USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. I > Part 16
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The Ingersoll family burial-lots are in the East Cleveland Cemetery and the Congregational Churchyard in East Cleveland.
1812
DIBBLE
Previous to the year 1811, Elisha Dibble and family were living in Aurelius, N. Y. Mrs. Dibble was Phebe Stone, the daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Stone, and she was married in 1791.
They had a large family of children, every year or two adding to the number, until, by September, 1810, there were nine in all, Samuel, the oldest, 18 years of age, and the youngest, Lyman, had just opened his eyes upon a world where babies were almost at a discount. However, Lyman may have been just as dear to the household as any that had pre- ceded him. But the parents began to look the future in the face with dismay. They had ambitions for their young brood that they felt would never be realized by remaining where they were, and in seeking for some
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more favorable location, they were persuaded to remove to the River Raisin, or Monroe, Mich., as it was afterward called.
They were preceded or followed by other eastern people, so that the place was quite a settlement. The War of 1812 broke out within a year. Rumors of British troops and Indians advancing from Detroit upon them reached Monroe, and panic-stricken, every one began to flee, as they thought, for their lives, toward Fort Meigs or Cleveland.
Mr. Dibble and Mr. Kent secured a small boat, placed their families in it with such clothing, bedding, and food as could be stored away, and started for Cleveland. The first night they encamped near Sandusky, the next one many miles eastward, and so, working their way close to shore until they reached the mouth of Rocky River, where they remained a day or two, while the women washed clothing, and the children stretched their cramped limbs.
When Cleveland was reached, there was found to be a scarcity of dwellings, causing much anxiety and delay in procuring shelter for such a big boat-load of adults and children. But the hospitable doors of Ru- dolphus Edwards' double log-house on Woodland Hills Road opened to the weary, discouraged refugees, and they here remained until one of their own was erected.
Elisha Dibble seems to have been a patriot ready to sacrifice for his country, for in spite of his large family and unsettled circumstances, he raised a local company of volunteers, of which he took command, and joined Gen. Perkins at Huron. He remained in service until taken very ill, returning home only in time to die. His family was so rejoiced to see him, and so overcome at his physical condition, that they all shed tears. A little daughter of Rudolphus Edwards, happening to be there at the time and seeing his sword and gun, and the excitement his arrival had created, thought something dreadful was about to happen, and ran home as fast as her little legs would carry her. Capt. Dibble was but 43 years of age when he died. Samuel Dibble, the oldest son, who had joined Capt. Dibble's company, remained in the army until the close of the war.
He then took his father's place in caring for his mother, brothers, and sisters. He bought 50 acres of farming land south of Doan's Cor- ners, near Fairmount and Cedar Avenues, and placed the family upon it.
While living here, the wolves were very troublesome. They howled around the house at night, terrifying the children, and adding to the mother's worries and forebodings. But after a while, the whole family became so accustomed to their weird noise that they ceased to fear or to lose sleep by it.
Elisha Dibble's death occurred in 1813, and each succeeding year, for a time, Mrs. Dibble suffered bereavement in the loss of children. Her daughter, Polly Dibble, 18 years of age, died the following one. Hosea Dibble, 15 years old, died in 1815, in 1816 Lavina Dibble Williams, 23 years of age, in childbed, and later, Martin Dibble, who had gone south in search of fortune, died there.
The rest of the children were: Anson, Lovisa, Lewis, and Lyman Dibble. The latter died at 20 years of age.
Samuel married, 1st Miss Jewett of Newburgh, 2nd Miss Tibbitts, and moved to Elkhart, Ind. They had but one child, named Phebe for her
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grandmother, who married Frank Dean, and still resides in Elkhart. Anson Dibble moved to Porter, Mich., married a Miss Lydia Odell, and two of their children are still living in that town. Lewis Dibble proved to be the one child in the large family who remained in Cleveland, and bequeathed the Dibble name to posterity. He sailed on the lakes for 17 years, and for a time had charge of the U. S. Marine Hospital, still stand- ing on Lake Street. We find his name in connection with other public services, and in view of all his parents sacrificed in behalf of their chil- dren, it is a gratification to know that one of them left an honorable name and considerable property behind him.
