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 80

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 80
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 80

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).

The Indians who had enjoyed the wildness and the loneliness of the great stretch of country where they had freedom to go and come as they pleased, to hunt and fish, where they could roam unseen by the white man. and without fear that their forest was to be in- vaded by him-holding sole possession of the forest,- led in their way a happy, healthful existence. And who can say that when the time came, and in accord- ance with the working of a great destiny, which has carried civilization from ocean to ocean, they did not feel a more intense pain in abandoning their domain, the scenes with which they were familiar, than their stoicism allowed them to show, or than they have generally been accredited with by the people who have seen so much and know so little of them. They yielded, however, without bad feeling, and abided strictly by the treaty. The pioneers of the white race had many things to fear, many things to contend with, but the enmity of the Indian was not one of them. They committed no depredations, and though they were often among the settlers during the first few years of their residence in the new country, not a single instance is narrated of any unpleasant feeling between the races, or of any evil deeds being commit- ted by the red meu.

BEARS, WOLVES, AND DEER.

In the early days of the settlement game of all kinds was abundant. Deer were so numerous that they were frequently seen in droves of from a score to fifty. A good hunter like David W. Briggs would kill as many as eight or ten a day when lucky, and in the season would bring down three or four hundred. Briggs kept the settlers pretty well supplied with venison, and it was not an uncommon thing for him to have half a dozen or more frozen carcasses hangmg outside of his house at once. He was hired by Mr. Beach, a pioneer of Ruggles, one time to do a day's shooting, Beach having a number of men at work for him and nothing in the house for them to eat. Briggs was to report for duty at Beach's house before break- fast, and to have two dollars for his day's hunting. He arrived there as he had agreed to, and told his employer that he had killed two deer on the way over, giving directions for finding the careasses in the woods. Beach told him he might call it a day's work and quit, which he did, thus earning two dollars be- fore breakfast, by doing what any sportsman would travel a hundred miles to do now-a-days.

As late as 1853, when John M. Carl came into the township, deer were so numerous that he was able, ou some occasions, to kill two, or even three, in a day. Briggs at this time had given up hunting because, as he said, "'game had grown so searce." Beside deer. there were all the varieties of small game common to a new country. Wolves were a great source of an- noyance. They committed numerous depredations, some of them quite boldly. The first was at John Banks'. He was keeping bachelor's hall in a small log cabin, and a pack of wolves killed a cow and a

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RESIDENCE OF HENRY G. W.

WALTER WASH BURN

GREENWICH , HURON CO.,O.

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

calf, only a few rods away. Banks heard them, but being a rather timid man, allowed them to continue their wicked work undisturbed. In the morning it was found that they had eaten the larger part of both animals. The wolves attacked sheep more often than any other kind of stock, though there were many in- stances of their killing small pigs, or shoats, and calves. "Dead fall" and steel traps were set for them and quite a number were caught. It is said, and generally believed, that one wolf, called "Old Grum," from the peculiar deep, heavy tone of his howl- ing, which the early settlers could always recognize, led most of the fatal forays against the sheep flocks. Andrew Brewbaker, a famous hunter of New Haven, killed a very old wolf once in Ripley township which he said was " Old Grum." It was a notable fact that after the demise of that wolf the depredations upon the farmers' flocks ceased altogether. Bears were not numerous; only once in awhile was one killed. Briggs probably brought down the first that ever fell before a hunter's rifle in the township. He was on his way to Henry Carpenter's house, and had arrived at a junction in the trails where he expected to meet Ben- jamin Kniffin. Not seeing him as he had anticipated he sat down upon a log and began eating hickory nuts, with which the ground was covered. Presently he saw a good-sized bear eating hickory nuts, too, and leveling his gun, cracked bruin's skull with a well directed ball. A very large bear was killed by Henry Washburne. He was in the woods one day', not very far from his house, when his attention was averted by the noise made by an old sow and her litter of pigs. Presently he saw the sow coming through the weeds and low brush, evidently very much scared. In close pursuit was the cause of her terror, a huge bear, which when he caught sight of Washburne stood, for a mo- ment, erect upon its hind feet perfectly still. Wash- burn raised his gun and fired, the shot taking effect in the bear's throat, and cansing a wound from which the blood spurted twenty feet high, sprinkling the green leaves overhead with crimson. Some hunting dogs that had been on the animal's trail came up and made a ferocious attack upon the bear, but wounded as he was the huge brute dealt terrific blows with his paws, and nearly killed one of them before his own life blood had flown.

