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 8

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 8

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).

Whether in town or country, in summer the housewife fought swarm after swarm of flies. They moved in after the mosquitoes had lessened. They were all through the house and one member of the family often had to shoo them from the table with a switch while the others ate. Screen doors and windows were not yet known. Unkown to all, these pests bred in the ever present swill or gar- bage barrel just outside the house, or the manure piles that adjoined the barns. Some of the older people today can remember the extent of this in- sect pest, but then no one realiz-

ed that flies were carriers of disease. The necessity of sanitation and clean- liness was not yet understood.

Household comforts and aids came slowly. Usually the first improvement was when crude stoves replaced fire- places for warmth and cooking. Win- dow glass was then welcomed and homes were better lighted. Ready made cloth removed the drudgery of spinning. Cutlery and crockery were eagerly sought. Oil lamps replaced the tallow candles and best of all, came the sewing machine. Added to these was the use of air tight, sealed cans for preserving fruits and vegetables.

After 1825 log buildings were sel- dom erected. Public buildings and churches were wanted and these were also of frame construction. In the homes the built-in woodshed was as popular as the built-in garage more than one hundred years later.

SPINNING WHEELS BUSY

The earliest settlers at first copied the clothes and styles of the Indians to a certain extent. The fringed long- tailed shirts and breeches were made of dressed skins and could stand the hard wear of briar and bush; also, cold winds and snake bite would not pene- trate. Boots and shoes were made from hides, in a rough way. Sometimes people made their own, but sometimes the job was turned over to a traveling cobbler. who often was called on to make up a year's supply.

The women brought their spinning wheels and hand looms with them when they could, and as soon as land was cleared, planted flax. There were usually sheep and from the wool and

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flax they made their own cloth. This was linsey woolsey, so often mention- ed in early histories. In this, the looser homespun woollen yarns were woven as a weft, or filler, on a linen warp.

But they wore this rough clothing because they had to do so and when silk and broad cloth became available, and they could afford it, they bought them as people do the world over. There were no classes then-with rare exceptions. All were poor together and completely dependent on each other. All were part of a friendly fam- ily community. The needs of each were considered by all. When sickness or death came, the neighbors were there to help. When there was a death, neighbors "sat up" with the corpse.

The women had their quilting bees and Bible societies, and the men had their log rollings and shooting match- es. The families gathered for the cabin raisings or the barn raisings, the corn huskings and square dances where such was allowed, and the camps for making maple syrup where "boiling" went on through the night. But the preacher usually arrived at the frontier before the teacher.

FORESTS COME DOWN

The wedding was the greatest frolic of all. There was a lot of food, drink and merriment at the bride's home during the wedding, with dancing at night, and probably a "belling" later.

All this time men kept up their at- tack on the forest. "Get the trees out of the way", was the word. To save work they sometimes used their axes to cut only half way through a giant tree trunk, as much in a row as they could. Then, when the wind was

right, they felled the trees on the windward side, crashing them against the slashed trunks to tumble them down to the ground like a row of giant dominoes.

Ordinarily, the early farmers thresh- ed their grain with a flail. If a wooden floor wasn't available the threshing was done on a hard clay spot. Best time for the threshing was a clear dry and windy day. The flail was a long stick, loosely tied to a shorter stick. The operator beat the grain with the small end of the flail until the grain lay exposed, but among the chaff. The grain then was winnowed by placing it in a linen sheet. Two men then seized the ends and tossed the stuff into the air and the wind blew the chaff away, leaving the grain. After this, it was sifted through a coarse sieve. It was slow, laborious work and it is no wonder first mechanical fan- ning mills soon appeared, crude as they were.

"BOG IRON" FOUND

Hay forks were likely to be merely sharpened forked sticks. Iron was at first hard to get and unless tools were brought in, there was no way to get iron utensils until iron was manufac- tured around home. Many of the sur- rounding counties had "bog iron" ore, a sort of law grade material with which rough iron foundries were started. But since Portage county was located on higher ground, not enough of such ore could be found here to use advantageously. Yet, occasionally small deposits were found here. Edin- burg was one township with such de- posits.