In 1826, he purchased 50 feet of land on Euclid Avenue for $100. It was just east of the Opera House entrance, now worth $300,000. In 1839, he invested in 15 acres on Norwood Ave., off of Woodland Ave., which afterward justified his judgment of real estate. He married Mary Ammock, daughter of John Ammock, who came to Cleveland in 1830, and lived No. 49 Bolivar Street, when the directory of 1837 was compiled.
The children of Lewis and Mary Dibble:
Phebe Dibble, m. Samuel Thompson. Minerva Dibble, m. John J. Shep- ard.
Lewis L. Dibble, m. Josephine Ca- gan.
Charles E. Dibble, m. Belle Hilde- brand.
Florence Dibble, m. Mckinney. Anson Dibble, m. Nelly Lines.
Dibble Ave., between Willson Ave. and Dunham Ave., was named for the family.
Lovisa Dibble, born 1804, daughter of Elisha and Phebe Dibble, mar- ried Capt. Ebenezer Stark. The family lived in the neighborhood of Fairmount and Cedar Aves., where Capt Stark owned 100 acres of land. Previously, he had a ten-acre lot on Euclid Ave., near Giddings, which he foolishly sold for $150. He owned several city lots down town. He had built for him a cottage on Prospect Street, corner of Huntington, and offered in payment a lot near the corner of Euclid and Sheriff. The offer was not accepted. Ready money was of more value, those days, more necessary to almost any resident of Cleveland than land. Most people were land-rich and pocket-poor.
Mrs. Stark had a retentive memory, and was fond of repeating the poems she read and loved. She was a pleasant-mannered, cheerful wom- an, though life had given her much that would have been brooded over by one of a more despondent temperament. She had to bring up her family alone, and she lost her only daughters. Her son, Henry Stark, married Abigail Thorp of Collamer. James Stark died a hero's death, was killed at Chattanooga in the Civil War, 124th Regiment. Louis Dibble Stark married Lorain J. Ferris.
Mrs. Lovisa Stark was a devout Episcopalian, a member of Trinity Church. For several years before her death she made her home with her son, Lewis Dibble Stark, and died aged 76 years.
For many years, before the names of streets were arbitrarily changed to numbers only, there was a Stark Avenue north of Euclid Ave., near
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Fairmount Ave. It was named for this family who owned much prop- erty at that time in the vicinity. It probably was cut through their farm.
Mrs. Phebe Stone Dibble, widow of Elisha, in 1816 married Abram Hickox, the noted Cleveland blacksmith. She was his second wife, and when she died in 1839, aged 70 years, they were living at 27 Prospect Street. She is buried by the side of Elisha Dibble in Erie Street Ceme- tery, near the front entrance.
1813 CALAHAN
Among those who came to Cleveland during the War of 1812 was a young Irishman from Quebec, Canada, named Calahan, who had been in the British service and participated in the battle of the Thames River. He was subsequently taken prisoner by our forces. His wife and two lit- tle children followed him to camp, and they joined the American settlers who fled by boats to Cleveland after Hull's surrender.
When the war closed Calahan joined his family here for a time. For he was truly a soldier of fortune; gay, attractive, irresponsible, leading a roving life; returning to his family at irregular intervals, then off again, generally leaving another infant for his wife to support. Finally she steeled her heart sufficiently to drive him away altogether, and he never returned.
The life of this young woman was one that commands the greatest admiration and respect. She was of French origin, and her maiden name was either More or Moore. She was small, extremely neat, and very industrious and ambitious. The family occupied a log-cabin on the flats, now Calahan Basin, and this she kept exquisitely neat, continuously scrubbing it inside and out. With all the French woman's gift for mak- ing much of little, using every resource at hand, and constantly reaching out and adding to it, she succeeded, eventually, in supporting her little brood in comfort, and in giving them the limited educational advantages of that day.
