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 82
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 82
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GREENWICH LODGE, NO. 640, I. O. O. F.
This lodge was instituted July 6, 1876, with the following charter members: J. M. Maynard, William Jackson, L. M. Palmer, Eugene Pennington, M. A. Palmer, J. A. Frost, James Skain, G. T. Cupit, T. C. Adams, C. R. Barber and A. S. Gilson. The fol- lowing officers were elected for the first term: William Jackson, N. G .; L. M. Palmer, V. G .; T. C. Adams, R. S .; J. A. Frost, P. S .; M. B. Lce, treasurer. The present officers are as follows: M. B. Lee, N. G .; N. 0. Griphy, V. G .; E. S. Pennington, R. S .; H. N. King, P. S .; L. M. Palmer, treasurer.
CEMETERIES.
There are, including private burial lots, at least twenty places for the burial of the dead in the town- ship. The first ground set apart for a cemetery was in lot twenty-four, section four, in land owned by H. G. Mead. Varney Pearce, acting as his agent, allowed the establishment of a cemetery at this location about the year 1824; but when Mead came to the township sometime after he denied the privilege. At a later date Joseph Washburne granted a piece of ground near his home in the northeast part of the township. James Kniffin donated the land now included in the Friends' cemetery. The only burial place of which the township has control is in a piece of land near the center of lot twenty-two, first section, now owned by M. M. Burgess, but in the possession of Thaddeus Fancher at the time it was set apart for the purpose of a cemetery.
POSTAL MATTERS.
The first mail was carried through the township in 1829, and for three years thereafter, by Robert Inscho, of New Haven. He went once a week between New Haven village and Medina county, upon horseback. The first post office was established at the center, and
Benjamin Kniffin was the first man who held the commission of postmaster. He was succeeded by Rufus Sheldon. About the time that the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad was constructed, a post office was established at the station and, in fact, was kept in the railroad building for some time, Hiram Townsend being postmaster. He was succeeded by John Barnes, in whose charge and that of George Stedwell, the office remained nearly all the time nntil William B. Haviland, the present postmaster, was commissioned.
ROADS.
But little was done in road-making in this township, which now has from fifty-five to sixty miles of road- way, until 1820. The north and south center road was the first laid out. The line was established in 1820 but only a small portion of it had been chopped and cleared half a dozen years later. The east and west center road was the second one laid out. It was surveyed and opened through the county. What is known as the "angling road " was ordered to be laid ont in answer to the petition of Ephraim Barker and others in 1828 or 1829.
VILLAGE OF GREENWICH STATION.
Greenwich Station is the only village in the town- ship. It is located upon the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad, abont one mile from the west town line, and upon the cast and west center road. It would undoubtedly have become a large village by this time had it not been for the pe- culiar repugnance that the principal land owner, Hi- ram Townsend, had toward any improvement which would have stimulated growth. The village has had almost its entire growth since 1874, and has in that time increased from a small cluster of houses to a village of about five hundred population. As it is surrounded by a rich country and has within its limits the elements of enterprise, it is probable that it will achieve in the near future quite an importance as a trading place and become a good sized borough. Greenwich Station was incorporated in February, 1879. It has at present three hotels. The Seydel House, the first one built in the place, is the principal one, and now kept by Samuel Seydel, who has been its landlord for two years, and a resident in the neigh- borhood all his life. The Thompson House is kept by T. Thompson, and the Union House, kept by An- drew Thompson. Richard Culver erected a ware- honse and elevator at the station, which is at present and has been for the past twelve years, managed by John W. Richardson, who does a large business in handling grain. Greenwich is also one of the leading places for the shipment of cattle on the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad, and large numbers are handled here every year. Follow- ing are the firms and individuals engaged in mercan.
348
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OIIIO.
tile business and the trades at this writing-April, 18:9:
DRY GOODS, GROCERIES AND COUNTRY PRODUCE .- W. A. Hossler. DRY GOODS ALONE .- J. S. Arnold. DRUGS,-Dr. A. W. Burtch.
