Portage heritage; a history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and townships and the men and women who have developed them; its life, institutions and biographies, facts and lore, Part 29

Author: Holm, James B
Publication date: 1957
Publisher: [Kent, O., Commercial Press inc.]
Number of Pages: 834

USA > Ohio > Portage County > Portage heritage; a history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and townships and the men and women who have developed them; its life, institutions and biographies, facts and lore > Part 29

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 late C. B. Newton was another whose practice spanned more than fifty years. He was common pleas judge from 1925 to 1932.

Isaac T. Siddall was long consider- ed a leader of the Portage County bar,

and he, too, sat on the common pleas bench, serving from 1917 to 1920. He also served as prosecuting attorney at an earlier date.

Still spoken of with respect as law- yers are Asa Keyes, Rufus P. Spalding, Christopher Wolcott, Ezra B. Taylor, Rufus P. Ranney and Alponso Hart, who became lieutenant governor of Ohio. Spalding sat on the Ohio Su- preme Court bench.

Vere W. Filiatrault, a native of Ver- mont, came here in 1916 and began practice and has been active as a lead- ing attorney for over forty years. He served as prosecuting attorney and in 1940 served briefly as common pleas judge, quiting that post for the more active work as attorney. He has taken much interest in politics, for many years serving as Republican county chairman.

Howard J. Knapp of Garrettsville has practiced over 45 years, the first fifteen of which were spent in Cleve- land. Since 1925 he has had his office in his home town where he has been solicitor and mayor.

The present common pleas judge, Albert L. Caris, is a native of Raven- na and served successively as county clerk and probate judge. After ad- mission to the bar in 1922, he became widely known as a trial lawyer. He became common pleas judge in 1950.

Another early lawyer of importance was Daniel R. Tilden who came from Connecticut by way of Warren. He was a prosecuting attorney in 1839 and later was a member of Congress. After leaving Ravenna he was pro- bate judge in Cleveland 30 years.

One of the outstanding lawyers and judges of the entire state was Luther Day, who also came from the East. A

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sketch of his life and the famous Day family appears in another section.

Another early lawyer of strong per- sonality was Michael Stuart who came from Connecticut when young. He was widely known as a corporation lawyer with a marvelous memory. He sometimes filed his petitions in rhyme. He died in 1899.

Willis J. Beckley of Ravenna was another well known and able attor- ney. Trained at the University of Michigan Law School, he became prosecuting attorney and was active in the political and civic affairs of his home community. At his death in 1940, he had practiced 49 years in the county.

Highly respected for his learning and integrity was George F. Robin- son. He was a native of Ravenna, born in 1844. He saw service in the Civil War, attaining the rank of captain. He studied law under Judge Luther Day, along with Day's more famous son, W. R. Day, later U. S. Supreme Court Justice. After service as prose- cutor, he was appointed to the Com- mon Pleas bench, later elected and serving continuously until his death in 1917. His decisions won him the reputation of being one of the best Common Pleas judges in Ohio. The Portage County Hospital today bears the names of Judge and Mrs. Robin- son in recognition of gifts from their estate by their sons in honor of their parents.

COUNTY JUDGES

Portage county judges under the original district plan have been: Cal- vin Pease, 1808-9; Benj. Ruggles, 1810-15; George Tod, 1815-30; Reu- ben Wood, 1830-33; Mathew Birch- ard, 1833-37; Van R. Humphrey, 1937-44; Eden Newton, 1844-47; Ben-

William R. Day, of the famous Day family. Secretary of State and Associate Justice, U. S. Supreme Court.

jamin Wade, 1847-51; George Bliss, 1851-52.