Her little garden of vegetables and flowers was ever free from weeds; her flocks of ducks and geese, floating on the river by day and carefully housed at night, brought in many a dollar in cash or exchange. Her chickens, roaming the wide expanse of meadow and hillsides for food, were another source of income. Her pigs, leading lives of uncomfortable cleanliness, and later the family cow, were scrupulously tended and made to contribute to the family welfare.
The two sons born in Quebec, Thomas and Samuel, were but five and three years of age when brought to Cleveland, but soon, under the direc- tion of their mother, began to assist her in many ways. They became aoepts at hunting and fishing, and in season kept the table supplied with
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fish and game. An incident will show the degree of parental government she exercised over her children.
Samuel shot a wild turkey one New Year's day, not far from and east of the Public Square. While on his way home with it he was hailed by Nathan Perry, Jr., and urged to swap it for lead, which he did. Return- ing home he melted the lead and began running it into bullets. His mother noticed it, and knowing that there had been no lead in the house, she questioned him. Upon learning the facts she was greatly incensed.
"Here it is New Year's Day, with nothing in the house for dinner, and you have fairly given away the turkey we needed for our own use. Now you get yourself off, quick, and don't show your face again until you bring back something else eatable!"
Samuel started out much depressed in spirit and dubious of the out- look, but in a bend of the river free from ice he came upon a big flock of wild ducks, and at one shot secured enough for his purpose.
Samuel, Thomas, Alexander, James and Julian, Mrs. Calahan's sons, were very popular, and in all mention of the young people of that day they seemed to be leading spirits in all fun and frolic. Her cabin was the rendezvous for the best element of boyhood and young manhood, and her memory as "Mother Calahan" was revered for many a year after her own had closed, which happened in 1849.
Samuel Calahan married Harriet C. Hedges, born in Virginia in 1811, and died in 1887. They were married in Circleville, O. She was thin, of medium height, and very good-looking, and her sons think no better mother ever lived.
Samuel was in commercial business for some years, and afterward dealt in real estate. He was associated closely with the big boom that created the "Center Allotment" in 1833, and in the crash that followed several estates were entrusted in his hands for settlement. His son, John Calahan, inherited some of this responsibility which has lasted nearly seventy years.
It has been repeatedly declared that James S. Clarke, who figured so prominently in city affairs and real estate deals, never married. Mr. John Calahan is ready to swear that Mr. Clarke, some years after his removal from the city, visited his father, Samuel Calahan, and was ac- companied by his wife.
Tom Calahan was a tall, large, handsome man, universally admired and respected. He was a member of the city council, a prominent mason, and active in politics. During the cholera epidemics he was kind and helpful. In 1830 he married Miss Lavinia S. Elwell, an eastern lady, and his only daughter by this marriage, Harriet, became Mrs. H. P. Danks of Brooklyn, N. Y.
Tom Calahan died in 1862. He had previously lost all his property by signing a note for a friend and in going on a bail-bond.
Alexander Calahan married Orvilla Ball, daughter of James and Mary Ball of Stoddard, N. H. He lived near the corner of Lake and Water streets for some years, and afterward near the foot of Erie Street. His children were Mary, Martha, George and Edward Calahan.
James Calahan married a Miss Nicholson and lived on a farm in Lakewood.
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Isabella Calahan, the only daughter of the pioneers, married a Mr. Hendrick of Olmsted Falls. Her children were Frank, Louis, Albert, Jane, Julia, and Mary Hendrick.
Julian Calahan died unmarried.
1813
ROBINSON
Stephen Robinson of St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and his wife, Mary Benedict Robinson of Vermont, were among the earliest settlers of New- burgh. They came in 1813.
Mr. Robinson was a soldier of the War of 1812. He died in 1832, and his wife in 1854. Some of the family removed to Bedford, O., and be- came early settlers of that town.
The children of Stephen and Mary Robinson :
Daniel Robinson.
