of Bern, Albany county, New York, August 28, 1790, and was the fifth child in a family of twelve (six sons and six daughters), of Reuben and Lydia Conger,-the former born in New. Jersey, and both of New England origin. Our sub- ject, the only surviving member of this once large family, when fourteen years of age, removed from Bern, Albany county, to the township of Semphronius, Cayuga county, New York, where he remained till June, 1819, when he removed to Bronson, Huron county, Ohio, and settled on a piece of land (the old homestead) purchased previously by his father, con- sisting of fifty-three aeres, and began the life of a pioneer, the Fire-lands being mainly an unbroken wilderness. Here he ent the first tree, and erected a rude log cabin, about fifty feet to the rear of the present residence of his son, Edward Conger. He was married, December 25th, 1814, to Sarah Parker, daughter of George and Phebe Parker, of Semphro- nius, Cayuga county, New York. By this union were born four children, viz: Catharine, George R., Ed- ward and Delilah, all living, except George, who died February 15, 1856, aged thirty-five years, three months and one day. Mrs. Conger, wife of David, died March 2, 1845, aged seventy-nine years, eleven months and one day.

Mr. Conger, whose portrait, at the age of eighty- nine years, appears, in connection with other mem- bers of the family, upon another page of this volume, is a man who has ever enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the people of Huron county, and one whose name will be long remembered as a hardy pioneer of the Fire-lands.

Edward Conger, the third child of David Conger, succeeds his father in his agricultural pursuits, and is well known as a prominent farmer of Huron county. At the age of twenty-four years he was united in mar- riage to Betsey Pilgrim, daughter of Francis and Orpha Pilgrim, of Bronson township, whose portraits appear in connection with those of the father and mother.

LEISTER SMITII

Was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, November 27, 1814. His parents, Erastus and Fanny (Spencer) Smith, were from Connecticut. Some interesting re- miniscences of the Smiths and Spencers, and of their early settlement in Ohio, are recorded in the history of Greenfield township. to which the reader is referred. Mr. Smith was married to Mary A. Hamilton, De- cember 31, 1847. They have four children: Willey H., Julia E., Edward B. and Mary G., all of whom are living.

Mr. Smith commenced his business life as a tiller of the soil, following the occupation of his father, on the portion of the paternal estate which fell to his share. Here he remained until 1865, when he sold out and bought a farm in Peru township. This he exchanged in 1868 for another farm, which he still occupies. Having been enabled, by patient and honest industry, to procure for him- self and family a comfortable living, he rightly regards this as a satisfactory success in life. Not be- ing of an eager, or grasping disposition, he has not aimed to be rich, but has contented himself with the calm enjoyment of life as it passes, considering the golden mean, "neither poverty nor riches," for which Agur prayed, as a greater blessing than the cares of wealth. Recognizing the hand of Divine Providence, in the almost constant bestowment of health and hap- piness upon himself and family, and especially in the exemption of his family circle thus far from invasion by the fell destroyer, he has always acknowledged the debt of gratitude and sought to repay it by contributing, according to his means, to the sup- port of the christian religion and for all charitable purposes.

Early in life he was taught to believe in the exist- ence of God, and in the general doctrines held by the Presbyterian Church ; but not being able conscien- tiously to accept all its principles, he did not identify himself with any church till the year 1873, when, with his wife, and oldest son and danghter, he found what has proved to them a congenial ecclesiastie il home in the First Universalist Church of Peru.

His first vote was cast for Harrison, in 1840, and since the formation of the republican party he has always acted with it, and voted for its candidates. He has never aspired to any public office, but, at the so- licitation of his fellow citizens, he has accepted a few of the minor ones, whose duties he has never failed to perform in such a manner as to secure the cordial approval of his constituents.

Having now entered upon that period of life in which men, whether willing or unwilling, must ac- custom themselves to the not always welcome appella- tion of old age, Mr. Smith has the enviable satis- faction of looking back, upon his past life, with the consciousness that he has always been honored and trusted by his fellow men, and with the comfortable assurance that it will be so to the end.