Judges elected under the 1851 con- stitution and after were: Luther Day, 1852-57; Benj. F. Hoffman, 1857-62; Chas. E. Glidden, 1862-67; Geo. M. Tuttle, 1867-72; Philo B. Conant, 1868-78; Chas. E. Glidden, 1872-77; Frank G. Servis, 1877; Ezra B. Taylor, 1877-80; Wm. T. Spear, 1878-88; Geo. F. Arrel, 1880-87; Geo. F. Robinson, 1888-1913; Geo. F. Johnson, 1893- 1903;

Those elected from and for the county have been: Geo. F. Robinson, 1913-17; I. T. Siddal, 1917-20; A. S. Cole, 1920-21; E. F. Robinson, 1921- 25; C. B. Newton, 1925-32; C. H. Curtis, 1932-40; V. W. Filiatrault, 1940; Blake C. Cook, 1940-51; Albert L. Caris, 1951 to date.

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PROBATE JUDGES

Portage County probate judges have been: Luther L. Brown, 1852- 55; Darius Lyman, 1855-64; Oliver P. Brown, 1864; Joshua T. Catlin, 1864- 67; Jacob V. Mell, 1867-73; Gideon Seymour, 1873-82; C. A. Reed, 1882- 88; C. D. Ingell, 1888-97; O. P. Sper- ra, 1897-1903; David L. Rockwell, 1903-09; Edward F. Robinson, 1909- 19; Albert L. Caris, 1919-23; Henry J. Robison, 1923-36; Geo. G. McClel- land, 1936-45; Clay Dietrich, 1945 to present.

James G. France has been the only municipal judge.

BAR ASSOCIATION

Present members of the Portage County Bar Association are: H. R. Loomis, Brittain S. Johnson, V. W. Filiatrault; H. J. Seymour, Howard Knapp, Frank Hull, S. P. Harbourt, Earl J. Willford, Albert L. Caris, Guy M. Showalter, Seabury Ford, S. L. Summers, Frank J. Dangler, Jr., Theo- dore Tilden, E. J. Redmond, Edwin W. Jones, Geo. G. McClelland, Clay Dietrich, Ward W. Davis, H. W. Short, Lester L. Campbell, Wm. J.

Smith, James G. France, Katherine Fitzgerald, Herbert Kane, Geo. W. Morrison, Robt. E. Cook, John Wil- liams, Paul M. Wilson, Roger Di- Paola, J. Philip Jones, Richard Beck- with, M. S. Murphy, John Chell and Robert Hart.

Bar Association officers in 1956 were F. J. Dangler, Jr., Pres .; E. J. Redmond, V.P .; Lester L. Campbell, Sec. Treas.

S. L. Summers is librarian of the Law Library Association.

In early days but little preparation was required to be a lawyer. Law schools were few. The candidate us- ually "read" law under an experienced lawyer, after which he took an ex- amination on his knowledge of law. In lower courts litigants, likely as not, were represented by "pettifoggers" who had picked up knowledge of the law by their own efforts, and to whom no odium was attached. As laws became more numerous and com- plex higher standards were set and today study at an accredited law school is a requirement.

Hannah Crouse, born in Palmyra in 1830, was known and exhibited as the "Ohio Fat Girl." She weighed over 600 pounds and died at the age of 21. She had a remarkable memory for facts and figures. In 1896 "Big Marie", one of the attractions of a carnival company playing in Ravenna, died there. She, too, weigh- ed over 600 pounds.

Pamelia Lewis, who married Zenas Kent in 1811, was a native of Farming- ton, Conn. and later lived in New York. Her grandfather was Oliver Lewis, who was an officer in General Wolfe's army in the historic capture of Quebec.

In 1921 the general store of Blake & Wescott in Rootstown was entered and goods taken at night. Sheriff J. W. Stevens was called and intercepted a party of men south of the Center. When they failed to halt, a gun battle ensued. Albert Wiles of Youngstown was killed and two other men, Briminger and Hink- son were captured and later sent to prison. Sheriff Stevens was not injured.

In 1810 lawyers charged 50 cents or a dollar for conducting a case before a jus- tice of the peace. Many of the so-called lawyers were merely pettefoggers or un- licensed lawyers.

CHAPTER XIX

Atwater

By LUCILLE H. STAHL

For those who live on U. S. High- way 224 in 1957, it is a big strain on even a vivid imagination to try to pic- ture Atwater Township as it must have looked to Capt. Caleb Atwater, Sr., Jonathan Merrick, Peter Bunnell, Asahel Blakesley, and Asa Hall and his wife when they arrived in June 1799, from Wallingford, Conn.