Ezra Robinson.
Isaac Robinson.
Nathaniel Robinson.
Nathan Robinson.
Sally Robinson.
Maria Robinson.
John Robinson.
Ebenezer Robinson.
Newman Robinson.
Anna Robinson.
Cornelia Robinson.
1814 WALSWORTH
Silas Walsworth lived on Superior Street near the Stockwells and Deacon Moses White. He dealt in hides and leather, and his advertise- ment for the purchase and sale of them appears in earliest issues of the Cleveland Herald.
It is claimed that all of his children were born in this place. In that case he came here as early as 1814.
He was the son of Daniel and Mary Southworth Walsworth, and re- moved to Cleveland from Rome, N. Y. His wife was Miss Sophia Brown before her marriage. She was noted while living here for her skill as a housekeeper, and for the care she took of her six little children, whom she kept beautifully clean and neat. She made all their clothes, which were daintily fashioned and the envy and despair of other mothers.
Mr. and Mrs. Walsworth were members of the Old Stone Church, and their second son, in after years, became a noted Presbyterian clergy-
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man of New York State. The family left Cleveland some time in the '30s, and made their home in Wisconsin, where Mr. Walsworth died in 1849.
The children of Silas and Sophia Walsworth:
Jared Stocking Walsworth, b. 1814; m. Mrs. Mary Forsyth.
Rev. Edward Brown Walsworth, b. 1817; m. Sarah A. Pearson.
Francis Minor Walsworth, died in Berkeley, Cal.
Maria L. Walsworth, b. 1822; died 1859; m. Hilo Howett, a mission- ary.
Silas Walsworth, b. 1826; m. Mary I. Livingston.
Mary E. Walsworth, b. 1829; died 1832.
1814
GARLICK
Abel B. Garlick, born in Middleburg, on the Green Mountains of Vermont, was a stone-cutter by trade. He became a resident of Cleve- land village in 1814. His shop was on Bank Street. The site is now occupied by Morgan & Root's wholesale dry-goods store.
Abel was joined, in 1819, by his 14-year-old brother, Thodatus Gar- lick, who served an apprenticeship with him in the marble-cutting trade. They worked together for a year or two. Abel would mark inscriptions on grave-stones with a pencil, and the younger brother would carve them with his chisel.
The latter evidently worked at the trade as a means rather than an end, for he studied medicine and became "Dr. Thodatus Garlick." He removed to Youngstown, O., and for many years following was widely known as a practising physician in that locality. In 1853, he returned to Cleveland, and entered the Marine Hospital as a member of its staff.
Although highly regarded as a medical practitioner, Dr. Garlick's most valuable service to the city, and the whole country, was his scientific research, to which he was devoted. He joined the Cleveland Academy of Natural Science, founded by Dr. Kirtland, and thus became identified with the small but distinguished group of men who in their day compelled their contemporaries of the long-settled eastern states to listen and to pay reverence. Dr. Garlick was greatly interested in the artificial propa- gation of fish, and suggestions made to the national government regard- ing it and coldly rejected, were adopted within recent years.
Of Dr. Garlick's family nothing can be learned save that a son, Wili- mont H. Garlick, M. D., resided in Youngstown.
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1814
WATKINS
Timothy Watkins was 41, and his wife, Sophia Heard Watkins, 39 years of age when they came to Cleveland from East Haddam, Conn., in 1814, and their oldest child, Rosetta, had married and settled down in the east before her parents left for Ohio.
Mr. Watkins was not a man of much means, and after making the payment on his farm on Euclid Avenue, and building a log-house on the site of the present Calvary Church, he had but little left with which to buy comforts for his family, and for some years they suffered privation. The first winter of their arrival this log-house had but three sides, the fourth one remaining open to wind and weather.