GROCERIES .- F. B. Nickerson, also dealer in drugs. HARDWARE, STOVES, &C .- Milo B. Lee. BOOTS, SHOES AND CLOTHING .- J. B. Healy. CONFECTIONERY AND CIGARS-E. J. Howell.
HARNESS .- William Wells.
FRESH AND SALTED MEATS-W. A. Ball. FURNITURE .- John Hines.
MILLINERY .- Miss Adams, Mrs. J. Hines. Mrs. Sherbane. BLACKSMITHING .- A. Evrett, Aranson Kniffin, George Abbott. WAGON MAKING .- H. Ferry, H. Brown.
THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS
of the township are slight. The principal flouring mill is located in the village, and was built in 1872, by Ira Case, being the first in the township since the old Washburne mill. He sold it to John Kincel, and he to David Harvey, who is the present owner, though Mr. Case is still in charge, as practical miller. There is a small flouring mill in the southeast part of the township, in what is known as Ninevah. There are three saw mills. One is owned by David Harvey, and is run in connection with his grist mill. The other two are both, also, located in the village, and are owned respectively by Banks & Kniffin and Jacob Helmkee.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HENRY G. WASHBURN
is one of that class of men whose biography is a type of the history of the community in which he has lived, and an illustration of the sturdy, thorough-going manner of life that the early settlers led-a man who has attained to his present position of honor and in- dependence through his own hard labor, and a con- scientious following of the highest dictates of moral- ity. He began life with two great elements of suc- cess-a good name and the willingness to work. These, and the happy, healthful condition of mind which naturally attends the other qualities, were his only advantages.
In order that he should be properly represented, we shall follow the genealogy of the family from the first known down to the present representatives. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch, James Washburn, of Westchester connty, New York, was born in 1766, and removed to Ulster county in 1805. His wife, Judah Griffin, was born in 1767. Their children with the dates of their birth were as follows: Walter, 1790: Phebe, 1191; Joseph, 1794; Hannah, 1:96: Robert, 1798: Henry, 1800; Betsey, 1804; Ro- sannah, 1806: Sally Ann, 1808. All of these children, except Henry who died at the age of four years, grew up to be men and women. Only two are now living:
Rosannah (Mrs. Robert Golden), resident in New London township, and Sally Ann (Mrs. M. Denman). of Springfield, Ohio. Walter Washburn, the father of Henry G., removed with his parents to Greenfield, Ulster county, New York, when at an early age, and in November, 1809, took in marriage Nellie Van Ben- schooten. The offspring of this union were: Jnlia Ann, born, 1811. (now Mrs. D. Carpenter in Miss- ouri): Henry G., born, 1813: Louisa R. (Mrs. C. Ben- jamin, of Sandusky), 1816; John (now in Missouri), 1819: Hannah Jane (deceased), 1822, and Maria, 1824. Walter Washburn's wife died in 1825, at the age of forty-three years, and her remains were buried in the Wawasink (Ulster county) burying grounds. Walter Washburn married Mrs. Polly Van Ben- schooten, ner Hendrickson, as his second wife. Their children were: Charlana, born 1831; Rosannah. 1833: Joseph Nelson, 1835: Harriet Helen, 1838: Gil- bert Eugene, 1840; Mary Elizabeth, 1844; Judah Ann, 1841, and Susan Emeline, 1850. Walter Wash- burn came to Ohio in 1833, bringing his wife and seven children and his mother. The journey was by the water route, and was pleasant, but without marked event. The family arrived at Huron some time in May, and immediately went to Fitchville where Mr. Washburn's brother, Joseph, had settled in the year 1820. Mr. Washburn spent upon his farm in that township the rest of his days, dying May 21. 1865, at the age of seventy-five years, loved and respected by all. He was a quiet, unassuming man who took no part in politics or public affairs, though he ever had an interest in the accomplishment of those results best for the community and the world at large. He was a man of refined and rigid morals, but though of religious nature and feeling, was at no time connected with any church. His preference was for the Quaker Church, or Society of Friends, and his life was prac- tically conformed to their faith.