This area was heavily wooded with many kinds of trees, and had an abun- dance of game. It contained a very large swamp, part of which was tama- rack and even now contains rattle- snakes; part of it was cranberry bog; and part just swamp. There were large deposits of fine quality clay-a twelve foot layer in some places. Much of the eastern part is underlaid with coal. A salt lick made for fine hunting. Many huckleberries and a variety of nuts grew here.

However, this first group had little time to appreciate all that just then. First they built a log house a few rods north of the square, then they started immediately, opening roads and clear- ing land. They all returned to Con- necticut in the autumn, but Asa Hall and his wife, who were the only white family until 1801 when David Bald- win and family came. Their nearest neighbor was Lewis Ely of Deerfield. In 1800 the Halls had a son they named Atwater Hall who was the first white child born in Portage County.

COME FROM CONNECTICUT

In 1802 Arad Upson and his wife Lydia (Baldwin) came, with more set-

tlers coming yearly. In 1804 Theophi- lus Anthony, David Baldwin, Sr., Moses Baldwin and Capt. Hart came. In 1805 Josiah Mix, Jr., and Joshua Atwater came all the way from Con- necticut on horseback. The township, all "but two lots reserved for the sup- port of the gospel," had been given to Joshua by his father Caleb Atwater, Sr. In 1806 came Capt. Asahel Blakes- ley, John H. Whittlesey, Caleb Mat- toon, Ira and Amos Morse and Squire Jones, "men whose decision of charac- ter and moral principles gave tone to the future of the town" said an earlier writer.

In 1807 Wm. Strong came from Connecticut and erected the first frame house in Atwater. The same year Capt. James Webber, Jared Scranton and others came. In 1808 Strong's seven year old daughter Maria died. She was the first one buried in the cemetery at the south- west corner of the village green. Da- vid Baldwin, Sr. was the first adult buried there that same year.

About this time Enos Davis and family, William Marshall, John Hut- ton, John Campbell and others came from South Carolina and settled in the Southwest part of the township. William Marshall brought two picks he had used in helping build Fort Sumpter. Samuel Campbell's mother rode on horseback carrying twin ba- bies in her arms all the way from South Carolina. John Hutton, wife Massey and eleven children came from

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South Carolina about 1818. Typical of pioneer resourcefulness is this story told of Mrs. Hutton. They planted potatoes, then her husband started for Georgetown, Penna., for supplies. It was a hard trip and before his return they ran out of food. In desperation she dug up the potatoes to feed her children but she saved and replanted the skins for that years' potato crop.

The southeast part of the township was settled largely by German speak- ing people led by Jacob Kettering who had been an officer in the army that fought Napoleon.

FIRST OFFICIALS CHOSEN

April 3, 1815, Atwater was organ- ized as a township and these officers were elected: Clerk-Jeremiah Jones; Trustees-Gideon Chittenden, Joseph Marshall, Amos Morse; Overseers of the Poor-David Baldwin, Caleb Mat- toon; Fence Viewers-Ira Mansfield, Charles Chittenden; Supervisors - John Whittlesey, Josiah Mix, David Baldwin; Constable-Almon Chitten- den; Township Treasurer - David Baldwin; Justice of the Peace-Ira Morse.

The township was named, of course, for the Atwater family.

This has been predominantly an agricultural community from the be- ginning. In 1800 Asa Hall raised the first corn and wheat crops. In the southeast part much tobacco was raised for sale as well as for their own use until they found out it was deplet- ing their soil too much. Many raised, spun and wove their own flax. Some raised enough flax to sell both seed and fibers. John H. Whittlesey and Jeremiah Jones went to Georgetown, Penn., and brought back the first sheep. Joseph Talcott and family came from Southwick, Mass. in 1820 and led a cow all the way over mountain

trails so steep and rough that many times they had to hold ropes on their wagons to keep them from overturn- ing.

