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 5

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 5

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).

When Mr. and Mrs. Edward Babcock came from Masschussetts in 1820, they were first six weeks on the way to Buffa- lo by wagon. There they boarded a scow, heading for Cleveland. Five times they were driven back by storms. Reaching Cleveland, they couldn't get their craft to a landing. Babcock then swam ashore and got a row boat and help to get their effects on shore. Their destination was Ravenna.

In 1804 roads were two rods wide. Later they were made 50 feet wide.

CHAPTER III

Organizing for Civilization

Though the general public mood just previous to statehood and erection of the county had been one of disap- pointment, inertia and despair, things soon began to look up. The establish- ment of a formal government, was one thing. Though adventurers pay little attention to that, to those who intended to bring their families and make their homes, it meant more. At least it pointed the way to better and safer living. Despite the presence of some intelligent and capable men al- ready on the scene, there was still con- fusion and skepticism. Civilization as they knew it back east, had not yet be- gun to "jell."

But the natural resources were there. Cheap land was for sale. Grad- ually the advantages of the region be- came known elsewhere. The flow of immigration, which had been a slow trickle, soon became a steady stream and, in time, a flood. There had been a few years of extremely cold weather, with loss of crops, in the East, which impelled many families there to seek a "warmer climate." They headed hopefully to New Connecticut, al- though Ohio had also suffered much from cold weather in the same period. Begining about 1810, and continuing for two or three decades thereafter was the county's heyday for new set- tlers. They came mostly from New England at first, particularly Connecti- cut; from Massachussetts, "York

State," Pennsylvania and Virginia, all filled with the same ambition-to ac- quire land and make a living.

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Original purchasers of the land in lots, also set up a quiet but indirect boosting campaign in order to hasten sales. Later on, this took on greater proportions. David Hudson, founder of Hudson village, came here in 1799. At first he couldn't even locate the land he had bought sight unseen. He wrote that he was heartily sick of his venture and longed to go back home to stay. He did go back home the next year but when there he vigorously boosted the land he had for sale and in the following year came back to Hudson with several others, plenty of provisions and money, this time to stay.

In his "History of the Western Re- serve", Historian Harlan Hatcher says; "The Portage County towns were more isolated and developed slowly. The county was too far west for easy travel from the Mahoning, and too far south from the lake. Portage towns remained scattered and small for half a century."

To get here immigrants at first of- ten found no roads at all. The Great Trail which led across the county, was at first improved in sections through Ravenna and Kent about 1803 in or- der to move goods through. About the

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same time the Atwater-Georgetown road, 40 miles in length, was cut. The Mills brothers then ran a road across Nelson, probably to help their busi- ness of hotel keeping. In 1799 Ebe- nezer Sheldon had laid out a road toward Cleveland from Aurora and in 1802 the Ravenna-Burton road was cut. Rootstown got a road in 1805 and in the same year Col. Garrett laid out a road to his mill at Garrettsville. But not until the county was formed in 1807 did road building get under way in earnest. Those first roads were generally pretty poor affairs, more like trails than highways. They seldom could be used for wagons but did ac- commodate horse and sled travel.

COUNTY SEAT WANTED

After the county had been set up, one of the first requirements was the selection of a county seat. Naturally, a central location was preferred. Ra- venna township had been settled early and showed promise. Its first citizen and leading land owner was Benjamin Tappan who had settled the town. He was desirous of having the county seat located at Ravenna and with good rea- son. Town lots were being laid out

there. Aaron Olmsted was a large land owner in Franklin township and want- ed the county seat put at Franklin Mills. As the county at that time was much larger than at present, extending beyond Akron, Franklin Mills was still more centrally located. It became a contest and this dragged on. Olm- sted never lived here, being an "ab- sentee landlord," though he was here briefly, but he had an able lieutenant in Capt. John Campbell, founder of Campbellsport, who apparently did not see eye to eye with Tappan in var- ious ways. Olmsted agreed, that if the court house was erected in Franklin, he would donate all the land needed for county use. There was a mild "court house war." According to the story handed down, the committee in charge of selection had virtually agreed on the Franklin location and Campbell personally selected the court house site, which was between the present Standing Rock cemetery and the township school. But fate took a hand. Before the recommendation could be made Olmsted died in the East, leaving no authorized agent here to carry out his wishes and the prize