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

NORMAN S. HAKES

was born in the town of Nassau, Rennsselaer county, New York, July 5. 1818, and was the second son of Samuel A. Hakes and Hannah Victory. The father was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and also his ancestors, some of whom were of Revolutionary fame, the grandfather having served three years in the struggle for liberty. The mother was born on the same farm where our subject was, in Nassau. Mr. Hakes removed from Nassau to Bronson, Ohio, in the spring of 1840, and began work as a carpenter and joiner, which business he followed for twenty years. In the fall of 1840, Mr. Hakes returned to Rochester, New York, and was united in marriage to Adelia M., daughter of Oshea G. Fox and Theresa M. Tucker. Mr. Fox and wife were natives of Rennsselaer county, New York, of New England ancestry, their parents being natives of New Hampshire. To Mr. and Mrs. Hakes were born five children, two daughters and

MR. TIMOTHY LAWRENCE.

TIMOTHY LAWRENCE.

was born in Fairfield county, Connecticut, March 16, 1800: was the fourth child and second son of Samuel and Hannah Lawrence, who were also of New Eng- land birth. When Timothy was four years old he removed with his parents to Cayuga county New York, where he lived until 1834, and then removed to Huron county, Ohio, in the town of Bronson, where he now lives.

Mr. Lawrence was married to Miss Calista Todd, 27th of February, 1831, who was also of New Eng- land parentage. She . Mrs. Lawrence) was born in Lansing, Tompkins county, New York. To this

three sons, all of whom are living, and married, viz .: Annette, wife of Oscar Burras; James H., residing in Bronson ; Martha L., wife of Freeborn Kellogg, residing in Chicago ; Norman Millie, at home, and Samuel Albert, living in Bronson. Mr. Hakes has been identified with the farming interests for some thirty-seven years, having invested the money earned, while working at his trade, in real estate, and he now owns two highly improved farms in the southern portion of Bronson, consisting of over two hundred acres. A ent of his home, and portraits of himself and wife, appear on another page of this work. Mr. Hakes is regarded as one of the most enterprising farmers of Bronson, and is one of the self-made men of the country. In politics, Mr. Hakes is an out and out republican, ever having been a faithful exponent of the principles of his party. Although not a mem- ber of any church organization, he is, in principle, a Baptist, and contributes liberally to the interests of - church and schools.

MRS. TIMOTHY LAWRENCE.

couple have been born two children, Josiah and Delia, both living and married. Josiah has three children. Delia married E. T. Curtis, of Michigan. They have one child.

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence early united with the Con- gregntional Church, of which body they are still members, and under the government of the Presby- tery. Mr. Lawrence was first a whig, and at the organization of the republican party he identified himself with the same. Mr. Lawrence is now seventy- nine years of age, and remarkably well preserved. Mrs. Lawrence is sixty-seven years, and enjoys ex- cellent health.

WM. G MEAD.

RESIDENCE OF W.G. MEAD, BRONSON TP., HURON CO., O.

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

GEORGE LAWRENCE

was born in Genoa, Cayuga county, New York, March 1, 1805, and was the sixth child in a family of nine children of Samnel and Hannah Lawrence, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. Samuel's father's name was Timothy, of New England birth, and English ancestry, (being a descendant of John Law- rence, born in England) and of the third or fourth generation. Solomon Dibble, of French extraction, was the grandfather of our subject. on the maternal side. Mr. Lawrence settled in Huron county, Ohio,

on the farm where he now resides, in the year 1831, -coming by way of wagon to Montezuma, to Buffalo by the Erie canal, and to Sandusky by Lake Erie. He purchased, in all, some one hundred and forty acres, began clearing and improving, and has become one of the substantial farmers of Huron county. Was married January 23, 1831, to Rhodema Smith, daughter of Lockwood and Fanny Smith, of Genoa, New York. By this union were born four children, viz: Minor, Alonzo E., George A., and Alice Eliza- beth, all of whom are living. All are married, and residing in the vicinity of their early home,-the eldest having charge of the old homestead and farm. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence are both members of the First Presbyterian Church of Peru and vicinity, hav- ing joined that body in 1832. Mr. Lawrence was ap- pointed deacon in 1834, and has held the office suc- cessively until the present time. In politics, Mr. Lawrence is a republican, ever having been a faithful exponent of its principles. He cast his first presi- dential vote for John Quincy Adams. Mr. Lawrence is now seventy-four years of age, and quite well pre- served for one who has met with the struggles. of a pioneer life.

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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 57

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.) Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company Number of Pages: 726

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company
Number of Pages: 726