SEED IS PRECIOUS

The story of Mrs. Jared Scranton and her garden peas makes us realize how very precious seeds could be at that time. She prepared the ground · and planted a few peas given her by a neighbor. A short time later she saw a hen scratching up and eating those peas. She killed the hen, opened the craw, took out and replanted those irreplaceable peas and raised a good crop. She had more hens but no more peas.

The Baldwin families who came from Connecticut brought with them apple seeds which were the beginning of the variety so well known as Bald- win apples.

Many began very early to make cheese at home in quite primitive fashion. About 1873, Henry Monroe, grandfather of the late Jettie Good- man Cummings, started a cheese fac- tory across the road from the present High School building. Close to that time William Thompson had a cheese factory on the southwest corner of what is known as Thompsons' cor- ners, two and one half miles west of the center and one and one fourth miles south. A little later Jacob Matti began making Sweitzer cheese about two miles west of the center on the south side of the road. In fact, the first shipment from Atwater's railroad station was cheese. Butter became an important item very early. There is a record of one store shipping 20 kegs of butter to New York on October 31, 1842.

Food, according to Mrs. Arad Up- son (who came in 1802 from Connec- ticut), was mainly deer, coon, rabbit,

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and squirrel. It took a forty to forty- five mile trip to get meal. When they could, they had pies and fried cakes made with bear grease for shortening and wild bees honey for sweetening.

RELY ON MISSIONARIES

As to clothing, all it took to be a well dressed girl in the early 1800's was a home made flannel dress and a pair of calf-skin shoes. For the most part the men wore coats, pants, and shoes of tanned deer skin. Many of the children went without shoes.

The first sermon we know of was preached here at the home of Major Mansfield in 1808 by Rev. Leslie. Then for a time they were dependent on the visits of missionaries and on prayer meetings in various homes. On March 20, 1818, eleven people organ- ized the beginning of what is now the Congregational Church. They first met in homes, then in a log school house. In 1822 a small brick church was built and used until the stately white church, still on the village green, was dedicated on Nov. 7, 1841 by Prof. Hickox.

In 1821 the Methodists built a hewn log meeting house on the northwest corner of the square; next they used a school house purchased by them; then they built and used the building which they sold in 1869 to the town and which is still in use as a Commu- nity Hall. In 1870 they built what is the main part of their present build- ing and it was dedicated by Rev. Moses Hill.

In 1850 a group which had a church in Stark County since 1836 bought land on the northwest corner one and one-fourth miles east and two and one-half miles south of the center. Here they built the Evangelical Prot- estant Trinity Church with its own cemetery. Services in German were

held there until 1915. On Sept. 23, 1951 a nice Memorial was dedicated to what was affectionately known as "The Little Dutch Church" and what it had stood for in this town.

LATER CHURCHES

In June, 1933, a Sunday School was organized by the Goodyear Heights Church School Board of the Nazarene Church. It met in a building just west of the railroad depot. On July 14, 1937 the Nazarene Church was organ- ized with forty-one members, by Rev. Jesse C. Brannon. They now have a nice building between the center and the high school.

On June 27, 1954, the Baptist church was organized in what was the primary school building with Rev. Harlan Bower in charge, and 49 mem- bers.

The first school was a log building on the southwest corner of the square not far from the present Congrega- tional church. Mrs. Almon Chittenden was given as the first teacher in 1806 or 1807. The second school is thought to have been in the southwest part of the township.

A statement from the office of Caleb Atwater, County Auditor in 1849, shows ten schools or sub-dis- tricts as they were called, with teach- ers' salaries ranging from $4.62 to $43.54 per term. In the account of 1885 "average monthly pay for female teachers $21; of male teachers $39" was reported.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNITE

In the school year of 1905-06 the building now known as the Baptist Tabernacle was first used. Attending there were those from the Station who had gone to the present K. of P. hall; those from the center district who had used a building 1/4 mile east of the

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center on the south side of the road; those from the Mowen district who were brought in a school wagon driv- en by George Mowen and those from the Douthitt district in a school wag- on driven by Chester Keys. In the au- tumn of 1917 the present high school building was first used and the entire township was consolidated.