A curious instance of a bear's ability to carry off a heavy load is cited by John B. Barker, who, though not an eye witness, had credible information of the occurrence. Varney Pearce, one day, hearing a pig sqneal, and suspecting mischief, ran and alarmed Ephraim Barker, the pig's owner, and David W. Briggs. They set out for the place where the hogs were accustomed to lie in the woods, and, sure enough, one was missing. They followed in the direction from whence the squealing came, and soon came in sight of the cause. A huge bear had one of the shotes, weighing seventy or eighty pounds, in his arms, and was walking away with his live capture just as a man would. At times Bruin needed rest. Then

he would lay the pig upon the ground and hold it securely with his fore paws, for a few seconds. When ready to move again, he would hug the porker to his breast, and trudge on. The men watched these maneuvers for some time, followed the bear for half a mile, and then Briggs, securing a good chance, shot him. The pig was alive, but so injured by its captor's claws that Mr. Barker was obliged to kill it.

SEVERITY OF LIFE.

The trials of those men and women who turned their backs upon the places . of their nativity, and sought to hew them out homes in the wilderness, cannot be fully appreciated at the present day. Many of them had but little to begin with. Those who had much were scarcely better off, for the comforts and conveniences of life were not procurable. The early settlers, of whom we shall treat presently, after suc- ceeding, through almost infinite 'rouble, in clearing. a few acres of gronnd and raising a small crop of wheat or other grain, were far from being in a condi- tion to defy want. They had still to procure articles which were equally necessary. If the weather had been dry for some time, they were obliged to go to Cold creek to have their grain ground, and the trip there and back, about seventy-five miles, occupied eight or ten days. Two yoke of oxen were required. The price of carrying a bushel of wheat was fifty cents. Money, it was almost impossible to get in sums sufficient to pay taxes, or buy those few articles which are indispensable to the family or individual. Daniel Fancher relates that he worked three years, and did not receive, during that time, three shillings in money, but took grain, flour, meat, and other articles, which, in the early days of the settlement, Were regarded almost as a legal tender. Henry Wash- burne once took a large load of wheat to Sandusky, consuming a week in making the round trip, and exchanged it for one barrel of salt, six milk pans, two pounds of tea, and the cloth for two shirts. With these few articles, which would seem but poorly to pay for the grain, and the time spent in getting to the market, he returned, feeling very well satisfied. He had done fully as well in his barter as others were able to do. Many of the settlers really suffered for the want of those things which a few shillings would have boug! t. Luxuries were unthought of. The un- ceasing and hard grind of daily labor was necessary to accomplish the task that lay before the pioneers-the maintenance of life and the development of the new country, which they so subdued as to make a rich inheritance for their children. And yet, with all their hard labor, with the severe simplicity of their lives, with hardships and privations unnumbered and unre- corded, the lives spent in the fulfillment of duty were mide up more largely of pleasure than of pain, were fuller of joy than sorrow, and as they drew to a close, there was the profound satisfaction in every honest, toiling pioneer's heart, of having accomplished a great and tangible good.

340

HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.

The first settler in Greenwich was Henry Carpen- ter, who came from Ulster county, New York,' in 1817, and located upon lot twenty-two, in section two. He died in the fall of the following year, from over exertion at a house raising, leaving a wife and four children. His widow married Abraham Mead. of Fitchville, and died in 1825, Of his four children, Henry is dead, Sarah (Mrs. B. Huick), is in Norwalk, Adna. the first child born in the township, is in Iowa, and David in Missouri.

Varney Pearce, Esbon Husted and Cyrus Mead, arrived in the early spring of 1818. They were sin- gle men, and kept bachelor's hall. Pearce, who was from Massachusetts, settled upon lot twenty-five, sec- tion one, but afterward removed to the third section, where he took up a place upon which he lived until his death in 1833. He was the first justice of the peace, and held that office as long as he lived. He married Mary Rusco, and the pair had several children, none of whom are now living in the township or vicinity. Cyrus Mead had a large tract of land, south of the center. He sold out his location to the Clark's, from Florence, but they were unable to pay for it, and he returned from the east. whither he had gone npon selling, took back the land and lived upon it until 1853, when he died. Husted was not a permanent settler.