Henry G. Washburn came to Fitchville in 1830, three years before his father, and remained there two years, working for his Uncle Joseph, at all kinds of labor that the early settlers found to perform. It was here that he grew into the habits of industry and energetic action, which he has ever since retained, and which have made him the successful farmer and good citizen that he is. He worked hard, spent nothing, and the result was, that he was able, with his two years' earnings, to pay for a hundred acres of land, where he now lives, upon the Ripley township line. That purchase was the beginning in the accu- mulation of a large property. The land first pnr- chased at a cost of two dollars per acre, was the nucleus of a large farm, and the humble beginning made there, led to a most prosperous life. The young man, after securing this one hundred acres of land by two years hard work, spent several more in preparing it for cultivation. He cleared away the heavy timber, got the ground into good condition for bearing crops, and built the log house, to which, several years later, he brought his bride. He mar-
JOHN ELLIS .
MRS. JOHN ELLIS
RESIDENCE OF JOHN ELLIS, GREENWICH , HURON CO., O.
WILLIAM B.ELLIS.
MRS. WILLIAM B.ELLIS.
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM B. ELLIS , GREENWICH TP., HURON Co., O.
349
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
ried, in 1842, Ann Maria, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca Van Benschooten, of Berlin township, Erie county, who is still his helpmate. Four children have been born to this pair, viz: D. S., born April 8, 1843, now a prominent resident of Ripley township; S. Minerva, born March 13, 1845, who died at the age of nineteen years; Alice E., born December 14, 1849, now; and Jay, a resident, at present, of Fitch- ville, born April 14, 1852.
D. S. Washburn married, January 24, 1867, Sarah J. Macomber. They have three children, viz: Anna Mand, born September 24, 1868; Earnest Linton, born August 1, 1870; and Inez, August, 1, 1871.
Alice E. Washburn married, July 10, 1878, W. E. Gaskin.
Jay Washburn married, June 20, 1873, Mary E. Brady. They have one child, Howard W., born August 11, 1874.
Henry G. Washburn is known as one of the substan- tial men and most worthy citizens of Greenwich, and is universally respected for the sterling qualities he possesses. He is known to be the friend of all good works, and while being of a too retiring nature to take active part in public matters, has a lively in- terest in all matters pertaining to the interests of the people, either locally or in a general way, and is un- usually well informed upon all current issues. He has always been a hard worker-one of that class which seems to have been especially adapted to the stern, severe task of reclaiming the wilderness and bringing it into the prosperous condition of the Western Reserve of to-day. Moral example, as well as material labor, has contributed to the creation of the present prosperity and social well being of our comparatively new northern Ohio settlements, and through this means, as through the other, Mr. Wash- burn has brought to bear, as one among many, his proportion of influence and force.
WILLIAM BENSON ELLIS,
a son of Clark and Thursa Ellis, was born in Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, October 7, 1819. He made a brief visit to Huron county, for the first time, in 1840, but returned to New York and remained there until the following season, when he removed to Greenwich township, where he has since resided. He had bnt two hundred and sixty dollars, money that he had earned, and yet he succeeded, after being in the township two years, in accumulating enough money, in addition to what he brought with him, to purchase fifty-five acres of land. He cleared and fenced about thirty acres, and built upon it a log house. Having thus provided himself with a home, he was ready for a wife, and he procured one in the person 'of Mrs. Esther Rickard, who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio. The date of their marriag
was April 17, 1843. There have been born to them seven children, viz. : George Washington, born Decem- ber 14, 1843; Eliza Ann, July 16, 1845; Julia Aresta, May 3, 1847,-died March 20, 1861; Irvin Henry, September 30, 1852; Ira Benson, April 1, 1856; Lillie, September 18, 1858; Emma Adelaide, June 23, 1865. The three sons and oldest daughter are married, and live near the old homestead. Mr. Ellis has bought from four to five hundred acres of land, and now man- ages about two hundred, having given the remainder to his children. His present residence was built in 1856.