In 1922-23 it was necessary to use the former high school building to relieve the crowding and the first three grades were moved down there. A Smith-Hughes Department was be- gun that year with John Black as teacher. In the autumn of 1952 an auditorium, cafeteria and six new classrooms were added and at this writing another six room addition is well underway.

In the middle of the preceding cen- tury Atwater for a time had an acad- emy. This went under the name of the Linnean Academy.

In the spring of 1801 Pittsburgh and Meadville, Penna., were still the nearest post offices. That autumn mail began to come to Warren, Ohio. It often cost more than a bushel of wheat to send a letter and took weeks for one to get to Connecticut.

The first post office in Atwater was established at the center in 1824 with Caleb Atwater Jr. as postmaster for twenty-two years. He was succeeded by Jonathan M. Alden on Nov. 30, 1846. E. S. Goodman and Clarence Green were also postmasters there.

POSTOFFICE OPENS

On Sept. 23, 1853 a post office was opened at the station in the first building west of the tracks on the south side of the street. The post- master was Homer Hillyer, great, great uncle of Earl Hillyer who has been post master since May 23, 1936. In between were Addison Wolcott,

Thomas C. Purdy, John F. Howley, William F. Burns, Alexander V. Will- sey, H. H. Woolf, Zephaniah Cru- baugh, George W. Heiser, Frank N. Henry, Fred G. Needham (acting post- master) and Charles E. Spires in that order.

The first rural mail carriers were Everett Ellison, Wesley Strong, (fa- ther of Chet Strong, a well known At- water farmer) and Lester Dawes. They furnished their own horse and wagon on a salary of $500 a year. Bert Wil- lard was the carrier for the star route to Randolph. His son Clifford later carried mail for years in Atwater. By that time the post office was in the first building on the east side of the tracks on the north side of the street where it remained until 1938 when it was moved to its present location a short ways north. In 1917 the rural carriers here gave up their horses and began using cars.

There have been many fraternal and cultural organizations in Atwater some of which are: 1889 Atwater Tent No. 64 Knights of Maccabees; 1893 Atwater Hive No. 5 Ladies of the Maccabees; 1893 Lodge of the Knights of Pythias; 1909 Pythian Sisters Tem- ple No. 370; Atwater Grange and Farm Bureau.

NEWSPAPER ESTABLISHED

A prospectus of about a years' copies of the "Sharp Sickle," a news- paper edited and printed by William Hick in his print shop on Bank Street, is still in existence and will soon be placed in the Portage County Histori- cal Society Building. The paper was

In earlier days a "still house" referred to a distillery. The pantry was some- times called the "buttery," and the parlor was referred to as the "front room."

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Road maintenance in former days. A scraper was used, powered by a steam engine.

printed until shortly before his death in 1879. It is quite unique and most interesting as you can see by the open- ing paragraph. Quote, "I purpose issu- ing a small monthly sheet made up entirely of original matter and no ad- vertisements except one or two of my own. It will contain four pages and like its title will be sharp-a little crooked perhaps-like its owner and being slightly corrugated at the edges it will find plenty of work cutting at the rotten ripe fields of straw men and bad institutions binding up the tares to be burned but gathering up the wheat into garner of Christ and a true church." He used as his heading an illustration of a sickle and Revelation, Chapter fourteen and the fifteenth verse, "Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time has come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." William Hick was the grandfather of Mattie Hick Stone of Atwater and her brother, Harry J. Hick, of Alliance through whose kindness this prospec- tus was made available.