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In this era the population of the county increased steadily, but there was no great concentration. It was scattered pretty evenly over the dis- trict.

In 1799, Lewis Day and three others came to Deerfield with a one-horse wagon, which Historian Harlan Hat- cher says was the first wagon coming over the mountains to reach the coun- ty. How they accomplished this is a mystery although Deerfield was then about the end of a rough road from Youngstown and Canfield. Possibly the men had to push the wagon as much as anything. But from that time on, other settlers, too, wanted wagons, though it was a long time before wa- gons could be made at home.

It was a period, too, when disease was rampant. Probably the most com- mon ailment was malaria, or ague, then called the "shakes." The pre- valence of stagnant water with many mosquitos today explains why this was the case. While many persons died, many others came through all right. At that time they began to use quin- ine as ague medicine. It was the chil- dren who suffered most from other diseases. Lack of sanitation and know- ledge of proper food left a wake of sickness and death. A family that rais- ed six or eight children, expected to lose two or three others. The early graveyards contained numerous graves of children under three years of age. It was tragic. An early Mantua writer says that in a 25 year period there, 45 deaths out of the 67 were those of children under three.

COFFINS MADE TO ORDER

Cemeteries were laid out early enough, but for various reasons many people then chose to bury their dead on their own premises, which of course would not be permitted today. Funerals could be formal, or other- wise. After churches were erected, the funeral from the church was the es- tablished thing. Professional under- takers came later and the more expert carpenters were called upon to make coffins according to individual needs. There were at first no hearses and the "bier"-a low platform made to carry the coffin-was used.

State law still permitted whipping as punishment for crimes and im- prisonment for debt. Both these pun- ishments were soon abolished. Hard characters were numerous enough but the amount of loot was necessarily on a small scale. Murder was probably as prevalent then as it is now and means of apprehending men were not very effective.

But the period that ended in 1840, without bringing any marked changes in the way of living, did see new springs of action in place and a strong belief that something different was on the way. That wonderful invention, the steam engine, was something of great importance, and the American genius was at work to bring on a great variety of labor saving machinery.

CONSERVATION RULES

Because of the manner in which land was apportioned and sold here, first settlers, of course were invariably Yankees. At first it seemed that the rougher element was in the ascen-

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dancy. But with the migrants, also, there was a surprising number of edu- cated men-graduates of Yale and other eastern schools. These soon im- pressed themselves on the country. In this list were the surveyor, the lawyer, the judge, the legislator and the gover- nor. They insisted on early establish- ment of law and order. They were also strong for education. But almost im- mediately there also came in many from Pennsylvania, from Virginia and other states, many of Scotch-Irish des- cent. Historian Harriet Upton Taylor, herself a descendant of New England- ers, deplored the penuriousness and coldness of the Yankees. Said she "It was the Scotch-Irish who made the mirth for the pioneer gatherings par- ticularly for frolic times, log rollings

and house raisings. They cared less for money than did the Yankees and the Germans, and did not leave fortunes for their descendants. They, and not the men from the state of the Blue Laws, were first in establishing and maintaining churches."

As more and more Germans and Scotch-Irish came in there was a grad- ual change in life and thought but al- together very little friction developed among these bloods. Those who came later were generally satisfied with the established order of government and business though changes were often made by general consent. Migration from New England was heavy during the first three or four decades after 1800 after which it tapered off.

Aunt Polly's Pear Tree

In stage coach days "Aunt Polly's Inn" was a well known hostelry in Hiram, located near the present cemetery. Aunt Polly was a daughter of Daniel Tilden and when she came about 1817, she brought a cutting of a pear tree. This tree flourished, bearing fruit for 150 years and was still standing, though de- crepit, in 1956. It is known as "Aunt Polly's Pear Tree."

A public township office now forgot- ton was that of the Path Marker. Duties were similar to those of a road super- visor. Laying out or maintaining some sort of local roads, but probably the roads actually were more like paths than roads of later periods. In Hiram in 1820, six Path Markers were elected. No other township appears to have designated such office. In the follwoing year 1821, supervisors were elected, presumably re- placing the Marker.