The second family that moved into Greenwich was that of Ephraim F. Barker, of Cayuga county, New York. He came in March, 1818, bringing with him his wife, Hannah, and eight children (one was born in Greenwich). Barker settled upon lot twenty nine, in section three, upon the north line of the township, and after a number of years' residence there, removed to lot seven. in the same section, where J. S. Berry now lives, upon the center road, north of the village. His children were: Alzina (Mrs. D. W. Briggs), now liv- ing in the township; Daniel G., in Ripley; James and David, both dead; Abiah Anthony, for many years a noted scout and pilot of the plains: John B., now residing in Greenwich; Sallie (Potter), deceased; Mary Ann (Hess), deceased: and Samantha (Chamberlain), in Sullivan, Ashland county. The wife of Mr. Bar- ker died in 1819. He married a second wife, Eliza- beth Artman, and, two years after her death, took as his third wife Betsey Hasey, whom he also outlived. Ephraim F. Barker died in 1860, and his remains were interred by the side of his three wives in the Fitch- ville cemetery.

D. W. Briggs came in the fall of 1818, from Wash- ington county, New York, (he was a native of Mas- sachusetts), and made himself a home upon lot thirty- six, in section three. He married Alzina, eldest daughter of Ephraim F. Barker, who is still living. Briggs died in 1861. IIe had thirteen children, nine of whom are living as follows: George, Daniel and Jacob, in the west; Maria (Mrs. J. Woodward), in Hancock county; Sarah (Mrs. J. Haynes), in Green-

wich; Bathena ( Mrs. C. Platner), in Hancock county; Zoa (Mrs. M. Kahar), in Michigan; Mary (Mrs. A. Warner), in Richland county, and Caroline (Evans), in Greenwich.

Upton and Town Clark arrived in the township in 1818, and made, during the following few years, some improvements upon a place. south of the center, bought of Cyrus Mead. They removed to Florence township in 1823.

John Mead brought his family from Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1819, and located upon lot thirty- eight, section one. where he owned four hundred acres of land. He only lived a short time. His children. John, Brush. Edward and Ann, are living.

In the spring of 1820, Benjamin Rusco and John Banks, of Cayuga county, New York, emigrated to the township. Rusco bought the Briggs location. He has no descendants living in the township. Banks located south of the center, went east and married a cousin of Rusco's, and after her death removed from the township. .

Thaddeus Fancher and his wife Sally (Mead) came from Ulster county, New York, in 1820, their son, Daniel G., having arrived the year before. They lo- cated upon lot twenty-one, section one. and Daniel G. upon lot four in the same section. The children of Thaddeus S. Fancher were: Mary (Mrs. Conrad Lutts), deceased; Mead, also deceased; Daniel G., Thaddeus S., living in Ruggles; Eliza (widow of Hiram Townsend), living in Cleveland: William, in Michigan; Amy (Green), deceased; Sally (Mrs. Gar- rett Mead ), in Greenwich, and Matthew, deceased. Daniel G. Fancher married Polly Mitchell, and raised a family of children, of whom all but Moses are liv- ing. They are Lovana. Sally, Belinda, Emily, and Jane. His second wife was Hannah Mitchell-no relation to the first.

Henry Washburne came to Greenwich in 1819, and settled upon lands which his father, Joseph Wash- burne. had selected two or three years before - lot twenty-six, section two. He was from Ulster county, New York. He died in 1849, and his wife, Mary (Craft). in 1826. Their children were: Philena ( Mrs. R. Griffin), deceased: C. A. Washburne, who resides at the center of section number two of Greenwich township, where he has a large farm; Henry C., in New London, and Mary ( Mrs. William Sutton), upon the old Washburne homestead. Henry Washburne was, at the time of his death, the largest land-owner in Greenwich. His father, Joseph Washburne, who first visited the township in 1816 or 1817, to purchase and locate lands. came out in 1821 to remain perma- nently, and at the same time came all the rest of his family-his wife, Philena (Carpenter), and their children, Benjamin, Joseph C .. James, William, and Phebe. Benjamin (now deceased), who had married, in the east, Huldah Birdsall, settled upon lot twenty- nine, section two. Joseph C. married Debbie Ann Sutton, and removed in 1826 to Fitchville. James, whose wife was Mary Birdsall, settled in New Lou

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

don. William married Betsey Morrell and remained upon the old farm with his parents until 1838, when he died. Phebe, deceased, married Alanson Sutton. Joseph Washburne died in 1860, at the age of ninety, and his wife, Philena, in 1839.

Abel F. Eaton, who came also in 1820, and located near the northeast corner of the township, removed to Fitchville in 1826. His house was burned a year or so before that date.