The first copy of the newspaper called the Atwater News was dated Aug. 9, 1884. The editor was W. T. McConney. He lists the following bus-

iness places to acquaint his readers with the town at that time:

W. T. McConney, Druggist since 1881; Stanford & Mendenhall-Furni- ture & Undertakers; Baith & Jackson -dealers in dry goods & groceries (successors to Brush, Alden and Brush); Homer H. Woolf-dealer in hardware, glass, paints, etc. also rail- road express agent; Porter & McKan- ara-dealer in fresh fish & salt meats; L. B. Sanford-dealer in stoves, tin- ware, etc .; John Spires & Sons-man- ufacturers of stoneware-churns, jars & jugs since 1879-employing 15 men; W. A. Loomis - proprietor of Atwat- er Hotel, also has dental office; Geo. Stroup-manufacturer of stoneware; Jones & Thomas-blacksmithing; W. S. Sheehan-barbershop; E. T. French -harness maker & saddler for 8 years; Vernon Bryan-marble dealer for 8 years; G. H. Yonts-manufacturer of boots & shoes since 1875; A. V. Will- sey-postmaster, groceries, produce shipper; A. Hoffman-proprietor of American House-livery in connec- tion; M. V. Dunlap-livery & feed stable; O. A. Lyon-physician & sur- geon; At Atwater Center: Webber & Webber-general merchandise; and J.

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H. Green & Son-general store & post office.

STONEWARE MANUFACTURED

Due to the generous amounts of fine grade clay found here Atwater has had a number of stoneware com- panies. Others engaged in this busi- ness were G. B. Purdy in 1850; A. W. Loomis, Gelhart Bros. and F. A. Wol- ford, Goodman, J. W. Taylor from 1890 until burned out in 1892; Wm. Burns, F. C. Green from 1894 until burned down in 1898. The most re- cent seems to have been the Atwater Stoneware Co. which was incorporat- ed with $15,000 capital. It was located where Knapps' Lumber Company is now.

There have been numerous mining companies too, because of the large area underlaid with coal. One of the early ones was called the Atwater Coal Company. But it closed down when an explosion killed ten men. Wool- ford mined coal on the Spires land on the northwest corner of the crossroads two and one half miles east of the center. Charles Murehead was propri- etor of the Murehead Coal Bank. There have been a continuous succes- sion since. Peterson Coal Company, who started strip mining in Atwater some years ago, are still working large areas here.

Mills were very important to those early settlers. Asa Hall, the original settler, moved in 1801 from his cabin just north of the center to what is now the Deerfield-Atwater townline and a few rods north to be nearer to his Deerfield neighbors. In what is gener- ally referred to as Yellow Creek Hol- low he built Atwater's first mill. In 1805 the next mill was built. It was a frame building. About 1854 a "mu- ley" mill was built by Stacey Dole on the northwest corner of the crossroads

one and one-fourth miles west and one and one-fourth miles north of the Center. This was recently run by George Stroup.

Grannis and Company built a mill on the north bank of the stream just north of the Center on the west side of the road. It was run by cattle pow- er. He operated a grist mill there, too. David Glass ran it later with steam power. John Spires started a saw mill about 1859. It was one and one-fourth miles east and one and one-half miles north of the Center. It developed into a veritable manufacturing center for they had a planing mill; a grist mill; a pottery which made brick, tile, and earthenware crocks up to about eight gallon size. Many of these crocks were used by farmers in their sugar camps. They also made cider, apple butter, and maple syrup. The clay used here and at the potteries at Atwater Station was dug on this same property. It was later run by T. J. Spires.

About one and one-half miles north of the center John Norton had a shin- gle mill and cooper shop. A unique feature of the place was a well six or eight feet square made of logs-log cabin fashion. It was still in use in good condition within the memory of some of our present residents.

THE HEISER SHOP

The Heiser shop was two and one- half miles east of the center then one and one half miles north on the west side of the road. John C. Heiser and son George were blacksmiths. The oldest son, Lee, was a painter and upholsterer. The youngest son, Bird, was the woodworker and felly man. They made wagons and buggies. They were very busy as their products were in great demand but they had the reputation of never being too busy to help a farmer with anything he need-

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Portage heritage; a history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and townships and the men and women who have developed them; its life, institutions and biographies, facts and lore, Part 29

Author: Holm, James B Publication date: 1957 Publisher: [Kent, O., Commercial Press inc.] Number of Pages: 834

Author: Holm, James B
Publication date: 1957
Publisher: [Kent, O., Commercial Press inc.]
Number of Pages: 834