Their son, George Watkins, could not refer to those days and of his mother without deep feeling, for he loved her dearly and could not forget what she endured as a pioneer woman. The limitations of her wardrobe, for instance, was such that, for a long time, every Saturday, she had to wait for the family to be all in bed so that she could wash the under- clothes she wore (there being no change of them), and hang them before the big fire-place to dry. And the memory of this, and his mother's patience and loyalty under all family conditions and circumstances was a poignant grief to him for the remainder of her son's life. She was born in Chatham, Conn., and married in 1795.
The children of Timothy and Sophia Watkins:
George Watkins, b. 1812; m. Louise Slaght; 2nd, Elisabeth Harlow.
Rosetta Watkins, m. Michael Brooks of New York State.
Watson Watkins, b. 1796; d. 1855. Timothy Watkins, b. 1804; m. Ade- line Slaght. Both died in 1843,
leaving Sophia, Sarah, and Hos- mer Watkins.
Sophia Watkins, b. 1806; m. Nicho- las McIlrath, and died 25 years old.
Russell Watkins, d. 1841, aged 26.
George Watkins left a vivid and interesting description of the early country school-house with its rude, quaint arrangement and furnishings, which will be found in Kennedy's History of Cleveland, page 193.
George Watkins built a small tavern a few rods west of the log- homestead, and kept it for many years. He afterward owned a grocery store on Euclid between Fairmount and Doan, and lived to be a very old man. He married in his youth, Louisa Slaght, who died in 1841. She was a sister of Adeline Slaght Watkins, and both were daughters of Abram Slaght, who, after living some years on Euclid Ridge, moved to the corner of St. Clair Street and East Madison, now Addison Road. He had two sons and five daughters. Sarah Slaght married a Brush. Mar- tha Slaght married Henry Ford, and Elisabeth Slaght married Abram Nott, or Knott.
One evening, after his wife's death, George Watkins attended a sing- ing school held in a little pioneer school-house on the corner of Euclid and Doan. This was replaced by a Congregational church, which in turn was torn down to make way for a big bank building. Here he met Miss Elizabeth Harlow, a daughter of Samuel, of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y. She was on a visit to her sister Sarah, who had married Sears Decker.
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(He had a brother, Wilson Decker.) A mutual attraction led to a wed- ding, and she became the mother of his children, dying in 1899.
Children of George and Elisabeth Watkins:
George Watkins, m. Venia Lewis, Mary Watkins, m. Henry Gates.
Adaline Watkins, m. George Steb-
and lived in Boston. Charles Watkins, m. Nelly Shannon. bens.
Watson Watkins, brother of Timothy, and his wife, Eliza Green of Plymouth, Mass. (?), a daughter of Daniel Green, were also pioneers. The two brothers seem to have bought land and lived together, for Mrs. Eliza Watkins died in the house corner of Euclid and East 79th St., in 1836. She was but 38 years of age at her death, and her only daughter but 8 years. She was a Methodist, and belonged to the East End society of that faith.
The children of Watson and Eliza Green Watkins:
Edward Watkins, m. Chloe Goff of George Watkins, m. Eliza Wardwell Geneva, Ohio. of Rhode Island.
Rosetta Watkins, m. John Banford.
1814
STARK
Abel Stark, born in Colchester, Conn., in 1766, and Lydia Fletcher Stark, born in Salisbury, Conn., in 1770, came to Cleveland at a very early date, probably 1814. Their children were Henry, Hyde, Silas, Pamelia, and Ebenezer Stark.
The youngest, Ebenezer Fletcher Stark, born 1798 in Canaan, Conn., was a prominent and useful citizen of the East End until his life was suddenly ended at the age of 46 years. In an effort to save some sailors from a vessel wrecked on Lake Erie in a severe storm and ashore near the mouth of the river, he was drowned. He owned a farm south of Euclid Avenue, near Fairmount Street (East 107th), which proved to be very valuable property. Stark Avenue received its name from this family.
Capt. Ebenezer Stark married Mary Louise Dibble, born 1804, daugh- ter of Elisha and Phebe Stone Dibble, pioneers of 1813.