Flirtation In Rhyme

Old time boy and girl relations were not much different from what they now are-except in form. There were many occasions for social pleasure, with some- times a little flirtation. One such event in early Hiram was the occasion of send- ing out this bit of rhyme:

"Laban Hoskins, will you say Whether you will go or stay To the singing school tonight? If you will, there I'll be And you'll go home with me To our house."

What happened is now unknown but apparently the invitation was not a last- ing success. Though the writer was mar- ried later, it was not to Laban.

The Western Courier of 1835 carried advertisements for sale of tickets in the Dismal Swamp Canal lottery in Virginia. Tickets "$10.00-or in fractions." It was an $100,000.00 proposition.

CHAPTER V

They Learn Their Strength

About the beginning of the 1840 decade, a new spirit seemed to take hold of the people of Ohio. Hereto- fore, the more settled East had regard- ed Ohio as more or less of an uncouth, rough frontier state, which it prob- ably was. But the population had in- creased, commerce and industry were well under way and the Buckeyes be- gan to feel their strength. They want- ed to show the world that their state was something to be considered, thereby themselves. As it was, the state was less highly regarded and less influential than several of the older and smaller states. It was time to set the world right.

Something happened that helped this thinking. Political thought and action had been undergoing a change. The Whig party had come into exis- tence and was attracting followers steadily. In 1840, William Henry Har- rison became the Whig candidate for president for the second time. This gave the Ohio boosters a rallying point and a warmth of feeling lacking before. Harrison's rabid followers sprang into action. Vast meetings were organized, even in the small towns. The Log Cabin candidate be- came the talk of the day and the Hard Cider campaign was something to be remembered. Campaign songs were heard and marching bands were com- mon. It was many a day before the

words of the log cabin campaign song were forgotten. It began:

Oh where, tell me where

Was your Buckeye cabin made?

A real log cabin was erected on the Ravenna public square and political meetings were held all over the coun- ty, usually with good crowds. A con- temporary writer stated that most adults seemed to spend their time at political rallies. Jason Streator of Shalersville composed a number of Harrison campaign songs which were used not only at home but in other counties.

PROUD OF HARRISON

Van Buren, who had beaten Harri- son the first time, was an unpopular candidate now and Harrison was elect- ed. With an Ohio man in the White House, Ohio was indeed on the map. Portage county was deep in the cam- paign. Never had its people been so greatly stirred politically. Harrison's election seemed to inspire people to seek new triumphs. At first, there had been no mail facilities. In 1801, the nearest postoffice was located at Meadville, Pa. Warren got a postof- fice late that year and about 1805 a mail route was inaugurated from Warren to Ravenna and on to Cleve- land. A postoffice was then soon es- tablished at Ravenna. This service was gradually enlarged to include all parts of the county. At first, mail

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came through every two weeks, then once a week and still later, twice a week and then daily.

At that time, letters were sent col- lect, there being no pre-paid stamp service. If the addressee could not pay, he got no letter. Money was scarce and often an important letter could not be received because of poverty.

It is recorded that John Diver, of Deerfield, about 1825, got a mail carrying contract between New Lis- bon and Mansfield, through Canton, that lasted 40 years.

In 1826 the editor of the Courier at Ravenna called attention to Ravenna's excellent mail facilities, boasting that in one year there had been 727 ar- rivals and departures of mails at and from the town.

In 1840, too, another event took place, but this one had a more de- pressing effect on Portage County people. Up to this time the county had been a sub-division approximate- ly thirty miles broad and twenty-five miles deep. Now the people living in the western section wanted a county of their own. These townships were Twinsburg, Hudson, Stow, Tall- madge, Springfield, Northfield, Bos- ton, Northampton, Portage and Cov- entry, which, together with certain Medina and Stark townships, formed the new county. Apparently this move was a surprise to Portage county people.