In politics Mr. Ellis is, and has always, been a democrat. He cast his first vote for Martin Van Buren, and has ever since taken an active interest in the affairs of the country, and, though he has never sought or held office, believes it to be the duty of every citizen to exercise his right of suffrage, and to do so intelligently. He has alwas been a hard-work- ing, industrious man, and his success has been due to no canse but his own efforts and judicious economy.
JOHN ELLIS,
a son of the same parents as William Benson Ellis, was born in Onondaga county, New York, August 18, 1816, and after he was twelve years of age worked out by the month, at three dollars per month, until he was nineteen. when he commenced to learn the carpenter trade. He afterward followed this calling until 1839, when he removed to Ohio, and settled in Greenwich township, upon a farm of fifty acres, which he had purchased the year before, in partnership with his brother George, of his uncle Ellis, at the rate of five dollars per acre. The same land is now in pos- session of his son, Sidney H.
Mr. Ellis was married about two years after com- ing into Ohio, to Miss Rachel, daughter of Henry Rickert, born in Trumbull county, Ohio, and of this union, eight children were born-four boys and four girls, of whom seven are still living, and all resident within a radius of three miles from the old homestead. The names of these descendants are: S. H., T. B., J. R .. Martin, C. L., Lina and S. C. Hiram died when four years, eleven months and fifteen days old.
Mr. John Ellis has been long and favorably known in Greenwich, has held various offices of trust, and has carried on extensively and successfully the busi- ness of farming. To his little farm of fifty acres, he has added from time to time, through the avails of hard labor and judicious management, enough to make the total acreage of his land over five hundred and fifty acres. This large property, which his industry and enterprise have acquired, he has divided among his children, except two hundred acres, which
350
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
he manages and keeps in good shape, at the age of sixty-three.
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, and a view of their old home, appear upon another page of this history, as a deserved memorial of two most estimable persons.
JOSEPH SUTTON.
Joseph Sutton, the father of the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was born July 8, 1790, in Westchester county, New York, and emigrated with his parents to Seneca county when quite a young boy. He married, November 17, 1811, Gabbrina Gillispie, who was born in Tompkins county, October 20, 1790. She died November 12, 1827. They had nine children, Joseph being the sixth in order of birth. He was born in 1821, upon the 7th of April; and moved with his father to Jackson county, Michigan, in 1832. Joseph Sutton, Sr., died there m 1836, and young Joseph, with two brothers and one sister, came to Ohio. They arrived in Green- wich township July 19, 1836. Joseph lived one year with his uncle, Henry Sutton, and worked upon his farm by the month. He continued working for wages, and for various persons, for seven years. He
was economical as well as industrious, and in 1845 he had become able to purchase, and pay for, one hun- dred and eighty acres of land. Later, by a continu- ance of the same thrifty habits that gave him his favorable start, he added enough to his possession to make him the owner of over three hundred acres of land. His principal occupation has always been farm- ing, and he is regarded as one of the most enterpris- ing of his class in Greenwich. He has, for fourteen years, been assessor of personal property, and has held other offices of trust. He was captain of a con- pany of colored soldiers, in the one hundred and sixty-sixth regiment, Ohio infantry, and also of a company of home guards.
The family with which Mr. Sutton connected him- self, by marriage, was that of Neser Sutherland, one of the early settlers of Ruggles township, who was born in Westchester county, New York, August 14, 1786, and who died December 29, 1848. His wife's name was Phebe. She was born October 11, 1789, and died October 23, 1854. Amy, one of the seven children of this couple, born July 2, 1824, was mar- ried to Joseph Sutton October 30, 1845, and is still living with him. They have four children, three sons and one daughter, viz: Ambrose Guy, Hattie G., William Neser and John J., all of whom, except the eldest, located in Kansas, are living with their father and mother.
MR. JOSEPH SUTTON.