Township Lots

Townships of the county were laid out in lots for purposes of locating property, but the lots varied in number. Writer C. M. Young of Hiram calls attention to the fact that Hiram was laid out in 50 symmetrical lots. The lots were numbered by beginning with No. 1 in the upper left or northwest corner of the map and numbered to the right, then numbering back from east to west on the next horizontal line and so on until No. 50 was reached in the southwest corner. A somewhat similar system was used in Franklin town- ship except that the beginning was made in the lower right, or southeast corner. In other townships different systems were used and some seem to have had no system at all, or even a starting point. The number of lots in the townships are: Aurora 42, Mantua 42, Hiram 50, Nelson 52, Streetsboro 100, Shalersville 110, Franklin 81, Ravenna 66, Charles- town 81, Paris 42, Brimfield 64, Rootstown 48, Edinburg 27, Palmyra 32, Suffield 50, Randolph 100, Atwater 132, Deerfield 100. Lots were of varying size and shape.

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finally went to Tappan's town of Ra- venna. This was in 1808.

It was still a county much in name only. Actual government machinery still had to be set up. Taxes were still being collected from Warren. In 1808 the land tax receipts were: Franklin, $46.82; Deerfield, $48.78; Aurora, $38.17; Hiram, $36.31; Springfield, $34.97; Hudson, $81.71. In personal taxes Franklin paid $35.00; Deerfield, $48.96; Aurora, $12.30; Hiram, $23 .- 40; Springfield, $26.60; Hudson, $55 .- 60.

Entire taxes levied in the year 1808- 1809 were $3,247.71 over a large ter- ritory including Portage County.

FIRST COURT HELD

Before Portage County was set up, all judicial business had been transact- ed at Warren, except the small amount done by local justices of the peace. The committee in charge of determin- ing the county seat reported its find- ings to the Common Pleas court at Warren and proper entries made. A new court was set up and the first session was to be held at Tappan's home. One story, long repeated, was that on the day set it was found that Tappan's home had been burned the night before so that adjournment was made to the Robert Eaton home. But this story is disputed.

The record of the first session of the Portage County Court of Common Pleas reads as follows:

"State of Ohio, County of Portage, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 1808. This day being the appointed day for the sitting of the Common Pleas Court for said county, the court opened, present Calvin Pease, Esq., president, and William Wetmore, Aaron Norton and Amzi Atwater, Esq.,

Portage County Court House, finished in 1830.

Associate Judges.

"The report of Robert Simison, Sam- uel Hunter and Rezin Beall, Commis- sioners appointed to fix the seat of jus- tice for the County of Portage, was made to the Court, which, being read, was ordered to be recorded.

"Ordered that the court adjourn til 2 o'clock in the afternoon to meet at the home of Robert Eaton.

"Tuesday, 2 o'clock, afternoon, court opened pursuant to adjournment. Pres- ent, the same judges as in the morning.

"The Grand Jury, being called, came, to wit: Ebenezer Pease, Samuel Bishop, David Hudson, Robert Bissell, Moses Thompson, Stephen Baldwin, Samuel Andrus, Jacob Reed, John Campbell, Wiley Hamilton, Ethe!bert Baker, Alfred Wolcott, John Hutton, Jeremiah Root and David Abbott. The court appointed David Hudson, Esq., foreman of the

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grand jury, and the jury being sworn and affirmed were charged by the court and sent out."

OMISSION EXPLAINED

The tradition about the court's first meeting place was long a subject for argument but A. B. Griffin, a Raven- na historian, once mayor, had this to say on the subject in a public letter in 1869:

"The Journal (of the commissioners) giving an account of the first court held in Portage County, Aug. 23, 1808, says it met and organized; but it does not say where it met, or at what time of day. It does say it adjourned to meet the same day at the house of Robert Eaton. Of course the first meeting was held in the forenoon-somewhere.

"Three questions arise here:

"First-Why was not the court held at the Tappan house as directed by the Legislature?

"Second, why was the second session held at the Eaton house?

"I think I can give a reasonable an- swer to each of these questions;

"First, Mr. Tappan was at that time for some reason, held in bad repute by some of his neighbors; so much so that his life was in constant jeopardy; indeed, he was obliged to devise means to protect himself from bullets, which made their way into his house at night- fall.