Jeremiah Rusco came to Greenwich in 1821, when his brother Benjamin, who had previously made a settlement and then gone east, returned. He and his brother bought, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, nine hundred and thirty acres of land, which was about equally divided between the third and fourth sections. Several years later, the brothers induced their father and mother, and all the rest of their family, to come to this township and make it their home. None of the original 'pioneers of this family are left. Two sons of Jeremiah Rusco, are living, however, one of them, Gilbert L., on a portion of the old estate, lot sixteen, section three, and another, Benjamin; in Nebraska.

Solomon Doud and Hiram Doud came from Ca- yuga county, New York, to Greenwich, in 1821, and the last named returned, soon after, to his native State, and remained there. Solomon Doud brought his family out the following year, and after living for a time at the center, bought a farm in - section three, where he remained until his death, in 1849. His family consisted of his wife, Polly, Laura (who afterward married B. Rusco and who is now dead), Naney (Mrs. D. G. Barker, in Greenwich), Samuel (now a respected citizen of New London), John (de- ceased), and Mary Ann (Mrs. Freeman, now a resi- dent of Kansas).

Mordecai W. Jenney, of New Bedford, Massachu- setts, originally, but for sometime a resident of Cayuga county, New York, arrived in 1818, and took up lot twenty in section four. His brother, Obadiah, came shortly after, and remained in the township a short time, and then removed to Norwalk. John Jenney came in several years later-about 1823-and settled upon lot forty-two, section one.

Hiram Townsend, of Massachusetts, settled, orig- inally, in New Haven, but removed from there to this township in the summer of 1819. He took up the farm-lot six, section three-upon a portion of which the village of Greenwich station has lately been built, and resided there until 1821, when he died. He married Eliza Fancher, who is still living at this writing. His children, still living, are as follows : Hiram, at Black river; Oscar, in Cleveland, who was at one time president of the C., C., C. & I. Railroad, and now of the Tuscarawas Valley Railroad: Horace, a lawyer, in Memphis; Mary (Mrs. J. Bradner), and Sarah (Mrs. B. Coutant), both in Cleveland.

James Mitchell, of New York, arrived in 1821, with his wife and family. He located upon lot four- teen in section four. He died in 1844, at the age of

seventy-two years, and his wife in 1863, at the age of eighty-four. ' Their oldest daughter, Betsey, mar- ried a Mr. Higgins, and removed to Florence, thence to Vermont. The only descendants of Jas. Mitchell, who remain, of a large family, are: Hezekiah and William, at Peru; Moses, in Michigan, and Betsey, above spoken of. One of the daughters, Amanda, married a certain wolf in sheep's clothing, a clerical fraud, named Ralph, was cruelly deserted by him, and died.

During the years 1820-21, the settlement was in- creased by the arrival of Joshua Banks, T. B. White and Robert O. Saulsbury, Eleazer L. Saulsbury and a few others. Those named were all from Cayuga county, New York. Banks settled south of the cen- ter; White, upon lot twenty-eight, section three, and Saulsbury (Robert O.), upon lot six, section two. Eleazer L. Saulsbury remained but a short time. His only descendant, remaining in the township, is a daughter,-Almira-the wife of E. Gifford. ' White carried on, for many years, his trade, that of making chairs and spinning-wheels. Robert O. Saulsbury was a cooper, by trade, and made the first barrels in the township. He sold out and left in 1833.

Benjamin Kniffin, one of the most prominent of the early settlers, came to the township first in 1818, from Cayuga county, New York, and made a small beginning upon the town line where U. B. Thomas now lives. He soon returned east, and remained there until 1820, when he again came to Greenwich. He married in Cayuga county, New York, Bloomey Caroline Hobby, and in 1824, he brought his wife to his new home. At the same time came his parents, James and Sarah Kniffin, and the remainder of the family one brother and four sisters. James Kniffin purchased eight hundred acres of land lying west of the center, and north of the east and west center road, and this property was divided among his children, most of it being still in possession of some of their descendants. Beside Benjamin Kniffin, the children of James and Sarah were: Daniel, Phebe, Charity, Debbie and Amy. Daniel married a daughter of Josiah Rusco, reared a family of seven children, and after his wife's death, removed to lowa. He died in 1878. Only one of his descendants, Daniel, is in Greenwich. Phebe (deceased) married a man named Sutherland, and removed to Ruggles. Charity (also deceased) married C. Brady who was accidentally shot in 1824, and for her second husband, married Daniel Osborne. Debbie (Smith) lives in Buffalo, and Amy (Carver) in Ashland county. Benjamin Kniffin remained all of his life in this township. He was a very active man, carried on a great many enterprises of different natures, served as justice of the peace for three terms, and otherwise took a part in the public affairs of the community. He died in 1822, having survived his wife four years. Their children were: Louis Hobby, Benjamin F., Hannah Maria, Charles B., and James E. and Sarah F., twins. Louis Hobby and Charles B. are farmers in this township: Benjamin F. is in

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HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

Williams county; Hannah Maria and James E. are dead, and Sarah F. (Mrs. H. M. Krytser) is a resident of Greenwich.