COUNTY Is DIVIDED

Clever maneuvering had brought the matter to a legislative vote before many were aware of the plan, but the bill went through by a very close vote. It may be that more of a discus- sion would have prevented the split- up of the county, though no one can be sure. The action was taken Feb. 25, 1840, effective in March, and three days later, when the news reached Ak- ron there was a celebration with pa- rades, barbecue, picnics and speeches. Some things were said not very sooth- ing to wounded Portage feelings. One man said, "Portage, Stark, Medina- among them they have hatched a great eagle, full fledged and on the wing. She will soar above them all."

Akron was then a village smaller than Hudson or Ravenna. It became the county seat, though Cuyahoga Falls almost got the prize.

This was the period, too, when the so-called Millerites gained many con- verts in this part of Ohio. People were swept off their feet by the promises made. Some of their teachings became unpopular, particularly their theory of "spiritual affinity" between men and women. The end of the world, with Ascension Day on April 23, 1844, was predicted and great prepar- ations made for it. But when the world failed to come to an end, the sect suffered loss of prestige and eventually faded out, despite protests

Artemus Ruggles, who came to Palmyra in 1803, was a man of many accomplish- ments. By training he was a blacksmith, said to have been able to make anything from a needle to a bear trap. He was a farmer and trapper as well, and in addition to that practiced dentistry. He had a home-made "turnikey" for extracting teeth, and according to stories left, when the tooth came out he held it up and laughed at the sufferings of the patient.

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that only an "error" in calculation had been made but discovered too late.

MORMONS DEPART

By this time the Mormons had been forced from Portage county despite their efforts to establish a stronghold at Hiram. Many then believed, as do many at present, that the place had been marked to be the Mormon cap- ital instead of Kirtland. Only a few adherents of the faith remained after Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were so roughly treated that they left for good. But after the P. & O. canal had been in operation a few years there was an unusual reminder of Mormons here. Accordingly to older historians, a party of 150 Mormons were proceeding westerly on the ca- nal, and when it reached Campbells- port, the voyageurs discovered they had taken the wrong route toward their destination at Nauvoo, Illinois, then the center of church operations. The travelers were held up one week at Campbellsport, and then retraced their route, proceeding down the Ohio River to Illinois. It is pointed out that one of the canal boat pas- sengers through the county was Jen- nie Lind, the famous Swedish singer of earlier days.

The '40s and '50s were the heyday of the P. & O. canal, and all others as well. The expanding commerce needed transportation and the canal furnished it then. The boats were al- ways loaded with goods and pas- sengers. Nobody then suspected that a young canal hand named Jim Gar- field, employed on the "Evening Star", would later be heard from in a

Stephen Myers, Jr., first settler in Streetsboro.

big way. Nor could they know that a few years later he would appear at Hiram as janitor, student and instruc- tor in the Eclectic Institute there, still later to be its head. His labors were indeed prodigious. History has a way of hiding its giants until they are fully developed.

By this time that strange John Brown had left Franklin Mills but his various activities were watched with interest by old friends and acquain- tances and when he was hanged for treason at Harper's Ferry, they were shocked and unbelieving. Bells werc tolled everywhere and there was a surge of sentiment against slavery. John Brown lived and worked in Franklin Mills in 1835 and a few years thereafter. Newspapers of the time tell of the great meeting held

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in Ravenna on the day after Brown's execution. This was on Dec. 3, 1859. There was an enormous crowd pres- ent, with several addresses and con- siderable emotion was displayed. In Franklin Mills where Brown had lived, there was another immense meeting and bells were tolled. Meet- ings of this kind undoubtedly did much to get Northerners in a state of mind for a show-down over slavery.

UNDERGROUND TRAVEL

In these decades that surprising in- stitution called the Underground Rail- road came into operation in Portage County, though no chugging locomo- tives advertised its presence. It was part of a much larger "railroad" sy- stem. Its operation usually was in the silence of the night. Portage County was strongly anti-slavery and several towns were "stations" on the line that carried runaway black men to free- dom. Probably there were not as many "passengers" carried as stories indi- cate, but the traffic was continuous. People like to tell of regular routes, but it is also probable that many tem- porary routes were followed in order to throw pursuers off the track. Ran- dolph, Ravenna and Hiram were re- ported to be on the most favored route though the necessary secrecy of the work makes detailed description difficult in later years. But virtually every town and township had houses that were pointed out as Underground stations.