"With such a state of feeling existing, it is very probable that the commissioners deemed it unwise to hold the meeting at his home.

OPEN AIR COURT HOUSE

"Second, the court must be held some- where and as there was no place secured for it when the time arrived, it was de- cided to build a room for it at once- at least to organize in. This was ac- complished as follows: a small square was marked out on a plot of ground lo- cated on the road leading to Campbell- sport (then called Campbell's Corners.) near where the P. & W. railroad crosses it now. At each of the four corners of this square a crotched post was planted. Poles were laid from crotch to crotch around this square. Boards were laid across these poles and brush laid on the boards. This answered for a covering overhead. As it was warm weather, sides were not needed. A rude bench and table were provided for the judge.

"It was very probable that while the court was in session the commissioners secured a room in the Eaton house, which was located a short distance from where the court was then sitting. Indeed, it was their only chance, for there was but one house at that time on the plat of Raven- na village and that was a small house. It was located near where Waterman's Drug store now stands. One house was as central then as either of the others.

"On receiving the report of the com- missioners, the court adjourned to meet

Primitive Hauling Device

Bela Hubbard came to Randolph in 1802 with a yoke of oxen pulling a "dray" on which was a supply of flour, hams and tools. A dray was a contrivance made of the crotched wood of a tree, hewed smooth underneath and strengthened with cross pieces. Upon this the load was placed and dragged by oxen or horses. Sometimes it was called a "sled" from which the term, "sled road", originated. This contrivance was used by many of the early settlers, both in traveling here and afterwards. It is doubtful if many first migrants came into the Western Reserve by covered wagon. If they did so they found the Reserve woods impassable for wagons and continued the rest of the way by horseback, foot or otherwise. Those coming through Pennsylvania by the "southern route" found rough roads as far as Youngstown. Farther on, nothing but paths. Land travel west of Erie, Pa., was nearly impossible until later.

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at the Eaton house that same afternoon. From that time, until the new court house was finished in 1810 the court continued its sessions there. The house was located about two and one half miles Southeast from Ravenna Village. It is still standing, now occupied by a family by the name of Rhodes. This house stands on, or near, the "Great Trail" which passed through Ravenna Town- ship running near the South line of Ra- venna village. The trail was known all through this region as the great Indian thoroughfare through Northern Ohio, reaching from the Ohio River to Lake. Erie. The Indians had passed and re- passed through this beaten path from time immemorial. Traces of this trail were to be seen as late as 1838.

"I do not know how to account for the tradition concerning the first court unless the sparseness of the settlers at that time was responsible for it. When we remember that the second house built in Portage County was built in 1800, and that this mushroom house was built in 1808, we must conclude that the set- tlers in the county were few and far be- tween. On this account, news would be slow in reaching the settlers, especially in the outer townships. Probably it was known that on a certain day, the court was to be held and at the Tappan house. It is also probable that the settlers, being so far away, and having no business with the court and crowded with business at home, did not care to attend. And, it is possible, if not probable, that some person who was not in Ravenna at the time the court was held, learning that it was not held in the Tappan House and, not knowing of the mushroom house, might have said in the presence of some neighbor, that the Tappan house must have burned, possibly said in jest, or pos- sibly too in earnest, knowing the feeling existing against Mr. Tappan. Be that as it may, the bare suggestion that it was burned might easily, as it passed from one to another, be accepted as a fact and in course of time become traditional his- tory; special credence might have been

Benjamin Tappan, Jr., first settler of Ravenna and later U. S. Senator.

given to the report from the fact that the Tappan house was located some distance from the road and but little travel on the road at that time. The particulars concerning the mushroom courtroom were learned from a worthy citizen of Ravenna, who is still living, whose father was contemporary of Mr. Tappan and was his nearest neighbor. He says that when a boy, he often heard his father talk about it. He well remembers hearing his father give to his neighbors, who were not posted in the matter (those neighbors lived miles apart) the particu- lars concerning the construction of that court room. This account of the court room being satisfactorily established as I regard it, we can readily see why the clerk in making up his minutes, failed to name the place of the first session. It was not easy for him to fill the blank, therefore he cut it short by saying," The court met and organized, then adjourned to meet the same afternon at the house of Robert Eaton."

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Had the Tappan house burned, as tradition has it, it would have been perfectly natural for him to have said in his Journal, "the Tappan house having burned, the court was held at the house of Robert Eaton."