Charies Brady who married Charity Kniffin; came from Westchester county, New York, in 1823, to Scipio, Cayuga county, where he remained until 1824, when he came on to Greenwich with the Kniffins, and located upon a portion of this land. . In December of the same year, Brady was instantly killed by the dis- charge of his gun while on his way with his brother- in-law, Benjamin Kniffin, to Washburne's mill. The gun lay upon the load, and in pulling it towards him, he struck the trigger, and the discharge took effect in his side.

Ezra Smith, who came to the township in 1824, brought in the first stock of goods, and had a store for a short time near Washburne's. He removed to Macksville. He also had an ashery. Rufus Sheldon located upon lot forty-six, section one, in the same year. He was from Scipio, New York. Joshua Frost came at the same time and settled near the east line of the township, in section two.

Brundage Knapp, who came in the year 1825, and located upon lot twenty-four, section three, removed, in 1836, to Bronson, and went from there to Fair- field. He lived to be over ninety-four years of age.

Among the early residents of the town was John Paul, or, as he was commonly called, "Old Paul," the son of a Hungarian nobleman, who, having left home at an early day, had followed the life of a roam- ing adventurer, and fought as a soldier of fortune in several of the armies of Europe, finally being sent a prisoner by the British to Canada, from whence he came to this county. He died about 1830, a very old man.

Willis R. Smith came to Greenwich in 1824, from Sciopio, Cayuga county, New York, bringing his wife, Ann Underhill, and five small children in a Pennsyl- vania wagon to Buffalo, where they embarked in a schooner for Sandusky. This family settled upon lot two, section three, where four of the descendants of Willis R. Smith now reside, viz: Daniel, Amelia, Sarah and Annie. Another son, William, married Asnath Rusco, and is now living in Greenwich, on lot twenty-two, section four. The two oldest chil- dren, Alfred and Phebe, are dead. Mary, who mar- ried J. E. Golden, lives . in Ripley. Willis R. Smith died the third month, 11, 1871. 'He was, during his long residence in the township, one of its staunch, true men, respected by all. His wife died second month, 24, 1874. Both were natives of Westchester county, New York.

Alanson and Aranson Sutton, of Cayuga county, New York, came in 1824. The former settled upon lot thirty-nine in section one, and the latter upon lot sixteen, section four. Alanson married, for his first wife, Phebe, a daughter of Joseph Washburne, and for his second, AAnn Parker. They have four child- ren living, all in Greenwich: Mary (Mrs. J. Dills), Emma, Grant and Josie. Aranson Sutton married

Emeline Brady. Both are dead. Their children living are: Charles A., who resides upon the place his father settled ; Charity (Townsend), in Cleveland : Mary (Nobles), in Fitchville; Sarah (Reynolds), in Seneca county, Ohio; and Louisa (Fancher), in Greenwich.

Cyrus G. Mead came into the township in 1825, bringing with him from White Plains, New York, Shadrach H. Reed, then seventeen years of age. In time Reed bought of Mead lot twenty-seven in his tract of land, and in 1831 he married Sadie Rusco, who died twenty years later. Mr. Reed is still living and his family consists of Dr. D. H. Reed, of Fair- field; Mrs. A. E. Griffin, of Bellefontaine; and H. E. Reed of Greenwich. Charles E. Reed died in 1854. and A. S. in 1847.

Richard Marshall arrived in 1827, or the following year, from Medina county. He was a brother-in-law of Dr. Morton. He is now dead. Four of his chil- dren, Richard, Morton, Margaret (Mrs. Williams), and Frances Ann, live in the township. Benjamin Belding came about the same time as Marshall, from Westchester county, New York. He located npon lot thirty-three in section two. He died in New London, whither he moved when the C., C., C. & I. R. R. was constructed. He had a large family, but none of them remain in the township.

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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 80

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