HAIL THE CANAL

The opening of the Pennsylvania & Ohio canal in 1840, meant a great deal to Portage County people. It had been eagerly sought and great expectations were held out for it. The county had been looking forward to its operation for fourteen years.

The Ohio Star, April 3, 1840 pub- lished an account of the "Harrison Convention" held in Ravenna in 1840, at the time the canal was completed. The Star said, "From Trumbull Coun- ty first came two crowded canal boats, each with a band of music- the Mohawk of Beaver; and the Tip- pecanoe, of Warren-the first that ever passed through the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, now just completed."

. The formal celebration did not come until later. The first freight boat came through on April 10, 1840, when the Ohio City passed through Eastward en route to Pittsburgh with a cargo of ashes, fish, etc. On the fol- lowing day the Huron, with merchan- dise, arrived from Pittsburgh and af- ter that traffic was steady, both freight and passenger.

The formal celebration was held August 4, 1840, or rather celebrations were held all along the line. Gov. David Porter of Pennsylvania, and other important men made the trip on a packet boat. As told elsewhere, Port- age County was the high point of the canal, and a regular supply of water was maintained in the canal bed from

Township officers in old days were more numerous than at present. The list in- cluded the Lister, the Fence Viewer, the Appraiser, the Road Marker, the Road Supervisor and the Overseers of the Poor. The latter was dropped when the care of the poor fell upon the county, under later laws.

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ESEE

I &J.VANCE

Here is a picture of East Main St., Ravenna, in 1853, where street grading is being done with ox power.

the Feeder in Shalersville, and from Brady and Muddy lakes.

Before this, not much freight could be brought to Portage County by water. Previous to the coming of the canal, great freight wagons were used, drawn by four, six, eight and even ten horse teams, coming from either Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

The Mexican War of 1846-47 did not create much interest in Portage County. Few Portage citizens hasten- ed to join the army. Sentiment here was against this war. Probably the "gold rush" westward in 1849-50 drew more attention. Men were interested and joined the rush as they did else- where. At least this war helped to point out the immense size of the na- tion.

YEAR OF DROUTH

The new residents of the county had a great deal to learn about the vagaries of the Ohio climate but they were not quite prepared for what came in 1845. In that year there was no rain from April until late July ex- cept a slight sprinkle in June. Crops and pastures were burned to nothing. Livestock suffered for food and water and it was a period of hardship for many residents that lasted until the following year. The entire northeast- ern part of the state was affected. It was known as the Year of the Great Drouth. Some animals were destroy- ed or butchered and others were driv- en to Pennslyvania or other localities where the drouth was less severe. Water for domestic or farm use fre-

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quently had to be hauled some dis- tance when wells or springs went dry. It was also a time when grasshoppers were numerous which made matters worse. The year 1845 was long re- membered by farm people.

IRON HORSE ARRIVES

Portage county people were no dif- ferent from others. They, too, were stricken by a disease that spread everywhere. It struck both poor and rich, in town or country, for condi- tions were ripe for the spread of this malady. The disease was "Railroad Fever." Every community in the civil- ized part of the country, whether on a mountain top or in a swamp, dream- ed of having a railroad. A few lines were already operating through the East, and Ohio had one or two by this time as well. But men dreamed of wealth by building railroads. Those without money thought they could make it by means of the railroad. The money making possibilities were ex- citing but probably few saw the slow- er, surer, economic development that would follow railroad building. The canals had started to get the state out of the mud but the expanding giants of industry and agriculture needed still better transportation. Railroads seemed to be the answer and the fever was the keen desire to have them. Men dreamed of new railroad routes. They organized companies, or tried to finance them. Some never got started but others did. One of these

was the so-called Clinton Air line run- ning through the county from Hud- son Northeast through Streetsboro, Mantua and Hiram on its way to New York - a new trans-continental line. Grading was completed through the entire county. Then it stopped, fi- nancially and physically halted.

WELSH PEOPLE HERE

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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 8

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