August, 1869. A. B. GRIFFIN

Actually, when the county seat was designated, the town of Ravenna did not yet exist. A single permanent building stood within the later limits of the town. Tappan's home was in the township. To speak of neighbors was in a relative sense. A number of scattered homes out Campbellsport way were the only evidences of civili- zation.

MANTUA SETTLED

In pre-settlement days perhaps hundreds of white men had passed through the territory. These included trappers, traders, prospectors, soldiers and surveyors. Some tarried weeks or months before moving on. It is the permanent settlers with whom we are most concerned.

Although at this date it seems to us that numerous immigrants came in about the same time, it is shown by books and records that to Mantua township goes the honor of having the first permanent settler in Portage

County. The man was Abraham Hon- ey. He came in 1798 and in the fall of the year, cleared off a tract there. It appears that in the same year Peter French also came to Mantua, built a cabin and planted some wheat, then changed his mind about his location and moved away to Mentor. In a couple of years Honey moved to Hi- ram and though having the distinction of being Mantua's first settler, he was- n't permanent after all. William Crooks arrived soon after Honey, and Rufus Edwards, who came in 1799, was there to stay.

In the following year, several set- tlers came in to stay. Ebenezer Shel- don found a home in Aurora, and Benjamin Tappan, Jr. reached Raven- na to develop land. In Deerfield Lewis Day, Horatio Day and Lewis Ely ar- rived with the intention of staying. Atwater puts in a claim that her first settlement was second only to that of Mantua. Mr. and Mrs. Asa Hall came there to stay in 1799, early in the year. David Daniels arrived in Palmyra the same year. By this time others were on their way or planning to come. The various early arrivals are describ- ed separately in the chapters for town- ships or towns.

Brady's Mission Backfired

What was Capt. Samuel Brady doing in this country when he had his trouble with the Indians and made his celebrated "Leap" across the Cuyahoga? His home was in Pennsylvania. First New England settlers here had no particular feeling against the Indians and got along with them fairly well. But they were amazed by the attitude of Pennsylvania people who also came in. The Pennsylvanians and Virginians had an undy- ing hatred against redskins. To them, it was a duty to kill Indians in any manner, whether in battle or by shooting them in the back. The redskins were as vermin. The slaughter at Gnaddenhutten was such an expression. Capt. Brady was here on an Indian killing mission when he almost lost his own life. So was Col. Crawford, the much publicized man who was burned at the stake.

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One of earliest bridges spanning river at Franklin Mills.

The newcomers did not always know where to locate their property and often had to do some hunting to get settled on it. Benjamin Tappan, Jr., supposed the land he had bought was in Randolph township, as he de- sired, but found it was miles further north.

NEW COURT HOUSE BUILT

When the county seat itself became a reality, the next thing necessary was a court house. The County Cominis- sioners Journal of Dec. 5, 1809, con- tains the following entry:

"Mr. William Tappan (brother of Benjamin) entered into an agreement on behalf of himself and John Tap- pan, to erect at the seat of justice in Ravenna, at their own expense, a court house forty feet long, thirty feet wide and twenty feet high, the lower story to be finished for the accommodation of the court, etc .; to build a log jail two stories high, twenty-five feet long and twenty feet wide; the lower story to contain three rooms and a chimney to contain two fire-places, one on each

story; and the said William and John Tappan, on completion of said court house and jail, are to receive those lots given by Benjamin Tappan for use of the county."

An earlier historian says that he was unable to find anything on record showing that Tappan had actually given the lots mentioned, to the coun- ty. How the other Tappans actually got their pay for the erection of the buildings is not clear, but Benjamin Tappan did donate some lots to the town of Ravenna and these may be the ones involved.

But the court house and jail went up in 1810.

FIRST ACTUAL SETTLERS

With the new county government in working order, new townships were laid out and by 1822, all townships were fully organized, except one. At this point it might be worth while to set down the names and dates of first permanent local settlers. They are:

Atwater-Mr. and Mrs. Asa Hall, 1799. Aurora-Ebenezer and Lovey Sheldon 1799.

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Brimfield-John Boosinger, 1816. Charlestown-John and Sarah Camp- bell, 1805.

Deerfield-Lewis and Horatio Day, 1799. Edinburg-Eber Abbott, 1811.