MRS. JOSEPH SUTTON.
FAIRFIELD.
NONE, save those who can look back in their own lives to the days when they made a settlement in the forest of a new country, can have anything like an adequate appreciation of the toilsome labor, privation, danger and last, but not least, the deep sense of isola- tion that the pioneers of the Western Reserve ex- perienced. There was a great deal to be done, and very little to do it with. Food was scarce, and some- times it was difficult to obtain a sufficient amount to alleviate hunger. It is said that some of the early settlers followed the cows around, and selected leaves and plants that they ate, for greens, knowing that the instinct of the animals would lead them to avoid any thing of a poisonous nature. The pioneers of Fair- field were obliged to make a five days' trip to Cold Creek, Margaretta township, to get their milling done. There was but little money in the country, and but little to buy even had money been plenty. Nearly all manufactured implements brought a very high price, and the settlers often managed to do the work of clearing and tilling the soil, with the tools which their descendants would not think of using. Notwithstanding the hard life they led, the severe toil that was necessary to procure even the commonest conveniences of existence the pioneers were happy upon their frugal fare, and healthful,-physically and morally. They passed minor difficulties without noticing them, and met and overcame the more for- midable ones bravely. The first few pioneers lent willing aid to those who came after them, and thus the severity of the settlers' experience was moderated by degrees until the community had attained a fair growth, and the advantages of civilization had been secured.
ORIGINAL OWNERS.
For an explanation of the following table the reader is referred to the history of Wakeman township:
TOWN NUMBER TWO, IN THE TWENTY-SECOND RANGE.
CLASSIFICATION No. 1, SECTION 1.
Original Grantees.
Am't Loss.
Classified by.
Am't Classed.
David Allen
476
9
8
David Allen
476
9
8
George Allen
231
3
11
George Allen
231
11
John Turney
526
Ephraim Penfield
526
12
2
Isaac Turney
20
3
5
20
3
5
Wid'w Mary Penfield 139
14
1
83
15
10
Footing of Classification No. 1, £1,344
0
CLASSIFICATION NO. 2, SECTION 2.
Original Grantees.
Am't Loss.
Am't Classed.
£
8
d.
Samuel Burr
481
3
10
Ebenezer Jessup, Jr. 481
3
10
John Smedley
769
10
1
Jos. Smedley
176
0
2
Nathan Bennett
15
Q
0
John Noyes
15
29
0
Jabez Disbrow
5
9
6
66
5
9
6
Seth Meeker
- Joseph Gunn
4
8
8
John McLean
1
18
8
Daniel Hickok
4
3
4
3
Benjamin Hickok
9
14
4
6
4
4
Alexander Seward
5
17
1
1
17
4
Preserve Wood
3
9
1
4
Judith Taylor
1
8
0
1
8
0
Bethiah Judd
1
9
08
..
11
36
2
0
John Allen
545
12
6
15
12
8
Thaddeus Benedict, 349
4
Alexander McLean
126
14
0
Abial Phillips
6
11
4
6
11
4
Nathan Taylor, Jr.
4
0
4
0
8
Samuel Wood
1
5
1
1
1
4
Hannah Wood
4
4
11
4
John McLean
528
1
David Wood
288
0
6₺
0
8
Thomas Taylor
32
5
4
David Minor Samuel Smedley
Samuel Smedley
415
19
0
528
1
Committee
19
1
Mary Bascum
Rev. Noah Whitman 28
3
0
0
0
Jones Benedict
1
10
1
10
0
Comfort Wildman
11
14
11
14
2
Robert Benedict
24 1
12
10
12
10
8
Jerusha Mead
7
0
0
1
19
10
Nathaniel Merrit
46
13
39
15
3
0
21
15
6
Abigail Mead
0
0
5
6
15
Jotham Mead
10
6
-
21
16
11
Footing of Classification No. 2, £1,344
CLASSIFICATION NO. 3, SECTION 3.
Original Grantees.
Am't Loss.
Classified by.
Am't Classed.
£
8.
d.