The children of Ebenezer and Mary Dibble Stark:
Henry Stark, b. 1825; m. Abigail Lewis Dibble Stark, b. 1837; m. Thorp. Lorain H. U. Ferris, daughter of Tames Stark, b. 1833 ; m. Ann Clark. Lyman Ferris.
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Mrs. Ebenezer Stark died in 1876 at the age of 72 years.
Pamelia Stark, daughter of Abel and Lydia Stark, married John McVene. The couple lived on the State Road south of Lake View Ceme- tery, and reared a large family of children. John McVene evidently died previous to 1856, as the Cleveland directory of that year states that his widow Pamelia is living at 367 Lake Street.
The children of John and Pamelia Stark McVene, as near as could be ascertained :
Catherine McVene, m. A. C. Curtis. Pocahontas McVene, m. Dr. Luther Woodruff.
Jane McVene, m. Samuel LeBaron.
Daniel McVene, unmarried.
Jerusha McVene, m. Dr. Geo. Ter- rill.
Mary McVene, m. Charles Mathias. Etta McVene, m. Byron Pope. John McVene, removed to Texas.
1814
AMOS BRAINARD
Amos Brainard of Middlesex County, Conn., one of the earliest settlers of Newburgh, made his western venture when nearly 50 years of age. His wife was Rachel Brainard, daughter of Dudley and Mindwell Ackley Brainard of Haddam, Conn., and a cousin of Amos. Amos Brainard was a farmer and shoemaker, before coming to Newburgh, and lived on a farm in the latter place, toiling early and late to clear it of the timber and heavy undergrowth that covered it.
Mr. and Mrs. Brainard had 13 children, 11 of whom reached maturity and all but one of these married and had families of their own, most of them living in Newburgh. Mr. Brainard met with a sudden and violent death, one day, in 1823. He was in a field at work with a yoke of oxen, when a furious storm of wind and rain broke upon him, and while hasten- ing back to his dwelling, a falling tree crushed out his life. His wife, standing in the door of her home, and anxiously watching his return, wit- nessed the sad accident that left her a widow with four of her family of children still of a tender age. She was to undergo another shock and a grief of the same character five years later, when her son Timothy, aged 27, was killed by the caving in of a portion of the Erie Canal upon which he was working.
She was a very superior woman, of a fine heritage, which was passed on to several of her children. She died in 1848, aged 78 years.
The children of Amos and Rachel Brainard:
John R. Brainard, b. 1789; m. in Salinda Brainard, b. 1791; m. Rich-
1812, Lucinda Goff, widow of ard Bailey, who died 1813. She married 2nd, Enos Cochran, died Joshua Brainard.
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1823; and 3rd, Justus Hamilton of Newburgh, O. She died 1859, aged 68.
Nancy Brainard, b. 1793; m. in 1818, Demos Brainard, son of Amos and Martha Aiken Brainard of Brook- lyn, O.
Amos Brainard, b. 1795; m. in 1826, Lydia Thompson, dau. of Adam and Lydia Thompson.
Demming Brainard, b. 1798; m. Es- ther Jones. He died 1860.
Julia Selden Brainard, m. Silas
Owen of Newburgh.
Alvah H. Brainard, b. 1807; m. Mel- issa Owen, sister of Silas Owen; d. 1865.
'imothy Brainard, b. 1801; died suddenly.
Hiram Brainard, b. 1808; m. Eliza- beth Hotal.
Sylvester Brainard, b. 1809; re- moved to Michigan.
Emily Brainard, b. 1811; m. Syl- vester Dudley Goff, son of Guern- sey and Asenath Brainard Goff.
1814 PELTON
There is no more honored name in pioneer annals than that of Pelton, and it is chiefly due to Jonathan Pelton and his wife, who came to East Cleveland in 1814. Though well along in years to undertake such a change in their lives, 55 and 53 years, they lived long enough to be well known in Cuyahoga County, and influential in the church and society. Two, at least of their daughters, married prominent pioneers of Cleve- land village, and their other children intermarried with those of old resi- dents.
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