Franklin - John and Sally Haymaker, 1805.

Freedom-Charles H. Paine, 1818.

Garrettsville-Col. John Garrett, 1804.

Hiram-Elijah Mason, Elisha Hutchin- son, Mason Tilden, 1802.

Mantua-Abraham Honey, 1798.

Nelson-The Mills brothers, 1800.

Palmyra-David Daniels, 1799.

Paris-Richard Hudson, 1811.

Randolph-Bela Hubbard and Salmon Ward, 1802.

Ravenna-Benj. Tappan, Jr., 1799. Rootstown-Ephriam Root, 1800.

Shalersville, Joel Baker, 1806.

Streetsboro-Stephen Myers, Jr., 1822. Suffield-Royal Pease, 1802.

Windham - Elijah and Oliver Alford, Ebenezer and Nathan Messenger, 1811.

In considering the earlier life of the new county it should be kept in mind that several townships to the west still belonged to it. For thirty years one township, Hudson, with the largest population and wealth, exert- ed much influence on early Portage affairs. Others were Stow, Tallmadge, Springfield, Coventry, Portage, North- hampton, Boston, Twinsburg, and Northfield, now in Summit County.

LIFE Is ROUGH

Those who came here did so ex- pecting to encounter forests and other features of a wild land and they were not disappointed. Immigrants, in traveling here, had to come through

an inhospitable wilderness. After lands were located, the first thing to do was to build a cabin or shelter. Sometimes this was merely a tempor- ary affair to last only until better ma- terial could be obtained for the first permanent house. First homes were in- variably houses of round logs, chink- ed with mud. Owners put up a fire- place and the chimney was usually of timber and clay. Stone fireplaces came later. Much depended on what tools a pioneer had to work with. With only an axe and knife to use, he could not be too particular. But if he had an auger, an adz, a frow and a draw shave, the settler could even off logs for a puncheon floor, square them and do other things. Few cabins had more than one room and furniture was primitive, indeed. Families slept on the floor, using a rough pallet. Later, they put up poles and made a rough loft for sleeping purposes. A table of some sort, of course, was a necessity, but this was easily constructed. Chairs and seats could be made from sticks. Benches were common. If the immi- grant had been forethoughted enough to bring some dishes and utensils, that was fine, but some families had no- thing but a knife and fork and spoon at first but sometimes forks and spoons were fashioned from wood, as were platters. Eating with the fingers was a common procedure. Gourds were highly prized as material for

Charcoal burning was a recognized calling in early days. A pile of selected wood was set on fire, then covered with earth and the burning went on until charcoal was produced. This was prized for iron and steel working. But the pit had to be watched day and night until the operation was complete, lest the fire be uncovered and the batch burn up com- pletely. Horace Hollister of Palmyra township had a wide reputation as an expert char- coal burner.

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water vessels. Luckily, older settlers helped the newer ones to set up homes and advise them otherwise.

VEGETABLE GARDENS WANTED

But the settler usually intended to make his living from the soil. To do this, a clearing must be made. A glade, or open space in the woods, was a godsend. Otherwise the great trees must be felled and burned. The smoke of burning timber hung over the country for years. Much drainage had to be done. Removal of stumps was another hard job. After a clearing was made a crop of some kind was planted- wheat corn or barley, depending on the season. Seeds were precious. It was a rough sort of existence but each one figured that an easier life would come to them soon. The little grain they had to be ground or mashed with a home made pestle made of heavy stone. It was a case of necessity being the mother of invention.

The question of food was an im- portant one. Later writers seemed to think that the game and fish supplies at their doors of settlers were suffic- ient. But early residents longed for bread and vegetables as well as meat. They could get salt from the salt springs and sugar from the maple trees, or from wild honey, but a var- iety was needed. Vegetable gardens appeared as soon as homes went up and the weather cleared.

Previous to 1810, virtually all hous- es and buildings were of the log varie- ty. Sawmills then came and aspirations developed for frame houses. Very few frame buildings existed at first but there was occasionally a rough brick

Calvin Pease, first Common Pleas judge of Portage County.

or stone habitation. Some of the Tap- pan family had frame homes as early as 1808 but Franklin Mills had no frame house until 1814. Moses Smith put up a frame barn in Ravenna in 1810. Randolph had a frame barn in 1806.

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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 5

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