Gersham Burr
1,344
8.
d.
Footing of Classification No. 3, £1,344
7
0
CLASSIFICATION NO. 4, SECTION 4.
.
Original Grantees.
Am't Loss.
Classified by.
Am't Classed,
Thaddeus Burr
18
1
Gersham Burr
29
11
1
Andrew Elliott
319-
11·
6
A. Eliott's heirs
549
6
Precilla Burr
8
6
Precilla Burr
282
6
Gersham Burr
300
10
4
Gersham Burr
150
5
Ann Dimon
317 .
18
4
Ebenezer Durian
317
18
1
Nathan Bulkley
11
0
David Judson
11
14
0
Shadrach Mead
42
0
0
Committee
2
18
8
Footing of Classification No. 4, £1,344
7
0
THE FIRST SETTLER A WOMAN.
The first clearing in the township was made by a widow woman, of foreign birth, named Sample, and the boys in her family of nine children-John, Martha, Betsey, James, William, Anna, Samuel, Nancy and David, They came from Newark, Licking county, Ohio, in the year 1816, and settled on lot thirty-six, in the third section. The widow was a woman of very remarkable ability, and of strong constitution. The family was very poor, and Mrs. Sample and her boys and girls were compelled to live in a manner which many people would consider impossible. It is related, upon the best of authority, that the boys went bare-footed all of one winter, while they were chopping timber and extending the clearing in which their rude cabin stood. They heated large chips by the fire, and carrying them to the place where they were intending to fell a tree, stood upon them until
(351)
€
d.
8
d.
Jemima Gold
6
2
6
0
€ 1,373
S.
d.
£
12
0
3
0
Hannah Andrews
15
0 094480 1 4
4
4
Joseph Bebee
Daniel Merrilt
86
9
28
13
4
Joseph Mead
15
3
Shadrach Mead
42
0
0
Enos Mead
12
6
4
6
8
Hannah Lockwood
13
8
John McLean
5:28
916 1
4
11
50
10
3
1
5
10
0
John McLean
15
0
8.
d.
£
8.
*
€
8.
d.
5
22
1
9
0
Moses Knapp
13
7
0
0
Thaddeus Buir 1,373 18
4
Benjamin Curtiss
46
39
1
12
£
611858
Classified by.
352
HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.
they grew cold, and then heated them again and again, until their day's work was done. Day after day they labored under this disadvantage, which less hardy people would regard as insurmountable. The mother of these boys was their equal, if not superior, in energy and spirit, and was ingenious as well. She out-reaped a man in the grain field in 1812, and elothed her family in cloth which she wove from the silk of wild nettles. Mrs. Sample married Jacob Rush, who died soon after. Her daughter Martha, married Amos Harkness. The mother removed to the west, and lived to be nearly a hundred years old.
Jane Harkness, one of the children of Amos and Martha (Sample), married John Parrott, of Ripley. She is the only one of the descendants of the Sample family in the vicinity.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Jacob Rush came in the year 1816, or early in 1812, and settled upon lot thirty-three, in seetion three. He married the widow Sample. Rush was a native of Pennsylvania.
Eliphalet W. Day and his wife, Abigail Moffitt, came in the spring of 1817, and took up land in lots two and eleven, section three. They were from Cayuga county, New York. A brother, Asa Day, came at the same time, but soon returned to New York State. The children who came with them were Lovila (who married a man by the name of Shippey, and is now dead), Laura (Mrs. Samuel B. Turner, also dead), Joel (in Wisconsin), Hosea (in Missouri), Isaac (in New Haven township), and Abigail (Mrs. C. C. Parsons, of Hartland). Those born after re- moval to Fairfield were John M. (dead), W. H. H. (in Indiana), Wilson (in Hartland), and B. T., who resides upon the old homestead. Eliphalet W. Day was a blacksmith by trade, and the first in the town- ship. He had a large share in the work of improving the township and advancing the interests of its peo- ple. He died in 1846, having survived his wife twelve years.
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